President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a more than $22 billion renovation plan for Washington Dulles International Airport. Dulles is a major transportation hub about 25 miles from the US capital and the main international gateway for the Washington region.

Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office alongside Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby. Reuters reported that the plan was expected to total $22 billion. The administration later put the figure at $22.5 billion.

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Renderings of the improved Washington Dulles International Airport | X (@WhiteHouse)

The airport handled 29 million passengers in 2025, a record for the facility.

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The old gateway gets a rather bold rethink

Trump cast the airport as a symbol of what he wants to change in the capital.

“It’s considered one of the worst airports anywhere in the world. We’re going to make it maybe the best,” he told journalists, adding that the project was “another step in our ongoing efforts to make Washington, DC, safe and beautiful again.”

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Renderings of the improved Washington Dulles International Airport | X (@WhiteHouse)

Trump said in December that he had a new design in mind for Dulles “because it’s not a good airport. It should be a great airport,” while critics have long complained about the airport’s slow vehicles that move passengers across the tarmac.

Those people movers are expected to be phased out under the overhaul, which is also expected to include four new concourses.

Every splendid scheme needs a patron

Duffy said the project would cost $22.5 billion and said United Airlines, the airport’s largest carrier, would help foot part of the bill.

United handles about 70% of Dulles traffic, and the airline had previously been part of discussions about the airport’s future, including a February meeting at the White House.

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Renderings of the improved Washington Dulles International Airport | X (@WhiteHouse)

The airport authority had already approved a separate master capital plan in 2025 to spend at least $7 billion on upgrades, and one of the key questions now is how the new reconstruction will be financed and whether passengers will see higher costs.

The airport is operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority under a 50-year lease approved by Congress.

Heritage meets tomorrow’s blueprint

The White House, United Airlines, and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority did not immediately comment.

Dulles opened in 1962 and was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, whose terminal remains one of the airport’s best-known features.

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Renderings of the improved Washington Dulles International Airport | X (@WhiteHouse)

The overhaul comes as Trump has pushed a series of high-profile projects across Washington, including work at the Kennedy Center, the Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial, the White House East Wing and other capital-region sites, even as the Dulles plan still leaves major financing and implementation details to be clarified.

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FAQs

Q1: What changes are planned for Washington Dulles International Airport?

The proposed overhaul includes four new concourses and the phased removal of the airport’s mobile passenger lounges as part of a more than $22 billion redevelopment plan.

Q2: Who will pay for the Dulles Airport redevelopment?

The Trump administration said United Airlines will help fund the project, though the full financing plan has not yet been detailed.