Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority ("MWAA" or "Authority") is an independent airport authority, created by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia with the consent of the United States Congress to oversee management, operations, and capital development of Washington, D.C.'s two major airports: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. The Authority, which is an independent public body corporate and politic, leases the airports from the United States Department of Transportation. The U.S. government originally built the airports and continues to own the underlying airport property except for property acquired by MWAA subsequent to the lease. The Authority has its headquarters on the grounds of Reagan National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia.
Though commonly considered one of Washington's three major airports, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is not part of MWAA but is owned by the State of Maryland, operated through the Maryland Aviation Administration, which purchased then "Friendship Airport" from the City of Baltimore in 1972.
MWAA was also a founding member of the Capital-to-Capital Coalition, the group which successfully advocated for the awarding the right to operate a non-stop flight between Beijing, China, and Washington, D.C.
Read more about Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority: History, Governing Body, Dulles Access Highway, Police and Fire
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