Washington Dulles International Airport now ranks fourth in the nation for transatlantic air service, according to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), for the upcoming summer season.

This significant designation reinforces Dulles’ place among the top airports in the country providing international air service across the Atlantic Ocean and underscores its role as a major gateway to the U.S. from Europe. This is the first time that Dulles has reached the rank of fourth largest transatlantic gateway.

Said James A. Wilding, President/CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority which operates Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airports, “The international service Dulles Airport provides to the Washington region results in tangible benefits to our economic prosperity, trade and tourism, business development, and social environment. To move ahead of such established U.S. airports as Atlanta and Los Angeles is testament to the vitality of our region and the need for our $3.4 billion construction program. Dulles belongs in the ranks of major international airports in the U.S.”

In the year 2000, Dulles Airport served over 20.1 million passengers. Of that number, more than 4.2 million were international passengers, a 14% increase from 1999. The average increase in international passengers at North American airports that year was 9.1%.

Dulles service to transatlantic destinations has increased over last summer resulting in eighteen additional departures a week with 3,176 more seats. Overall, Dulles offers 187 weekly transatlantic departures and more than 51,000 seats providing nonstop service across the Atlantic Ocean.

New destinations added for this spring include: Copenhagen, Denmark; Manchester, England; and Berlin, Germany.

Other major transatlantic destinations with direct service from Dulles include: Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Frankfurt and Munich, Germany; Madrid, Spain; Milan, Italy; London, England; Moscow, Russia; Paris, France; Dammam, Jeddah, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Delhi, India; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Brussels, Belgium; Zurich, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria.

Transatlantic Nonstop Service From Top Ten U.S. Gateways
Summary of Weekly Nonstop Departures and Seats
 
2001
  
Seat
   Summer 2000 Summer 2001 Percent Change
Rank
 Gateway
Code
Dept's
Seats
Dept's
Seats
Dept's
Seats
 
1
  New York J F Kennedy  JFK  676  186,513  643  183,450  -4.9%  -1.6%
2
  Chicago O'Hare  ORD  296  75,790  322  83,827  8.8%  10.6%
3
  New York Newark  EWR    317  87,370  307  76,604  -3.2%  -12.3%
4
  Washington Dulles  IAD  169  48,468  187  51,644  10.7%  6.6%
5
  Los Angeles  LAX  153  48,935  152  47,343  -0.7%  -3.3%
6
  Atlanta  ATL  178  46,209  161  43,178  -9.6%  -6.6%
7
  Boston  BOS  144  38,611  147  39,197  2.1%  1.5%
8
  San Francisco  SFO  95  32,041  105  34,813  10.5%  8.7%
9
  Miami  MIA  117  37,884  111  33,633  -5.1%  -11.2%
10
  Detroit  DTW  106  32,276  85  25,703  -19.8%  -20.4%
 
Note: Transatlantic service includes nonstop service from the U.S. to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Source: Official Airline Guide Tapes.