Washington Dulles International Airport and is on pace to exceed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's annual passenger numbers for 2018 after having fewer passengers ever since 2015. However, Dulles Airport still ranks behind Baltimore–Washington International Airport (BWI) in total annual passenger boardings, despite being a larger facility with more gates. Prior to World War II, Hoover Field was the main commercial airport serving Washington, on the site now occupied by The Pentagon and its parking lots. It was replaced by Washington National Airport in 1941, a short distance southeast. After the war, in 1948, the Civil Aeronautics Administration began to consider sites for a
Norfolk International Airport which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility. As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 1,606,695 enplanements in calendar year 2011, a decrease of 3.4 percent from 1,663,294 in 2010. , Norfolk International was ranked as the 70th-busiest airport in the United States and the fourth-busiest in Virginia in terms of passengers served annually following Richmond International, Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport. Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines are the predominant users of the airport. Norfolk International Airport covers an area of 1,300 acres (526 ha) at an elevation of 27