The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has announced new additional international service to Latin America beginning this fall. In October, United Airlines will start non-stop service to Sao Paulo, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Said James A. Wilding, President/CEO of the Airports Authority, " Dulles is the international airport for the region, and we make it our priority to attract the international service that is important to our community. Air service to Latin America has been a special focus for the Airports Authority, and we are very pleased to announce these new flights.

"Dulles now offers service to 32 foreign destinations. Over the past ten years the number of international flights at the airport has more than doubled. This is extremely important to our region's economy, tourism, and our place in the world as the gateway to the Nation's Capital."

This year, Washington Dulles International Airport retained its status as the fourth busiest U.S. international gateway to Europe, just behind the two New York Airports and Chicago's O'Hare Airport. This significant accomplishment among all the airports in America takes on more importance in light of the impacts on the nation's airlines following September 11th. In the South American market, Dulles ranks 8th as an international gateway among U.S. airport. Both domestic and international carriers have returned service to Dulles Airport and added new routes both in the U.S. and internationally.

JetBlue, a new entrant in the low fare airline business, came to Dulles in November with service to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. and in May expanded service to Oakland and Long Beach, CA.

Lufthansa added a new destination, Dusseldorf, Germany to the Dulles roster in February. Both British Airlines and United Airlines have added more convenient daytime flights to London's Heathrow Airport.

Now, Dulles will have significant service to Latin America with flights to six cities, three of them the largest cities in South America: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Mexico City, Mexico; San Jose, Costa Rica; San Salvador, El Salvador and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The Airports Authority has worked with United Airlines to bring this additional Latin American service to the Washington region because of its importance to business and tourism but also because of the direct benefit it will provide to the significant Latin American population in the region. The 2000 Census shows that the Latin American population in the Washington-Baltimore combined standard metropolitan statistical area has increased 88%, to over a half a million residents, since 1990.

Many businesses and government agencies are expected to benefit from this new service, including the Organization of the American States, International Monetary Fund, Peace Corps, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank.

Dulles' geographic location in the mid-Atlantic region and easy connections to other U.S. and international cities has made the Airport an attractive market for airlines. This advantage contributes to the position of Dulles International Airport as global gateway.

The Airports Authority's ongoing construction program at Dulles is geared to continue to bring the needed facilities to the airport to maintain its reputation as an efficient hub and international gateway.