Lawsuit: MWAA Culture of Discrimination, Retaliation, Nepotism

A former police officer for airports authority claims she was wrongfully dismissed while others face little or not penalties for more egregious violations.

A former Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police officer filed suit in federal court earlier this year against the agency, alleging discrimination, retaliation and nepotism, and asserting that her 2012 dismissal has stymied her career.  Attorneys for Isabel Smeal said that Smeal’s case demonstrates a sour atmosphere at MWAA that protects insiders and punishes those who question authority or the lack thereof. “It is our belief that the culture of being opaque and not listening to employees is agency-wide and has leaked into the police department as well,” said Michael L. Vogelsang Jr., one of Smeal’s attorneys. MWAA has come under investigation for some of the practices of its administration and board, and in response has made …

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Disaster at Dulles? No, Just a Drill

Dulles International Airport will simulate a jetliner accident - complete with victims and fire - on Saturday.

If you see smoke and helicopters in the direction of Dulles International Airport on Saturday, don't be alarmed. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is conducting an emergency preparedness exercise from 8:30 a.m. to about noon. The drill will include a simulated aircraft accident that will test the Airport’s emergency plan and provide hands-on training to airport and mutual aid emergency response personnel, an airport spokesman said. The drill will take place on a closed runway and will not affect normal airport operations. But it will include the following elements to simulate the realism of an actual emergency: *  A widebody United Airlines jet aircraft on the runway * A trainer aircraft that will be lit on fire, producing …

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Five Bid for Silver Line Phase 2 Contract

Contractors estimate costs of $1.1 to more than $1.3 billion.

Five contractors - including Reston-based Bechtel - have entered bids to construct Phase 2 of Metro's Silver Line, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced Friday.  The bids ranged from $1.1 to $1.3 billion. Phase 2 is the 11.4-mile segment of the Silver Line that will run from Reston's Wiehle Avenue to Dulles International Airport and into Ashburn, Phase 1 of the Silver Line, from Tysons Corner  to Wiehle Avenue, is nearly completed and scheduled to open in December. MWAA said Friday the award of the Phase 2 contract will occur after a review to validate that each proposal properly responds to the solicitation.  “Today is a significant step toward the selection of the design-build contractor for Phase 2,” Pat Nowakowski, …

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MWAA: Rail Yard Won’t Delay Silver Line

The contractors plans to deliver project on time, but contingencies are in place to keep rail on track.

After reports that delays on a rail yard project at West Falls Church could delay the start date for the Metro’s Silver Line, a representative for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority denies the claim. MWAA is constructing the 23-mile Silver Line extension. Marcia McAllister, spokeswoman for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, an arm of MWAA, acknowledged the contractor’s schedule had slipped on the Falls Church rail yard. The rail yard is needed to help accommodate the additional trains operating along the Silver Line, which will run from East Falls Church to Reston in its first phase and beyond to Ashburn when complete. McAllister said the part of the rail yard project experiencing delays was a service and inspection …

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American Airlines Flight Declares Emergency, Diverts to Dulles Wednesday Afternoon

Flight that took off from Reagan National diverted to Dulles after reportedly having a possible pressurization issue, according to WUSA.

An American Airlines flight heading from Washington D.C. to Dallas made an emergency landing at Dulles Airport Wednesday afternoon due to a pressurization issue, after taking off from Reagan National Airport according to a WUSA report that quotes Rob Yingling of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The American Airline pilots may have had a pressurization issue on American Airlines Flight #1491. The pilots apparently landed the plane on Runway 1C at Dulles.  The plane circled Dulles before landing at approximately 2:15 p.m. Emergency vehicles were standing by. A new flight report from American shows it will take off from Dulles at 3:45 p.m. and land at Dallas at 6:20 p.m. The original landing time was 3:13 p.m. Central Time.

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Former County Exec Griffin Joins MWAA Board

Retired Fairfax County Executive appointed by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Anthony H. Griffin, who retired in April after 13 years as the Fairfax County Executive, has been appointed to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors. Griffin, who was appointed to the 17-member board by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, is currently a faculty member at George Mason University’s Department of Public and International Affairs and is the at-large Board Member of the Fairfax County Water Authority. He replaces board member Michael O'Reilly, whose term ended in November. MWAA, which manages and operates Ronald Reagan National and Dulles International airports, also oversees the Dulles Airport Access Road, the Dulles Toll Road and construction of the Silver Line project, a 23-mile extension of Metro into …

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Bob Bruhns

11:20 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012

I might begin to have faith in MWAA and Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, if they would IMMEDIATELY investigate the apparent double price of the Dulles Rail project. They can easily call out the cost estimators for this project and get a full accounting of the sky-high estimates. But they do not do this. That is why I consider this whole bunch, and the surrounding 'leaders' who also do not demand …   more ›

Silver Line May Cost More Than Expected

Turnaround on Maryland end could cost Metro an additional $4.5 million year.

Holmes Norton Proposes MWAA Reform Bill

Airports Authority would have to follow the same rules for contracting used by most executive branch federal agencies.

MWAA OKs More Toll Hikes for 2013, '14

Revenue necessary if Silver Line Phase 2 is going to be built, Airports Authority says.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board voted Wednesday to raise fees on the Dulles Toll Road through 2014, but held off on raising rates for 2015. As expected, starting Jan. 1, 2013, drivers will pay 25 cents more at the main toll plaza and at on/off ramps for a total of $2.75. In 2014, the rates will rise to $3.50. But the board put off approving an increase for 2015, in hopes of securing alternative sources of funding.  In deciding not to set 2015 toll rates, the board noted that the potential for low cost financing afforded by a TIFIA loan, combined with the potential for additional financial assistance from the Commonwealth and possibly other sources, along with the potential for a competitively priced Phase 2 Silver Line…

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