I think they don't want to upset the Somali citizenry and start a tribal war.

https://www.newsmax.com/us/don...dkt_nbr=010502sfz7mv

Trump Planning $20 Billion Dulles Airport Overhaul

President Donald Trump is expected to announce a more than $20 billion plan Wednesday to overhaul the Dulles International Airport, located just outside Washington, D.C., replacing its long-criticized mobile lounges with expanded rail service and constructing five new terminals as part of a yearslong modernization effort.

According to sources familiar with the plans, the project would expand the facility's underground Aerotrain system to serve all terminals, eliminating the use of the airport's mobile lounges, commonly known as "people movers," reports The Washington Post.

The proposed design features large glass windows and gold accents throughout the airport, including gold-mirrored ceilings.

The project is expected to cost more than $20 billion and take several years to complete.

Trump is scheduled to unveil the proposal during a 3 p.m. ET Oval Office event alongside Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, reports the Post.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO Jack Potter, and MWAA board member Trent Morse are also expected to attend.

United Airlines, which operates a major hub at Dulles, has agreed to help finance the effort.

Most of the funding would come through bonds issued by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates Dulles and nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The planned renovation is part of Trump's broader effort to remake the nation's capital and surrounding region, which has also included proposals for a new White House ballroom and a large triumphal arch.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Dulles despite praising the original terminal designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen.

"It should be a great airport, and it's not a good airport at all. It's a terrible airport," Trump said in December. "We're going to make that into something really spectacular. We have an amazing plan for it."

The airport's mobile lounges have long been a source of frustration for travelers. Designed as part of Saarinen's original 1958 vision, the vehicles transport passengers between the main terminal and concourses.

Although the Aerotrain opened in 2010, many passengers still rely on the mobile lounges to reach certain gates.

Criticism intensified after one of the vehicles crashed into a concourse docking area in November, sending at least 18 people to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Following the incident, Morse called the mobile lounges slow, outdated, and dangerous and said they should be replaced.

Dulles, located about 25 miles west of downtown D.C. in northern Virginia, serves as one of the nation's busiest international gateways and is United's primary hub in the Washington region.

The mobile lounges weren't so bad when they took you directly to the plane, but interposing the concourses diminished the experience, and delayed the check-in/boarding process significantly. The open plan isn't conducive to TSA checks either. And, as with all major airports it seems, the place was not designed for the level of traffic it now sees.

Over the decades, it has become somewhat dingy and dated, overdue for a refresh, but I am a little skeptical about designers getting it right, especially where traffic and parking are concerned. It seems like like every designer these days hates cars, and incorporates maximum inconvenience for drivers into their plans.

Airports either facilitate efficient human movement or efficient aircraft movement. Air traffic volume has increased so much that prioritizing aircraft movement is necessary to prevent gridlock on the taxiways.

Older airports such as Dulles were designed when traffic was low, and thus the human movements were prioritized.

Expect the passenger experience to feel worse after the redesign, but keep in mind you are trading off for more flights operating with much less delay. Like DEN and SLC, you walk forever to get to the gate, sometimes more than a mile from the front door of the airport. But your aircraft move without much delay.

Wonder if you will still be able to sneak a Glock 7 into the concourse....

That thing costs more than you make in a month!