{"id":792075,"date":"2026-07-29T21:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/792075\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T21:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:32:11","slug":"trump-announces-plans-for-sprawling-dulles-airport-makeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/792075\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump announces plans for sprawling Dulles Airport makeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> announced a sweeping makeover of Dulles International Airport<\/a> on Wednesday, including the construction of new concourses and the removal of the airport\u2019s aging shuttles known as \u201cpeople movers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are announcing plans to add more than five million square feet of new or renovated space. We\u2019ll replace the current C and D concourses, which are basic disasters, all the while preserving the iconic original terminal,\u201d Trump said at an event in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

Trump said he\u2019d selected the designs \u201cafter an extensive review of more than 30 proposals with the top architects anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The redone airport will include a \u201cmagnificent\u201d multi-story parking garage with 32,000 parking spaces. \u201cIt\u2019ll be actually the largest garage in the world,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the \u201cpeople movers,\u201d which transported travelers through terminals, will be replaced by a faster and more efficient \u201chorseshoe rail system.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the project\u2019s $22 billion cost will not need to be federally funded. It will be \u201cbonded for $22.5 billion. United is going to partake in part of the payment, but the airlines who participate in the project are going to pay for it,\u201d Duffy said.<\/p>\n

United Airlines said in a press release <\/a>the work will include more than 5 million square feet of new or renovated space, with new and modernized concourses, an expanded main terminal and upgraded boarding areas and ticketing facilities.<\/p>\n

Duffy said there is still some permitting left to do, but they\u2019re hopeful project can begin by spring of next year.<\/p>\n

Trump said they hoped to have the project completed within two years, and that the airlines\u2019 projection for the work was originally 60 years.<\/p>\n

In a press release<\/a>, the Department of Transportation said \u201cthe transformation will occur in phases over several years.\u201d<\/p>\n

United presented a different timeline in its press release, saying the project will \u201ctransform the airport over the next decade into a modern, world-class gateway.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the White House event, Duffy said: \u201cWe\u2019re trying to move at the speed of President Trump. It\u2019s never fast enough, but we\u2019re going as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the airport, travelers\u2019 reactions were mixed, with some telling NBC News they had no major issues with the airport \u2014 besides the people movers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey jam you in like sardines. You smell diesel fuel all the way back,\u201d said Bill Eberhardt, who was waiting to pick up family members and said he flies out of the airport three or four times a year.<\/p>\n

Becky Saleh, who\u2019d just arrived from Paris, said the vehicles, also known as \u201cmobile lounges,\u201d aren\u2019t very welcoming.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re \u201cvery old-fashioned\u201d and \u201cthey\u2019re hot, they\u2019re sticky,\u201d she said, adding it \u201cseems like a very antiquated way of moving people in this day and age.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the airport itself, Saleh it\u2019s \u201ceasy in and out compared to some major airports,\u201d but \u201cI think there could be some improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump has been eyeing<\/a> the project for months. His motorcade took a detour through the Northern Virginia airport in October to \u201cassess potential future projects,\u201d the White House said at the time.<\/p>\n

The real estate mogul-turned-president later said he had big plans <\/a>for the airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna make that into something really spectacular. We have an amazing plan for it,\u201d he said in December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump announced a sweeping makeover of Dulles International Airport on Wednesday, including the construction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":792076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-792075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/792076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}