2 Northern Virginia Airports Get $68 Million In Federal Grants For Upgrades

DULLES, VA – Two Northern Virginia airports will be receiving a combined $73 million in federal funding for upgrades and expansions, Virginia’s senators announced Monday.

Dulles International Airport will get $41.8 million and Manassas Regional Airport will see $26 million, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced in a statement.

The funding comes via the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Terminals Program, which provides grants for airport upgrades that enhance transit connections. The program was created through the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act passed and signed into law in 2021.

Dulles’ grant will help fund the construction of its new 14-gate terminal building, including direct train connections and an indirect Metrorail connection. That construction is already underway, with the gates slated for United Airlines, and is still on track to officially open this fall, according to a report by FFX Now.

The new terminal is one part of a larger renovation project approved by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in July 2025. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters earlier in May, "We’re going to rebuild Dulles," to the tune of $22 billion, though it’s not clear where that funding will come from.

In addition to the new terminal, Dulles’ renovation proposals include expanding Terminal A and extending the building it’s housed in, adding Aerotrain terminal connections, building new gates in Terminal B and D and demolishing a decades-old “temporary” terminal complex, according to a report in Construction Review.

The grant for Manassas Regional Airport will help fund the relocation and construction of a new air traffic control tower. “This is vital for Manassas, which is the busiest general aviation airport in Virginia and the reliever airport for Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)"Congressman Suhas Subramanyam said of the funding in a statement. "Investing in Manassas Regional Airport will not only make our skies and community safer, but also bring in jobs and help grow our local economy."

Subramanyam, Kaine and Warner had all pushed the Federal Aviation Administration to approve the funding in March.

Manassas Regional Airport will officially be renamed Washington Manassas Airport, a change the FAA approved in May, Potomac Local News reports. The name change is part of the airport’s transition to commercial service, a process that began in 2024. The airport expects to see its first commercial flights in 2027, according to reports from the Prince William Times and others.