18 people sent to the hospital after mobile lounge crashes at Washington D.C.-area airport

A sign of Washington Dulles International Airport station is seen during the opening of new Silver Line Extension at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Nov. 15, 2022.

DULLES, Va. — A vehicle transporting passengers at a Washington, D.C.-area airport hit a dock at the building Monday afternoon, sending 18 people to the hospital, according to officials.

A mobile lounge, which transports passengers between the terminal and aircraft, struck the dock at an angle at about 4:30 p.m. at Washington Dulles International Airport as it was pulling up to the building, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement. The dock is where the vehicle stops to let people into the concourse.

The passengers who were hurt have non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to the hospital by the fire department, according to the authority.

“The airport is open and operating as normal,” according to the authority’s statement.

There are 19 mobile lounges at Dulles and they can carry up to 102 passengers, according to the airport’s website. They are about 54 feet (16.5 metres) long and 16 feet (4.9 metres) wide.