Getting to and from Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI)

Baltimore-Washington International Airport is one of the major airports in the United States of America, and serves as a focus city for the airline carriers of Southwest Airlines and Cape Air. It has been allocated the IATA code of BWI, in order to distinguish it from similar establishments, and is located nearby the cities of Baltimore and Washington. The airport’s airlines offer a wide range of domestic flights, and many international flights as well. Baltimore-Washington International Airport directions are quite simple to follow, and main roads lead to the airport from all areas.

This American airport lies in the state of Maryland, approximately 10 miles, or 16km south of Baltimore and approximately 32 miles, or 51km northeast of Washington, D.C. The airport is located adjacent to the Linthicum CDP in northern unincorporated Anne Arundel County. The airport is particularly nearby to the areas of Hanover, Severn, Glen Burnie, Linthicum Heights and Elkridge. Many areas surround both the cities of Baltimore and Washington. Nearer to Baltimore lies Columbia, Ellicott City, Towson, Nottingham and Edgewood, and nearer to Washington is Silver Spring, Alexandria, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Bowie and Reston. To the northwest of the cities is Frederick and Hagerstown, and to the south is Richmond. Further north are the cities of York, Lancaster and Harrisburg, while northeast lie the cities of Wilmington and Philadelphia. The famous city of New York is beyond Philadelphia to the northeast. The state of Maryland is found to the south of Pennsylvania, to the west of New Jersey and Delaware, to the east of West Virginia and to the north of Virginia.

Roads of importance that are found nearby the airport include the Interstate 195, the Interstate 97, the Paul Pitcher Memorial Highway and the Interstate 695. The airport is quite simple to access from all directions.

Baltimore-Washington International Airport directions from Baltimore City

From the city centre of Baltimore, motorists will find it easiest to get onto the MD-295 from Russel Street. The highway then becomes the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Continue for about seven miles in a southerly direction and take the exit on the left onto the Interstate 195 East, following the signs to the airport. The drive from the city will take about twenty minutes.

Directions to Baltimore-Washington Airport from the south (and Washington, D.C)

Motorists from Washington will use New York Avenue for a connection to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD-295), and will drive in a north-easterly direction. Take the exit for the Interstate 195 and the airport. From Silver Spring and Bethesda, just north of Washington City, motorists will travel the Interstate 495, taking Exit 27 onto the Interstate 95. It will take about forty to forty-five minutes to travel to the airport from Washington, Bethesda or Silver Spring. Bowie is also south of Baltimore, and the journey from here is about 23 miles. To the east of Bowie is Annapolis, from where the Interstate 97 leads to Baltimore, and past the airport. Annapolis is about 26 miles from the airport.

Airport directions from the northeast (Philadelphia)

Philadelphia is a two hour and twenty minute drive from Baltimore-Washington Airport, and the main road used is the Interstate 95. The areas passed along the way include Chester, Claymont, Wilmington, Newark, Aberdeen, Edgewood and Nottingham. A main road leading to Baltimore from the north (Harrisburg and York) is the Interstate 83. York is about 62 miles from the airport and Harrisburg is about an hour and a half’s drive away.

Directions to the airport from the west

Hagerstown and Frederick are to the west of Baltimore, and they are linked by the Interstate 70. In the vicinity of Ellicott City, motorists will need to exit onto the Interstate 695 and will then take the exit for the Interstate 95, and follow the signs to the airport. The Interstate 270 from these two cities leads to Washington, D.C.

To the east/southeast of Baltimore, separated by Chesapeake Bay, are the cities of Dover, Seaford, Georgetown, Ocean City and Salisbury. There is a road that crosses the bay at Chester, and leads past Annapolis, or motorists will travel north towards Wilmington and then southwest towards Baltimore and the airport.

The airport of Baltimore-Washington International consists of five concourses, referred to as the Concourses A, B, C, D and E. Although there are said to be five, recent renovations linked Concourses A and B, and they can be considered as one. These two concourses are used for flights by Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways, while domestic flights by all other airline companies of the airport use Concourses C and D. International flights depart from Concourse E, which is officially known as the Governor William Donald Schaefer International Terminal. Facilities at the airport include the Chesapeake Club Lounge operated by British Airways, a lounge operated by the USO, the Airspace Lounge, Lost and Found services, free wireless internet access and a variety of shopping outlets and dining opportunities. An airport of this size (over twenty million passengers per annum) is usually equipped with all the amenities required by arriving and departing passengers. Banking and currency exchange services are available as well.

Reaching Baltimore-Washington International Airport by public transport is simple, as there are buses and trains that serve the airport from Washington, Baltimore, Annapolis, Gaithersburg, Bowie, Rockville and many other of the surrounding areas. Several private shuttle companies offer shared-ride services and door-to-door collections, and a taxi can be taken from any area.

Motorists can search for more detailed Baltimore-Washington International Airport directions at https://maps.google.com.