US plans $22 billion rebuilding of Washington Dulles airport

WASHINGTON - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Tuesday that the federal government plans a $22 billion rebuilding of Washington Dulles airport.

"We're going to rebuild Dulles," Duffy said at a Washington conference, saying it would cost roughly $22 billion.

President Donald Trump has been pushing for a massive rebuilding of the airport that is the main international gateway for the national capital region. The airport is also a major United Airlines hub.

Airport Architecture, a website, reported on Monday it had reviewed a $22 billion proposed revitalization plan shared with airlines in May that includes a terminal expansion and four new concourses to be completed by 2034.

Duffy told Reuters after the remarks it would be a "brand-new airport" but added there were still details being worked through. He declined to say how much of the project the government's share might be.

On February 25, Trump held a meeting on the airport's future that included United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, whose company handles nearly 70% of the traffic at Dulles. United did not immediately comment.

In December, Trump said he has a new design in mind for Dulles "because it's not a good airport. It should be a great airport... They have a great building and a bad airport."

Critics say Dulles needs modernization and gripe about slow vehicles that transport passengers across the tarmac. USDOT in December criticized the "jet fuel smell in the concourses" and the "paltry" number of gates in the main terminal.

The airport is operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority under a 50-year lease approved by Congress. MWAA did not immediately comment Tuesday.

In 2025, the airport authority approved a master capital plan to spend at least $7 billion overhauling Dulles in coming years.

The airport, about 25 miles (40 km) from the U.S. capital, opened in 1962 and had a record year in 2025, handling 29 million total passengers, up 6.4%. This fall, it will get a new 435,000-square-foot (40,412-square-meter), 14-gate concourse serving United customers.

Finnish architect Eero Saarinen designed the airport's terminal building, a distinctive structure with a sloping roof that sweeps up toward the sky on opposite sides.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 5:12 PM.