Tag Archives: KIAD

The Iconic Main Terminal Building at IAD

First thing is to apologise for an issue with an image in here. How about that for a compelling way to start a post. However, it was impossible to avoid reflections in some of the shots I took here and, unfortunately, the reflection removal tool in Lightroom continues to underperform in my experience. I do think they did something to make it worse because my initial experience was good. Anyway, for some of these I was shooting through two panes of glass that had a few metres between them, which meant I couldn’t avoid reflections.

Our trip to the US for a family event took us through Dulles airport. The iconic terminal at Dulles now sits at the heart of a bunch of terminal buildings which are far less interesting architecturally. However, the swooping shape is still in use and that is where we checked in. Inside the roofline is equally impressive. When at our departure gate, we had a good view back across and this is where the reflections have been unavoidable. I first saw this airport in 1993, and it still catches my eye when I see it now.

The Dulles People Movers Are Still Around!

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.

Lufthansa Anniversary A380

The conditions for these shots were not ideal, but sometimes you just have to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself. I don’t now live somewhere where I get to see the Lufthansa long haul fleets so the special liveries that they have been applying for their 100th anniversary are not something I have seen until we were getting ready to depart Dulles. As we were on the gate in our seats, the Lufthansa A380 taxied in. I was only able to get an oblique shot through the window of our 777. We then taxied past it on our way out when it was on the gate at which point things were very dark. At least I have got one of them now.