Fifty years ago (March 8, 1974), began service, offering only one runway and one main terminal, which to this day is still Terminal 1. After opening, the airport was renamed to Charles de Gaulle after the former President who died in 1970). In its first year of operation, the airport handled 2.5 million passengers […]
FAA Revised Separation Standard to Protect Small Aircraft
On March 1, FAA implemented a to protect small aircraft from wake turbulence, rotating air currents trailed by large aircraft. The danger from these wake vortices had grown with the introduction of “jumbo” jetliners. The new standard required separation between a “heavy” aircraft (over 300,000 pounds) and an aircraft operating behind it to be five miles, instead […]
Opening of Dulles International Airport
On November 17, 1962 ceremonies marked the o. The first airlines to fly into Dulles were Braniff, Delta, Eastern, Northwest, and TWA. Dulles went from serving over 54,800 travelers in its first year to over 23 million per year today. Another change was its original identifier. Due to passenger confusion between Dulles and the Dallas […]