Though technically located on the border of Loudoun and Fairfax Counties in Virginia, Washington Dulles International Airport is one of Washington D.C.’s primary points of entry. Not just the busiest airport in the United States’ capital, Dulles is the busiest airport in the entire Mid-Atlantic, outside New York.

Passenger flights from Dulles are handled by over 40 airlines spread across four concourses, two of which are used exclusively by United Airlines. Domestically, popular routes include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Atlanta and Orlando. The busiest international routes go to London, Frankfurt, Paris, Dubai and Tokyo.

Over 40 kilometres west of the District of Columbia’s city centre, Dulles Airport is not well-known for being easily accessible with no Washington Metro stop directly reaching the terminal. From Wiehle-Reston East passengers have to take a bus the rest of the way to Dulles Airport.

Named for Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, Dulles Airport was developed in the 1950s and famously designed by Eero Saarinen. Saarinen was a Finnish-American architect lauded for his futuristic style. His design for the main terminal at Dulles is airy and graceful, reminiscent of flight itself.