Is there an observation lounge at IAD?
 

Is there an observation lounge at IAD? I may go there this weekend, and if I do I may arrive a little early to check out some of the airplanes coming in/out.

I looked online and didn't see anything...

Thanks!

Wirelessly posted (Palm680/RC1 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-D053; Blazer/4.5) 16;320x320)

You can always ride the shuttles back and forth.

There used to be a formal observation deck, but they closed that for security reasons. I used to planespot from a parking lot near 19R which allowed for great heavy touchdowns...but they started patrolling it recently and kicked me out. For security reasons.

I haven't heard of a good location to planespot from within a terminal, but like Fighting said, you can always take the shuttles back and forth if you're not shooting.

My observation is that this thread will be moved to the Washington D.C. forum since it is not UA-specific.

iluv2fly
Moderator, UA

Now... THAT is just wrong.... :)

I almost choked on my laugh....

The outside observation deck at the base of the control tower is indeed closed. I don't know if any of the airline lounges might provide good viewing opportunities, but perhaps folks in the Washington DC forum would know. Please follow the thread there.

l'etoile
UA moderator

Thanks mod for the appropriate move. Figured the UAL folks would know, but sure sounds like the DC folks definitely have some good feedback.

The observation tower at Udvar-Hazy is a great location to watch the heavy international flights arriving mid-afternoon - if they are landing from the south.

The bridge between concourses A & B is quite high up (higher than any other passenger-accessible location) and gives a pretty decent view of some ramp-area movements. I recall there used to be some seating there, but not anymore. Finally, the top level of Daily Garage 2 has some pretty good view around the airport.