In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the gift of trees from Tokyo to Washington D.C, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is joining the National Cherry Blossom Festival celebration from March 20 to April 27.  Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airports will honor this special occasion with lights, banners and messages during the month of March.

As part of the City in Bloom campaign, “cherry blossom pink” will be replicated in special lighting effects at the Airports.  Dulles International, which will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in November, will light up the Main Terminal façade with pink lights, with accompanying pink lighting inside at the ticket counter level.  All Nippon Airlines (ANA), which operates daily service to and from Tokyo, Japan will have their gate area decked out with blossoms and other decorations to greet arriving and departing international customers. Reagan National Airport parking garages will have pink lights shining through the glass block walls in the stairwells and display pole banners in front of all the Terminals. 

In addition to the official 100th anniversary celebrations, Narita International Airport Corporation, the main international airport serving the Tokyo region in Japan, has given 100 cherry blossom trees to Reagan National Airport to commemorate the occasion. Jack Potter, President and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Harubumi (Harry) Kobori, Senior Executive Vice President of the Narita International Airport Corporation will plant the first tree on March 22.  “We are most appreciative of this gracious and generous gift and look forward to strong cooperative ties between our airports,” Mr. Potter said in thanking Mr. Kobori.

The Airports Authority is proud to celebrate this centennial event and we hope customers will enjoy the “cherry blossom pink” décor at our airports during the next few weeks. 

###