How could they be stranded on the tarmac? First, I would assume the planes could be unloaded and the passengers at least go into the Dulles terminal. Second, there is now subway service to Dulles and a station in the terminal. It ain’t great but you can get downtown by metro in probably 90 minutes. Not saying that what the drivers did was right, under no circumstances; just that those stranded had some alternatives whereby they could have gotten downtown.
Yeah, this makes no sense. So there was no bus. There are lots of alternate ways to get from Dulles to DC
All true. The journalist who wrote the story...got several pieces of the story wrong or was just making up BS.
From the airport to downtown...you can board a regular unscheduled shuttle bus...roughly $10, and be there in 50 minutes. On the times I’ve used it...it was overly crowded.
Or you can ride METRO...takes about 60 to 70 minutes, and it’s about $12.
Maybe they didn’t want to split up their group or something.
Would be interesting to know why they decided not to take other transportation.
Have you ever been to Dulles Airport?
The planes do not taxi up to the terminal. The aircraft stop on the tarmac, far from the terminal. Special "mobile lounges", a very expensive combination of a loading ramp and a bus, drive the passengers to and from the planes. They dock with the planes at one end of the short trip across the tarmac, and with the terminal at the other end.
Sometimes, mobile stairs can be used to off load the passengers who then board a more or less standard bus to get to the terminal.
There is no way to get off an aircraft at Dulles without some kind of bus driver.