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BWI main Terminal and Concourses

Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) is not only the airport of reference for the state of Maryland, but it is also the main one of the three international airports that serve the Washington DC area.

It operates 85 direct destinations distributed in 14 countries through 19 airlines, with Southwest Airlines being the one with the largest number of operations and destinations. Among the destinations with the most frequent flights are Atlanta, Orlando, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Charlotte, Detroit and Dallas, among others, totaling 69 domestic destinations. Among international destinations, the most frequent are Cancun, San Juan de Puerto Rico, Montego Bay, Punta Cana, Reykjavik, Toronto and London.

The Airport, whose official name is Thurgood Marshall, has a passenger terminal that is subdivided into five concourses: A, B, C, D and E and two levels (upper and lower). These lobbies form a kind of horseshoe, in the center of which is a large hourly parking garage platform and transportation services.

Main Terminal BWI airport

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Upper Level

The upper level of the main terminal building houses the ticketing and check-in counters, restaurants and cafes, and an observation gallery. Passengers can reach the upper level directly from the daily parking garage by crossing the overhead bridges or from the lower level curb using the elevator or escalator. Access to the 4 security checkpoints is from the upper level with 3 checkpoints available for Rooms A, B and C and 1 for Rooms D. Please note that in the post-security zone Rooms D and E are not connected to halls A, B and C.

Lower Level

The Arrivals for all concourses are located on the lower level, with international arrivals located near concourse E.

Some cafes and shops are located on this level, along with the USO Lounge (located in the baggage claim area of ​​concourse E). The lower level of the terminal is accessible from the hourly parking lot via an underground tunnel, and ground transportation service is located outside the terminal buildings in designated areas.

Concourses

As mentioned above, BWI airport is made up of 5 concourses with boarding gates ordered from A to E.

Concourse A

It is fully operated by Southwest Airlines, through 11 gates (A1-A11). Lobby A has the most extensive food and beverage offerings of all the lobbies. It is directly connected to concourse B. Indeed, from the lower level of the Lounge, it is possible to access all gates A and B.

Concourse B

It is fully operated by Southwest Airlines, through 14 gates (B2-B15). Lobby B also has a good range of restaurants, although not so many shops, with its neighbor Room A having more variety. With the latter, it is directly connected from the lower level of the Room and thus making it possible to access all the entrance doors. shipment A and B.

Concourse C

It has doors from C1 to C14, which are located on the upper level. The airlines that operate in this concourse are American, Southwest and Contour Airlines. Being located on the same side of the terminal building, both this concourse and Concourses A and B can be accessed from any of the 3 security checkpoints. It has less gastronomic variety than A and B

Concourse D

It houses 22 boarding gates: D1-D5, D7, D8, D10-D16, D20-D26 and D29. Airlines operating in this concourse are Alaska, Allegiant Air, Air Canada, Avelo, Boutique Air, Delta, JetBlue, Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country, and United Airlines. It is the room with the largest number of both shops and restaurants and has a Vip room (Club BWI) near gate D10.

Concourse E - International Terminal

It has 5 gates: E1, E3, E4, E6 and E8, and is located on the upper level. It is known as the International Terminal, where all international arrivals are handled, but officially its name is Governor William Donald Schaefer International Terminal. The airlines that operate in the terminal are British Airways, Condor, Copa Airlines, Icelandair, Play and Southwest Airlines. It barely has a press stand and a restaurant, since it is directly connected to Concourse D, where passengers will find a large variety of shops and food. British Airways has a VIP lounge in Concourse E (Chesapeake Club Lounge). And on the lower level of Arrivals, near baggage claim carousel 14, there is a USO room (exclusively for military personnel).

Connection between Terminals

The connection between the lobbies is pedestrian. Passengers must walk from the main terminal to its concourse, and if connecting between concourses A/B/C and concourses D/E, they must go through security again. BWI promotes its cardio walking trails around the airport (with defibrillators en route) and has two 1 km (0.6 miles) routes: 1 from either end of the main terminal and 1 that runs the entire length of Terminal A to Terminal B.

However, international passengers arriving from Concourse E, need to take a shuttle service to get to the main Terminal. And in turn, the BWI Courtesy Shuttle is a free and high-frequency transportation service to move between different locations around the BWI Airport.

BWI Courtesy Shuttle routes available at BWI Airport:

  • Transportation from/to the Parking: Between the Main Terminal and the Long Stay A, B and the Daily Garage. Frequency: 8-10 minutes. 
  • Amtrak/MARC Transportation: Between the Main Terminal and the Amtrak/MARC Station. Frequency: 10 minutes.
  •  Transportation to/from the car rental area: to pick up and drop off rental cars. Frequency: 8-10 minutes.