Friday 12 July 2013

Terminals

The distinctive mobile lounge at Dulles

The airport's terminal complex consists of a main terminal and two midfield terminal buildings: Concourses A/B and C/D. The entire terminal complex has 123 gates and 16 hardstand locations from which passengers can board or disembark using the airport's plane mate vehicles.

Dulles is one of the few remaining airports to use the mobile lounge (also known as "plane mates" or "people movers") for boarding and disembarkation from aircraft, and to transfer passengers between the midfield concourses and to and from the main terminal building. They have all been given names based on the postal abbreviations of 50 states, e.g.: VA, MD, AK.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has begun to gradually phase out the mobile lounge system for inter-terminal passenger movements in favor of AeroTrain, an underground people mover which currently operates to Concourses A, B and C, and a pedestrian walkway system (now in service to concourse A/B). The plane mates are still used to transport passengers to the D terminal. Plane mates will also remain in use to disembark international passengers and carry them to the International Arrivals Building, as well as to convey passengers to and from aircraft on hard stand (i.e., those parked remotely on the apron without access to jet bridges).

Main terminal The terminal ceiling is suspended in a catenary curve above the luggage check-in area.

The main terminal (which houses ticketing, baggage claim, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Z gates, and other support facilities) was recognized by the American Institute of Architects in 1966 for its design concept; its roof is a suspended catenary providing a wide enclosed area unimpeded by any columns. It houses ticketing, baggage claim, and information facilities, as well as the International Arrivals Building for passenger processing.

The main terminal was extended in 1996 to 1,240 feet (380 m) — Saarinen's original design length – which was slightly more than double its originally constructed length of 600 feet (180 m). In addition, an extension for international arrivals was added to the west of the main terminal in 1991. On September 22, 2009, an expansion of the international arrivals building opened which includes a 41,400 square feet (3,850 m2) arrival hall for customs and immigration processing. The new facility has the capacity to process 2,400 arriving passengers per hour.

In September 2009, a 121,700 square feet (11,310 m2) central Transportation Security Administration checkpoint was added on a new security mezzanine level of the main terminal. This checkpoint replaced previous checkpoints located behind the ticketing areas. A separate security checkpoint is available on the baggage claim level. Both security checkpoints connect to the new AeroTrain, which links the main terminal with the A, B, and C concourses.

There are two sets of gates in the main terminal: waiting areas for airlines which lack permanent physical gates and therefore use plane mates to reach planes parked at 16 hard-stand locations, which are referred to as the "H" Gates, and the "Z" Gates (with 4 gates), which provide service for US Airways.

Midfield terminals Concourse B AeroTrain station

There are two midfield terminal buildings at Washington Dulles: one contains the A and B midfield concourses, the other the C and D midfield concourses.

Concourse A (which has 47 gates) consists of a permanent ground level set of gates designed for small planes such as regional jets and several former B concourse gates. Concourse B (which has 28 gates) is the first of the permanent elevated midfield concourses. Originally constructed in 1998 and designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, the B concourse contained 20 gates. In 2003, 4 additional gates were added to concourse B, followed by a 15-gate expansion in 2008. It is connected to the main terminal by an underground walkway in addition to the AeroTrain.

The C and D concourses (with each concourse containing 22 gates), completed in 1983 and designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, were originally designed as a temporary base for United Airlines, which began hub operations at the airport in 1985. The C/D concourses were given a face lift in 2006 which included light fixture upgrades, new paint finishes, new ceiling grids and tiles, heating and air conditioning replacement, and complete restroom renovations. This building also has a dedicated Federal Inspection Station ("FIS") for arriving United and certain Star Alliance-member airlines' international passengers to clear U.S. Customs prior to connecting to subsequent flights. Since this immigration facility is only for connecting passengers on United and its partners' flights, it has shorter lines and passengers don't have to clear security at the massive TSA checkpoint in the main terminal.

A new and permanent C/D concourse (also called "Tier 2") is planned as part of the D2 Dulles Development Project. The new building is to include a three-level structure with 44 airline gates and similar amenities to Concourse B. The concourse plan includes a dedicated mezzanine corridor with moving sidewalks to serve international passengers. The design and construction of the new C/D concourse has not been scheduled.

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