The hidden cost of Trump's Dulles overhaul
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The financing is fuzzy. Photo: Ken Cedeno / AFP via Getty Images
One of the biggest unanswered questions about President Trump's $22.5 billion remake of Dulles Airport is how it'll be financed.
Why it matters: Industry experts say airlines could pass at least some of the project's costs on to travelers.
One figure already stands out: the airport's projected cost per enplanement — the average cost airlines pay the airport for each departing passenger.
- Currently, Dulles' is around $10. But according to the renovation plan, acquired by D.C. travel writer Edward Russell, that figure jumps to $90.64 by project completion in 2035.
- "That would be astronomical. United complains about Newark, which is $27," says industry analyst Robert Mann. "It doesn't make any sense to me."
- Mann says airlines typically pass higher airport costs on to passengers, while high fees can steer budget carriers away.
United Airlines — Dulles' largest carrier and partner on the project — didn't comment.
- But Bloomberg writer Kriston Capps noted that United appears to be betting that the project stays on budget, passengers accept "higher prices," and increased traffic will eventually lower average costs.
- "If anything goes wrong," Capps wrote on X, "the consequences of cost overruns for DMV customers will be enormous."
State of play: Like other major U.S. airport projects, the main funding source will be municipal bonds issued by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, as United confirmed last week.
Yes, but: "Right now, they have been so vague about how they intend to finance this," Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group tells Axios. It's still unclear how much debt United, the other airlines or MWAA will ultimately shoulder.
Follow the money: MWAA doesn't rely on taxpayer money, and Harteveldt doesn't expect public dollars to pay for the terminals.
- But Mann notes that some public-private airport projects — like in New York and New Jersey — have ultimately used taxpayer funding.
Between the lines: Airlines could lead the charge to scale back the project's ambitions if costs climb.
- Every U.S. airport chief wants to replicate Singapore's extravagant airport, Harteveldt says. "And then they look at the bill."
- That could mean delaying some terminal buildouts or nixing flourishes like fountains or marble.
- "We can do without the angels singing from heaven," Harteveldt says. "That's happening right now in Chicago" for O'Hare's expansion.
What's ahead: An MWAA spokesperson says "more details will be developed and shared as the project moves forward," declining to answer further questions.