When I first went to DC in 1993, I flew into Dulles International Airport and was quite taken aback by the way in which we left the aircraft to head to immigration. Instead of having jet bridges, you boarded these bus-like vehicles that rose up to the level of the plane, then descended before driving us across the ramp and docked to a building where we disembarked. I had never seen anything like this before and thought it very odd.
Jump forward to 2026 and they are still there. Dulles has gone through all sorts of extensions and development. However, these people movers are still part of operations although they aren’t anything like as ubiquitous as they used to be. There seem to be two types. One has the ability to raise and lower as indicated by the fairing on the roof covering part of the mechanism. They also seem to be labelled to reflect different states. Then there is a simpler version that just has a letter and seems to run between places that I couldn’t identify. I don’t know how long they have left but it was curious to seem them still at work after all these years.
