Washington Airport is named after the legendary Secretary of State John Dulles, who served under President Dwight Eisenhower. More than sixty thousand passengers flying to 125 countries of the world use the airport services daily.
A Brief History of the Airport
Washington attracts millions of travelers every year. They are eager to visit the US capital with the intention of seeing world-famous landmarks or visiting one of the many luxurious museums.
The question of building a new, capacious Washington airport capable of handling ever-increasing passenger traffic was raised in 1948. Several different locations were initially proposed for the construction of the new airfield. It was planned, among other things, and a place in the immediate vicinity of the Pentagon. However, President Eisenhower personally made the final decision on the construction site of the Washington Airport.
The story of the construction of a new metropolitan airport was overshadowed by the forcible seizure of land from the Native American community. Such an act was strongly criticized by progressivepublic organizations in the United States, but the criticism could not stop the construction.
Design and construction
The construction of the country's main airport, 42 kilometers from the center of the capital, was entrusted to the construction company Allan and Whitney, but the project was developed by the star Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, who came up with the recognizable silhouette of the main terminal.
In addition to the technical buildings, the project included an artificial lake, a green area and a low-rise hotel building. Also, according to the project, two roads approached the airport at different levels, which made it possible to separate the flows of arriving and departing passengers. Such a scheme subsequently became generally accepted.
From the very beginning, it was assumed that in addition to road transport, a train would run to the airport. Now, however, a decision has been made to build a special metro line by 2020, which will connect the airport with the city center.
Development and download
The first regular passenger flight from the airport was made on November 19, 1962 in New Jersey, and two years later the airport received the first transatlantic non-stop flight. It was at this airport that the era of jet liners in the United States began, when in 1970, in the presence of Pat Nixon, the first flight was made.
In the 1980s, it became clear that the airport was increasingly taking on the functions of a docking hub, which required a change in the design of the airport, because now not all passengers neededvisit the main terminal. For better organization of passenger traffic, the airport was reconstructed and bypass corridors were built, which allowed transit passengers to reduce the time required for a transfer.
Destinations and airlines
Currently, forty-two airlines fly to the airport, flying to more than a hundred countries around the world. However, the main airline for the harbor is United Airlines, which flies both internationally and within the United States.
More than 600 takeoffs and landings take place at the airport every day, making it one of the busiest in the US. It is to this metropolitan air terminal that the largest Russian carrier Aeroflot, as well as AirIndia and many other large companies, fly.
It's also worth mentioning that Washington Dulles Airport is one of three serving the US capital. Also to the capital's air hub is the airport. Ronald Reagan and Targut Marshall.
