What Terminal Is Southwest at DCA? Terminal 1 Gates Through the Construction

I spent twelve years working airline gates, and Reagan National is one of those airports where the sign over the door and the sign in your booking app don’t quite agree. That gap is what sends people to a search bar. So let’s close it fast, no throat-clearing.

Quick answer: Southwest flies from Terminal 1

Southwest Airlines flies out of Terminal 1 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), from Gates A1-2, A4-6, and A8-9 — a nine-gate concourse. That is the whole answer to the question you typed.

Southwest is the big tenant in Terminal 1, but it doesn’t have the building to itself. According to the airport’s own signage guidance, Terminal 1 also handles Air Canada Express and Frontier Airlines. Everyone else at DCA — Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, and United — flies from Terminal 2 across the way. If you want the full concourse picture before you go, DCA’s Terminal 1 page lays out the gates and amenities.

Why you might see ‘Terminal A’ instead of ‘Terminal 1’

Here’s the root of nearly all the confusion, and it’s worth thirty seconds.

On June 5, 2022, DCA changed its signage. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) renamed the old Terminal A to Terminal 1, renamed Terminal B/C to Terminal 2, added a concourse letter in front of every gate number, and renamed the parking garages Parking 1 and Parking 2 to match. Per MWAA, no airlines and no gates physically moved as part of that change — it was purely a relabeling.

Then there’s the kicker. Southwest’s own airport page still lists the airport as “Terminal A · Gates A: 1-2, 4-6, 8-9.” So the airline is telling you “Terminal A” while the terminal building itself has said “Terminal 1” since 2022. Both point to the exact same nine gates. If you booked Southwest, walk toward Terminal 1 signs and ignore the mismatch — you’re in the right place either way.

Terminal 1’s gate layout: the ‘banjo’ concourse

Your gate will be one of nine: A1-2, A4-6, A8-9. Compact, and that’s the point.

Terminal 1 is the oldest working part of an 84-year-old airport. According to ARLnow, it dates to the 1960s as an addition to DCA’s original 1941 structure, and old-timers call it the “banjo” because the layout is a straight spine that opens into a circular gate area — a neck and a round body, like the instrument. WUSA9 reports the circular concourse itself was built by Northwest and TWA around 1970. It has charm, but it’s tight, low-ceilinged, and never got the modern rebuild that the rest of the airport did. Hold that thought, because it’s exactly why this terminal is next in line for a wrecking ball.

The Terminal 1 rebuild: what’s actually happening and when

This is where every other page goes stale, so here’s the current, dated version.

MWAA’s board agreed in September 2024 to spend up to $108 million over eight years on architecture and engineering work to prepare a Terminal 1 replacement, ARLnow reports. The plan is to build a brand-new nine-gate concourse next to the existing banjo — not on top of it — which could allow a phased switch from old building to new without shutting Southwest down cold. MWAA has been working through the options with Southwest, the terminal’s main tenant, over the past year.

An updated timeline from September 17, 2025 lays out the near-term steps: concept validation ran September through December 2025, conditional FAA airport-layout-plan approval was expected in December 2025, and a field investigation is set to run January through July 2026. The headline milestone is a targeted November 2026 FONSI — a Finding of No Significant Impact, the federal environmental sign-off the project needs to move forward.

The part travelers actually need to hear: an MWAA spokesperson called the project “very early in the process,” with no confirmed timeline or budget yet. WUSA9’s earlier reporting placed the concept inside a larger 15-year, roughly $9 billion MWAA capital program spanning both Reagan and Dulles. Translation — nothing at Terminal 1 is getting torn down this year, or likely for several. When you fly Southwest at DCA right now, you’re using the same old banjo you always have.

Getting to your gate: check-in, security, and the walk

The flip side of an old, small terminal is that it’s blessedly simple. Terminal 1 has a single security checkpoint feeding all nine A-gates, so there’s no guessing which line matches your gate — there’s one line, and it’s yours. Once you clear it, the longest walk in the building is short by big-hub standards. No people-mover train, no half-mile trek. That’s the upside of a concourse built in the jet age’s early days.

A couple of gate-agent habits will still serve you. Confirm your gate on the live DCA departures board before you settle in, because printed assignments drift. And mind Southwest’s checked-bag cutoff — 45 minutes before departure — since a tight bag drop is the classic way to turn a comfortable buffer into a sprint.

One more thing worth knowing: DCA has no Customs and immigration hall, so its international service is limited to routes with U.S. preclearance, mainly Canada and the Caribbean, per public airport figures. In practical terms, Terminal 1’s Southwest, Frontier, and Air Canada Express flights are domestic and short-haul. That keeps the concourse’s traffic simple, and it’s part of why the terminal has gotten by this long.

If you’d rather skip the drive entirely, DCA sits on its own rail station — you can ride the Metrorail Blue Line into downtown DC and step off within a covered walk of the terminals.

Parking and curb drop-off for Terminal 1 today

Driving? The garage you want is Parking 1, attached directly to Terminal 1 by a covered, mostly underground walkway with moving sidewalks, escalators, and elevators. Figure about a 5-to-7-minute walk from car to check-in. It’s convenient and it’s the priciest of DCA’s three on-airport options: $7 per hour after a free first 60 minutes, capped at $35 a day. For the trade-offs against economy and off-site lots, here’s our full breakdown of DCA parking.

Getting picked up by rideshare? This trips people up. DCA sends Terminal 1 pickups to the third, outer curb — a different spot from Terminal 2, where pickups happen on the Baggage Claim (Arrivals) level, first-floor outer curb. Select the Terminal 1 zone in your app so your driver doesn’t circle the wrong building.

And note the construction reality on the ground: DCA’s Cell Phone Lot at 2401 Smith Blvd is temporarily closed for the airport’s ongoing roadwork. MWAA’s official workaround is to use the free first-60-minute window in Parking 1 or Parking 2 while you wait, rather than idling curbside. There’s also a temporary parking deck rising at the Economy Lot — ARLnow reports Phase 1 (939 spaces) was due in February 2026 and Phase 2 (1,230 more) in May 2026, built to offset spaces lost while other areas stage road reconstruction. If you’re flying around the November–December holidays, reserve ahead. Those are the weeks the lots actually fill.

Connecting through DCA? Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 aren’t linked

Read this one carefully if your trip involves a change of planes at DCA. Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are not connected past security. Per the airport, connecting between them means exiting security, walking the landside connector, and re-clearing security on the other side.

Why it matters: Southwest, Air Canada Express, and Frontier are the only airlines in Terminal 1. So if you’re piecing together a same-airport connection to or from Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, or United — say, an interline or codeshare booking — you will have to leave secure areas and screen all over again. Budget real time for it, and don’t assume a 40-minute connection across terminals is anything but a gamble.

If your itinerary needs a wider network, or you’d simply rather sidestep DCA’s construction era, it’s worth checking when Dulles quietly beats Reagan National before you book.

Why Terminal 1 is getting rebuilt at all

Short version: Terminal 1 is the piece that time forgot. It dates to the 1960s addition to the 1941 original terminal, and it never got the treatment Terminal 2 did.

Terminal 2 was modernized under MWAA’s “Project Journey,” completed in April 2021, which added the 14-gate Concourse E — replacing the old “Gate 35X” bus gate that road-warriors loved to hate — plus two new 50,000-square-foot security checkpoint buildings. That program left DCA with one modern half and one 1960s half. The Terminal 1 replacement is the plan to finally close that gap, funded within the roughly $9 billion, 15-year MWAA capital program covering both DCA and Dulles.

For context on the load this old building carries: DCA is an American Airlines hub and handled about 26.29 million passengers in 2024. That’s a lot of people moving through a nine-gate concourse built when jets were new — which is the whole case for rebuilding it.

FAQ

What terminal is Southwest at DCA? Terminal 1, at Gates A1-2, A4-6, and A8-9 — a nine-gate concourse. Southwest is the main tenant, alongside Air Canada Express and Frontier.

Is DCA Terminal 1 the same as Terminal A? Yes. DCA renamed Terminal A to Terminal 1 in June 2022. Southwest’s own materials still say “Terminal A,” but it’s the identical building and the same gates.

Is Terminal 1 at DCA being torn down? Not yet. A replacement concourse is planned to be built next to the current one, but MWAA calls the project “very early,” with a federal environmental sign-off only targeted for November 2026 and construction still years out.

Can you walk between DCA’s two terminals? Not past security. You’d exit, walk the landside connector, and re-clear security — so plan extra time for any cross-terminal connection.

Where do Southwest rideshare pickups happen at DCA? On the third, outer curb at Terminal 1 — a different spot from Terminal 2’s Baggage Claim level. Pick the Terminal 1 zone in your app.