Dulles Airport (IAD) - Washington DC

On the list of the many things I dislike, I keep a special spot for Dulles Airport (Washington D.C.) At least it gets on the list – there are a few airports that no sane wheelchair user should consider, even for transfers, and they don’t get on my list because they are below wasting the emotional energy on them. (For the record: JFK, New York; CDG, Paris; PHL, Philadelphia – until they sort out the baggage handling and stop losing wheelchairs) To be fair to Dulles (IAD on the airport code list) it makes an effort to be accessible. The problem is that it was designed in the 60s and they had no idea of how it would be used in the 21^stcentury. Principle problems are:

• No mass transit public transport access. So you have to take a taxi or your car (the buses are not accessible)

• If you can afford to leave your car in the Daily (as opposed to the Economy) parking lot you have a huge walk to the terminal

• Once you get to the terminal you have to wheel up a tremendously long slope. There is no elevator.

• The TSA (security) staff is by far the worst that I deal with on the many airports I travel through. Actually, that’s a little unfair. It’s a lottery. Some days they are pleasant, efficient, and effective. Other days it’s the complete opposite. No other airport that I know of has the same bi-polar personality.

• The stupid little “moving lounges” that you have to take to get to the gates.

Okay, ranting aside, and to be fair the airport is pretty accessible. There are accessible buses running from the car parks to the terminal. If you park in the handicapped spots in Daily Car park 1, you can take an elevator to an underground walkway to the terminal. It is, as noted earlier, a hefty walk but there are moving travelators to help you along. Access to the terminal is up a long slope. There are elevators to every floor, and all public toilets have accessible cubicles. The public restrooms in the ticketing/boarding concourse are small and difficult to find. Much better are the ones in the arrival hall located near each entrance. In addition, in the arrivals hall, there are "family restrooms" which are large and accessible. These are located between the entrance to the ladies and gents restrooms. The elevators are sometimes tucked away in odd places, but they are there. From the arrivals they are usually directly opposite the entrance as you wheel yourself up that long ramp. You have to negotiate around the escalators to the departures level to see them. The moving lounges are accessible, and each has two spots specifically dedicated for wheelchairs.

I’m in Dulles as I write this – having kissed goodbye to my beloved family earlier to day and left my wife at the mercy of our children for four whole days…

I will shortly board a United flight to Las Vegas. United, in general, has been pretty good for flying, with just the occasional mess. But nothing terrible (not like US Airways who forgot to load my wheelchair in PHL, or Sabena – now defunct – who crushed it in the baggage gate). We’ll see how things go…

The saving grace of Dulles? Vino Volo.