18 injured as vintage Dulles airport shuttle crashes into terminal

International

A 1950S-ERA people mover collided with a terminal dock at Dulles Airport Monday, leaving 18 passengers injured and reigniting debate over the aging shuttles that ferry travelers across the tarmac.

The incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. EST (21:30 GMT) when the mobile lounge struck a dock near Concourse D, causing damage to the terminal. Passengers were able to exit via stairs and were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Crystal Nosal, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), said in a BBC report that the lounge struck the dock at an angle while pulling up to the terminal. She emphasized that “the airport remains open and operating normally.”

Officials added that it is currently unclear how many passengers were aboard at the time of the crash.

Mobile lounges have been in use at Dulles since 1959, providing shuttle service between concourses and aircraft.

The airport maintains a fleet of 19 lounges, each capable of carrying up to 102 passengers. Despite their long history, the vehicles have frequently been criticized as outdated and insufficiently modern.

Earlier this week, Trent Morse, a former Trump administration official nominated to the MWAA board, described the vehicles as “a relic of the past” during a Senate confirmation hearing, calling it an embarrassment that international visitors to the U.S. capital are transported in decades-old shuttles.

According to NBC Washington, mobile lounges were involved in 16 accidents between 2007 and 2017, including one fatal incident.

The crash comes amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which has caused flight delays and long lines at airports. The Trump administration recently ordered 40 airports, including Dulles, to reduce air traffic by 10% due to staffing shortages.(MyTVCebu)