Washington Dulles International Airport opened Concourse E to passengers on November 10. It is the airport’s first new concourse in nearly two decades. The 435,000-square-foot building has 14 new United Airlines gates, a direct stop on the AeroTrain, new places to eat and shop, and a United Club of nearly 40,000 square feet, one of the largest airline clubs in the Western Hemisphere.
United and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) gave a preview of the concourse a day before it opened. The project is the first major piece of Dulles Global Gateway, a program worth more than $20 billion that will modernize the airport over the next decade.
“Washington Dulles is a critical part of United’s global network and growth strategy as it connects our nation’s capital to the world,” said United CEO Scott Kirby. “Concourse E delivers the kind of elevated experience our travelers and employees deserve today, and it’s only the beginning.”
Gates built for growth
With the new gates, United plans to operate more than 300 daily departures from Dulles next summer and increase its connections by nearly 30% at peak times. Every gate can handle both domestic and international flights, and each one can take either one widebody aircraft or two narrowbodies.
The gate areas get plenty of natural light, and seats have power outlets and wireless charging pads. Because the AeroTrain stops directly at Concourse E, getting there from the Main Terminal is quicker than on the older concourses.
This is only the first of four planned construction phases. Later phases could add up to 36 more United gates, an international customs area for connecting passengers and what United says will be one of the largest Polaris lounges in the world.
According to Deputy Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury, building the concourse has supported 2,700 jobs and brought $1.3 billion in economic activity to the region so far.
United’s second-largest club
The new United Club seats more than 600 people and is the airline’s second-largest. It increases United’s club and lounge space at Dulles by about 70%. Inside, there is a bar, two buffet stations, eight private phone rooms, free high-speed Wi-Fi and power at nearly every seat.
The design takes cues from the Washington area: the Saarinen-designed Dulles terminal, cherry blossoms and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Artwork by local artists and artists connected to D.C. is displayed throughout. The club is across from gates E14 and E16 and is open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Where to eat
The concourse has a food court plus a mix of national chains and local names, including Aventino, Bonchon, Dos Toros Taqueria, Ellie Bird, Good Company Doughnuts & Café, Honor Brewing, MurLarkey Distilled Spirits, Rusty Taco and Starbucks. Gameway, a video gaming lounge, has also opened a location here.
A321XLR to Amsterdam and Dublin in December
Dulles is United’s first hub for international flights on the Airbus A321XLR, the airline’s newest aircraft. The plane has been flying selected U.S. domestic routes from Dulles since September, and international service to Amsterdam and Dublin is planned to start in December.
United has operated a hub at Dulles for 40 years and employs nearly 8,000 people in the region. It now runs more than 250 daily flights from the airport to 135 destinations, and its departures are up 30% since 2022. More than 30 of those destinations aren’t served nonstop from the D.C. area by any other airline. This year, United added six new international destinations from Dulles and has already announced Toulouse and Milan for next year.
What comes next at Dulles
Dulles Global Gateway covers more than 5 million square feet of new or renovated space. The plans include new and modernized concourses, more gates, an upgraded Main Terminal that keeps Eero Saarinen’s original design, a new U.S. Customs facility and an expanded AeroTrain. Once the AeroTrain expansion is finished, the airport plans to retire its well-known mobile lounges.
“Opening Concourse E is the first step in expanding the airport’s capacity and enhancing the passenger experience,” said MWAA president and CEO Jack Potter.
