Is the so-called “banjo” terminal at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport set to be replaced by something new?
That prospect generated some excitement in an online forum for aviation enthusiasts, but so far appears to be simply a space-holding notation in a financial-planning document.
That document – a draft issued by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority – suggests making a request of federal funding totaling $637.5 million for replacement of what long had been known as Terminal A, but under recent renaming is now known as Terminal 1.
It gets its nickname of “banjo” from its layout, with a long corridor leading to a circular terminal area. Gates there are used by Air Canada, Frontier and Southwest, and the terminal is connected to the rest of Reagan National via walkways through the original (1941) main terminal, which now is used for exhibits and receptions.
The document, which looks at funding that could be requested through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, caused a brief flurry of excitement on the Airliners.net Website, which caters to aficionados of commercial aviation. But Rob Yingling, a spokesman for the airports authority, told the GazetteLeader it should not be inferred that inclusion on the list means a plan, or a pricetag, for replacement of the banjo terminal actually is in the works.
Most passengers traveling through Reagan National use Terminal 2 (formerly Terminals B/C), which includes three main piers opened in 1997 and a regional-jet concourse that made its debut last year.
