Explore the Unique United Airlines Terminal at Washington Dulles Airport

Graceful Beauty, Suggestive of Flight

If you arrive at the IAD United Terminal from virtually any other airport worldwide—particularly advanced foreign hubs like those in Seoul or Hong Kong—you might find the experience quite shocking. Despite the general state of American infrastructure, the terminal of the main international airport in the nation’s capital is deemed substandard by global benchmarks.

(As for whether it’s a national embarrassment or simply outdated? Well, that’s for you to decide.)

Dulles’ design boasts elegant characteristics. The main terminal and ticketing hall, dating back to the airport’s original construction in the late 1950s, exude a chic ambiance. Designed by Eero Saarinen, a Finnish-American architect, its lines echo the trajectory of flight, presenting a stark contrast to the less appealing structures situated further away.

Moreover, the building closest to the main terminal, which accommodates the airport’s A and B gates, is quite an attractive sight. Constructed in 1998 and expanded in 2003 and 2008, it brings a modern flair. It is only upon taking the lunar-inspired “plane mate” to the C and D gates (the United Dulles terminal) that doubts about your location might arise—whether you’re in the United States, a Third-World country, or perhaps another planet entirely.

About Those Plane Mates…

The comparison of Dulles Airport’s “plane mate” people movers to lunar vehicles isn’t entirely far-fetched. Considering the era from which they hail—1959, when the airport was planned—it seems such technology was quite prevalent in airports during the decade preceding the lunar landing. While the similarities in appearance and ambiance of the plane mates at the IAD United terminal don’t directly connect them to early NASA vehicles, the resemblance is too significant to dismiss as mere coincidence.

The Story Behind the United Hub Operation at Dulles

Terminal C/D at Dulles was originally intended to be a temporary solution. Good intentions can lead to unforeseen outcomes, and this “temporary” label was assigned in 1985, the very year the author of this piece was born.

Furthermore, Dulles authorities undertook renovations of this temporary facility in 2006. However, the anticipated expiration date of those updates was set between 2014 and 2016 (which, remarkably, is next year!). While a “permanent” United Dulles terminal is included in the airport’s master plan, the apparent lack of progress raises questions about United’s long-term commitment to maintaining a hub at Dulles, especially after acquiring a larger hub at Newark Airport following its 2010 merger with Continental.

Consequently, only time will tell what the future holds—time and perhaps even the phases of the moon.