For generations of travelers, arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport has meant boarding one of its most recognizable — and unconventional — transportation options: giant bus-like “people movers” that shuttle passengers between the main terminal and several concourses.
Those signature vehicles may soon disappear, a prospect that has won strong support from United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby.
“I hate them. Terrible,” Kirby said of the mobile lounges during an interview this week with Washington Post Live.
The mobile lounges have been synonymous with Dulles since the Virginia airport opened in 1962. They were originally intended to move passengers efficiently across the vast airport grounds, sparing them lengthy walks between the terminal and their aircraft.
More than 60 years later, however, the system is widely seen as a relic of another era. Dulles is preparing to phase out the mobile lounges in favor of a larger rail network, new tunnels, moving walkways and expanded pedestrian routes.
The upgrades are part of an ambitious redevelopment plan for the airport, with nearly $20 billion in construction anticipated over the next 15 years.
Although Kirby has made clear he will not mourn the people movers, he supports the broader modernization effort. He said he believes the completed Dulles overhaul could create the best airport in the United States.
“This is the greatest country on earth, and the airport should help with that,” Kirby said.
For decades, passengers arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport have used the airport’s distinctive bus-like “people movers,” which carry travelers between the main terminal and some concourses.
President Donald Trump unveiled the planned Dulles transformation in July, framing it as part of a broader effort to reshape Washington and modernize major infrastructure across the nation’s capital region.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has approved an additional $15.5 billion for its capital construction program at Dulles, bringing the airport’s forward-looking construction budget to $19.9 billion over 15 years.
The Airports Authority says the program will be primarily financed through bonds and airport-generated revenue rather than designated taxpayer funding.
For travelers, one of the biggest changes will be the eventual retirement of the people movers, which have become one of Dulles’ most distinctive features.
Instead, the airport plans to extend its AeroTrain system, build a central tunnel connecting concourses and add more pedestrian connections and moving walkways.
The modernization will also replace the existing C and D concourses, while expanding and renovating other parts of the airport as passenger numbers continue to grow.
More than five million square feet of new or renovated space is planned, while the airport’s iconic original terminal, designed by famed architect Eero Saarinen, will be preserved.
The project is being carried out in phases, meaning travelers should not expect the people movers to disappear overnight.
Construction of the tunnels that will eventually replace them is expected to begin in early 2029, with that portion of the project scheduled for completion in 2034.
‘I hate them. Terrible,’ United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby certainly said of the mobile lounges
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The Virginia airport is set to receive $20 billion in construction over the next 15 years
The wider transformation will take considerably longer, with some major concourse construction not expected to begin until the late 2030s.
The scale of the project is significant because Dulles is already a major international gateway, serving roughly 29 million passengers over the past year, according to the Airports Authority.
Trump has taken a particularly close interest in the redesign, personally reviewing more than 30 proposals before the July announcement.
Kirby was present at the White House event and acknowledged the president’s involvement when asked about the project.
‘The president was interested in it,’ Kirby said, noting that although Dulles is not really a federal government operation, Trump had taken a strong interest in its future.
Travelers have plenty of opinions about the people movers, too, with reactions ranging from relief at their planned retirement to passengers arguing that the shuttles can actually be quicker than the train for certain journeys.
One Reddit commenter argued that the people movers are still faster for reaching the C and D gates than taking the AeroTrain, while another said the airport’s current setup was the result of earlier planning decisions involving the location of the train station.
Others defended the mobile lounges, with one traveler calling them ‘fine’ and saying they can be faster than the trains when traveling to certain gates.
But international travelers have complained about crowded queues for the vehicles, while another Reddit user described walking between concourses as a lengthy alternative that left them exhausted and covered in sweat.
The planned makeover was unveiled by President Donald Trump in July as part of his wider push to remake Washington and modernize major infrastructure in the nation’s capital region
The frustration is not entirely new: the mobile lounges have long been criticized for being cramped and awkward, and one was involved in a crash at a concourse dock last year that sent at least 18 people to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Airports Authority.
For United, which has a major presence at Dulles, the transformation could have an especially noticeable impact, with the airline also set to receive additional lounge space, including plans for a large United Polaris Lounge.
The airline has already found itself in the middle of another Trump-related airport controversy this year after an internal memo appeared to suggest passengers unhappy with the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport could switch to nearby airports for no additional fare.
United later said the guidance was inaccurate, with a spokesperson telling the Daily Mail that the message was ‘poorly worded and not accurate.’
That episode involved a completely different airport and policy, but it adds to an unusual year for United as the airline navigates a series of changes involving airports and the Trump administration.
At Dulles, however, Kirby’s message is much simpler: he may hate the people movers, but he believes the airport that replaces them could finally give Washington the world-class gateway he thinks the capital deserves.