United Airlines
carried approximately 16.6 million passengers to, from, and via its Washington Dulles hub in the 12 months to June 2024. That finding was based the US Department of Transportation T-100 data, which showed that the carrier accounted for about 68% of traffic. It would, of course, be higher if other Star Alliance members were included. On a typical day, more than 45,000 passengers flew United and its regional unit, United Express.
Network changes summary: 2024/2025
In 2024/2025, the following United and United Express-operated destinations are new or returning from Dulles. Five began or returned on June 27, 2024, helping Dulles to develop further as a critical connecting hub in the Star Alliance member’s network.
- Anchorage (May 2024; brand-new)
- Beijing Capital (March 2025; last served in 2022)
- Greensboro (October 2024; last served in 2022)
- Greenville-Spartanburg (September 2024; last served in 2022)
- Harrisburg (June 2024; last served in 2022)
- Mobile (June 2024; brand-new)
- Palm Springs (December 2024; brand-new)
- Philadelphia (June 2024; last served in 2022)
- State College (June 2024; last served in 2022)
- Vancouver (May 2024; last served in 2019)
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (June 2024; last served in 2022)
Photo: Austin Deppe | Shutterstock
Of course, it is not all positive. Destinations no longer served include Amman (temporarily suspended due to the war but all flights were later removed; it is unclear if or when they will return) and Sarasota (which ended in May 2024). Additionally, Berlin and Tel Aviv ended in October 2023, although Tel Aviv, like Amman, is suspended.
Image: OAG
United’s Dulles passengers
Relating the 16.6 million passengers to booking data shows more detail about where they went. The figures are as accurate as possible for anyone outside the airline and airport. While more than one in two passengers were local, confirming Dulles’ role as an important gateway for the wider DC area, I particularly like the 40% who connected there.
- Approximately nine million passengers (54%) were point-to-point; they only flew to/from Dulles. Los Angeles was the most popular airport pair, closely followed by San Francisco
- An estimated 6.6 million passengers transferred to another flight at Dulles (40%); see below
- About 900,000 people originated/ended at Dulles but transferred to another flight in a different United hub (6%)
- Around 100,000 passengers ‘bridged’ Dulles and another US hub (1%); Lagos-Dulles-Denver-Ontario (California) was number one
Photo: Cape Town Airport
The top 15 transit markets
About 3.1 million of the 6.6 million connecting passengers were purely domestic (47%). Europe accounted for about 1.8 million (27%), with Germany, the UK, and Spain especially important.
The most popular airport-level origin and destination was the Navy link between Norfolk and San Diego. Flying via Dulles only adds about 3% more distance than a non-stop service with Breeze Airways, which has served it since May 2024 with four weekly flights. It replaced Southwest (July 2019-November 2021).
- Norfolk (via Dulles) to San Diego
- São Paulo-Orlando (despite the backtracking)
- Norfolk-Seattle
- Boston-San Diego
- Hartford-San Diego
- Hartford-Houston Intercontinental
- Lagos-Houston Intercontinental (an energy-based market)
- Hartford-Los Angeles
- Hartford-Cleveland
- Hartford-San Francisco
- Raleigh Durham-San Diego
- Dublin-Orlando
- Newark-San Diego
- Norfolk-Los Angeles
- Dublin-Las Vegas (Aer Lingus will begin this route in October)