Reagan National, Dulles airports see influx of passengers for Memorial Day Weekend travel

Daniel Hamburg
·2 min read

ARLINGTON COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — Thousands of travelers are getting ready for the unofficial start to summer at D.C. area airports.

It was especially busy all afternoon on Thursday at Reagan National Airport but security checkpoints moved quickly.

Traffic outside the terminal, however, was a different story.

“There was an accident too. It was right outside. So it was really tough getting to get dropped off here at the airport,” said Melissa Halicy.

Memorial Day festivities to close roads throughout the District

Inside, it was smooth sailing for most people.

“We don’t have any suitcase so hopefully it will make it easy,” said Reza Movahed.

At Reagan National, the TSA expects to screen about 8,000 more travelers per day this Memorial Day weekend than during an average weekend. That’s a 10% increase from 2023.

Dulles is expected to see 39,000 passengers on Thursday and Friday, which is an increase of 12% from 2023.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) expects this to be the busiest summer they’ve had at both Reagan National and Dulles, predicting more than two million travelers every month at each airport.

“We are noticing things are much busier here and the outlook is for us to beat last year’s numbers, which was already a record number,” said Rob Yingling, MWAA spokesperson.

MDOT urges travel safety this Memorial Day weekend 

“Really, nothing going on for Memorial Day Weekend here per se, but back home we’re going camping for a few days,” said Dustin Holfinger from Ohio.

Many locals are getting out of town for a change.

“We’re normally in sports, so normally we do not travel Memorial Day weekend. So it’s actually been fun to get away this weekend,” Halicy said.

The TSA is asking people to get to the airport two hours in advance and know ahead of time what you can and can’t pack in your carry-on luggage.

You can also go to flyreagan.com to view real-time security wait times.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.