Said James A. Wilding, President/CEO of the Airports Authority, "We are very pleased to embark on this expansion with Atlantic Coast Airlines which is headquartered here at Washington Dulles. Through the service they offer on regional aircraft, we are seeing continued growth and increased opportunities for access to new markets. This benefits travelers and the region alike."
Expanding operations of Atlantic Coast Airlines require that additional passenger and aircraft facilities be constructed. A new regional concourse will be built adjacent to the recently-opened Concourse B which houses a number of international and domestic airlines. Construction begins on June 10th with an opening scheduled for 1999.
The new 69,000 sq. ft. regional concourse will be served by mobile lounges and will also be connected to Concourse B via an enclosed pedestrian bridge. The regional concourse, designed by the architectural firm Hellmuth Obata Kassabaum will be constructed by Hensel Phelps at a cost of approximately $18 million. The building will accommodate 36 regional aircraft.
Last year, Dulles served nearly 14 million passengers; one million additional passengers over the previous year. Atlantic Coast Airlines, the second busiest carrier at Dulles (United Airlines is the busiest) with over 220 departures a day, has added service to new destinations and has recently introduced new regional jets on some routes.
Dulles Airport employs over 13,000 people, many of them associated with the twenty-five airlines that serve the Airport.
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