Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Planning

As early as 1927, before the area had an airport, Dallas proposed a joint airport with Fort Worth. Fort Worth declined the offer and thus each city opened its own airport, Love Field in Dallas and Meacham Field in Fort Worth, each of which had scheduled airline service.

In 1940, the Civil Aeronautics Administration earmarked US$1,900,000 (equivalent to $43,700,000 in 2025) for the construction of a Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport. American Airlines and Braniff Airways struck a deal with the city of Arlington to build an airport there, but the governments of Dallas and Fort Worth disagreed over its construction and the project was abandoned in 1942. After World War II, Fort Worth annexed the site and developed it into Amon Carter Field^[13] with the help of American Airlines. In 1953, Fort Worth transferred its commercial flights from Meacham to the new airport, which was 12 miles (19 km) from Love Field. In 1960, Fort Worth purchased Amon Carter Field and renamed it Greater Southwest International Airport (GSW) in an attempt to compete with Dallas' airport, but GSW's traffic continued to decline relative to Love Field. By the mid-1960s, Fort Worth was getting 1% of Texas air traffic while Dallas was getting 49%, which led to the virtual abandonment of GSW.

The joint airport proposal was revisited in 1961 after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) refused to invest more money into separate Dallas and Fort Worth airports. While airline service had steeply declined at both GSW and Meacham, Love Field was congested and had no more room to expand. Following an order from the federal government in 1964 that it would unilaterally choose a site if the cities could not come to an agreement, officials from the two cities finally agreed on a location for a new regional airport that was just north of the near-abandoned GSW and almost equidistant from the two city centers. The land was purchased by the cities in 1966 and construction began in 1969. The cost of the first phase of Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport was estimated at $700 million.

Voters went to the polls in cities throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to approve the new North Texas Regional Airport, which was named after the North Texas Commission that was instrumental in the regional airport coming to fruition. The North Texas Commission formed the North Texas Airport Commission to oversee the planning and construction of the giant airport. Area voters approved the airport referendum and the new North Texas Regional Airport would become a reality.^[14] However, many Dallas residents remained satisfied with Love Field, and an attempt to establish an independent Dallas Fort Worth Regional Airport Authority—despite strong backing from the Dallas Chamber of Commerce and Dallas mayor J. Erik Jonsson—failed when Dallas voters rejected the proposal by a narrow margin. After further negotiation, the cities instead established an appointed airport board consisting of seven members from Dallas and four from Fort Worth and were able to persuade all existing air carriers at Love, GSW, and Meacham to move to the new regional airport.^[15][16]

Under the original 1967 airport design, DFW was to have pier-shaped terminals perpendicular to a central highway. In 1968, the design was revised to provide for semicircular terminals, which served to isolate loading and unloading areas from the central highway, and to provide additional room for parking in the middle of each semicircle.^[17] The plan proposed thirteen such terminals, but only four were built initially.^[18][19]

Opening and early operations

DFW held an open house and dedication ceremony on September 20–23, 1973, which included the first landing of a supersonic Concorde in the United States, that being pre-production aircraft F-WTSA wearing the colors of both Air France and British Airways, en route from Caracas to Paris.^[17] The attendees at the airport's dedication included former Texas Governor John Connally, Transportation Secretary Claude Brinegar, U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen and Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe.^[20] The airport opened for commercial service as Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport on January 13, 1974, at a cost of $875 million (equivalent to $5.5 billion in 2024), which included $65 million for the land and $810 million in total construction costs. At the time of DFW's opening, its property of 17,500 acres (27.3 sq mi; 7,100 ha; 71 km²) made it the largest airport in the world in terms of land area.^[21] The first flight to land was American Airlines Flight 341 from New York, which had stopped in Memphis and Little Rock.^[22] The surrounding cities began to annex the airport property into their city limits shortly after the airport was developed.^[7] The name change to Dallas/Fort Worth International did not occur until 1985.

An innovative feature of the airport during its early history was the Vought Airtrans, the world's first operational fully automated people mover system. Later rebranded as the Airport Train and then the TrAAin ("AA" signifying American Airlines), the system ultimately encompassed 13 mi (21 km) of fixed guideways and transported as many as 23,000 persons per day at a maximum speed of 17 mph (27 km/h).^[23]

When it opened, DFW had four terminals, numbered 2W, 2E, 3E and 4E.^[18] During its first year of operations, the airport was served by American Airlines, Braniff International Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, Frontier Airlines,^[a] Ozark Air Lines, Rio Airways and Texas International Airlines.^[24]

Southwest Airlines had not begun flights when the other airlines agreed to move from Love Field to DFW, and it had only received approval to fly within the state of Texas. It refused to move to DFW because it felt that convenience for Dallas residents was central to its business. After the Airline Deregulation Act was enacted in 1978, Southwest announced flights to other states. Local officials feared that the resumption of long-distance flights at Love would threaten DFW's financial stability, prompting the enaction of the Wright Amendment in 1979, which banned airliners with more than 56 seats from operating between Love Field and airports beyond Texas and its four neighboring states: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.^[25][26]

Braniff International Airways was a major operator at DFW in the airport's early years, operating a hub from Terminal 2W with international flights to South America and Mexico from 1974, London from 1978, and Europe and Asia from 1979, as well as extensive domestic service before ceasing all operations in 1982.^[27] During the Braniff hub era, DFW was one of only four U.S. airports to have scheduled Concorde service; Braniff commenced scheduled Concorde service from Dallas to Washington from 1979 to 1980, using British Airways and Air France aircraft temporarily re-registered to Braniff while flying within the United States. British Airways later briefly flew Concordes to Dallas in 1988 as a substitute for its ordinarily scheduled DC-10 service.^[17]

Deregulation era

Following airline deregulation, American Airlines (which had already been one of the largest carriers serving the Dallas/Fort Worth area for many years) established its first hub at DFW on June 11, 1981.^[28] American finished moving its headquarters from Grand Prairie, Texas, to a building in Fort Worth located on the site of the old Greater Southwest International Airport, near DFW Airport on January 17, 1983; the airline began leasing the facility from the airport, which owns the facility.^[29] By 1984, the American hub occupied most of Terminal 3E and part of Terminal 2E.^[30] American's hub grew to fill all of Terminal 2E by 1991.^[31] American also began long-haul international service from DFW, adding flights to London in 1982 and Tokyo in 1987.^[32]

Delta Air Lines also built up a hub operation at DFW, which occupied most of Terminal 4E through the 1990s.^[30][31] The Delta hub peaked around 1991, when Delta had a 35% market share at DFW; its share was halved by 2004, after many of its mainline routes were downgraded to more frequent regional jet service in 2003.^[33]

The Wright Amendment

In the late 20th century, the Wright Amendment had become unpopular with travelers and business groups because it suppressed local airline competition, but it was backed by powerful political interests including American Airlines, which did not want direct low-fare competition from Southwest Airlines at its DFW fortress hub. Efforts to revise the amendment in the 1980s and early 1990s became mired in lawsuits and political wrangling.^{[34][35][36][37]} In a 2023 statement to The Dallas Morning News, former American Airlines chief executive officer Robert Crandall said that at the time, a Wright repeal was a greater threat to American Airlines than to DFW Airport.^[37]

The Wright Amendment status quo was upset between 1996 and 2000, when new states were added to the Wright service area and several airlines began long-distance service from Love Field under the previously unexploited 56-seat exemption. This broke Southwest's monopoly at Love Field, threatened highly profitable American Airlines routes at DFW, and proved that changes to the amendment were now politically viable.^[38] Southwest soon began campaigning to repeal the Wright Amendment, but was staunchly opposed by American Airlines, which feared that Southwest would maintain its near-monopoly at Love Field while simultaneously expanding to DFW Airport and possibly Fort Worth Alliance Airport or Meacham Airport.^[37]

In a 2006 agreement brokered by Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Senator from Texas,^[37] DFW Airport, Dallas, Fort Worth, Southwest, and American agreed to support the repeal under the condition that the number of gates at Love Field was permanently capped. The agreement also required all international passenger flights in the metroplex to operate from DFW Airport, and Southwest faced penalties if it or a codeshare agreement partner offered flights from DFW, but these provisions expired on January 1, 2025.^[26][39]

On October 13, 2014, the Wright Amendment domestic flight restrictions ended, allowing airlines to fly from Love Field to anywhere in the U.S.^[40][41] Despite the increased competition, the number of annual enplanements at DFW grew by five million from 2013 to 2015, only slightly less than an approximately six million passenger increase at Love Field during the same period.^[26]

20th century expansion

Delta constructed and opened a satellite terminal to Terminal 4E in 1989 to accommodate their hub operations. This small terminal, originally with 9 gates, was connected to Terminal 4E by a 650-foot (200 m) underground walkway, although they used transporters when it initially opened.^[42] In 1996, Delta subleased the satellite terminal to Atlantic Southeast Airlines, their Delta Connection commuter partner.^[42]

In 1989, the airport authority announced plans to rebuild the existing terminals and add two runways. After an environmental impact study was released the following year, the cities of Irving, Euless and Grapevine sued the airport over its extension plans, and the legal battle continued until the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of the airport in 1994. The seventh runway (17L/35R) opened in 1996; the four primary north–south runways (those closest to the terminals) were all lengthened from 11,388 feet (3,471 m) to their present length of 13,400 feet (4,084 m). The first, 17R/35L, was extended in 1996 (at the same time the new runway was constructed) and the other three (17C/35C, 18L/36R, and 18R/36L) were extended in 2005. DFW is now the only airport in the world with four serviceable paved runways longer than 4,000 meters (13,123 ft).

The addition of the nine gates from the Delta satellite terminal brought the total for DFW to 118 gates by the late 1990s, although some are able to service two planes simultaneously.^[43] Terminal operations in the late 1990s were controlled by the DFW Airport (Terminal 2W), American Airlines (2E and 3E, a total of 44 gates and 56 airplane parking spaces), and Delta Airlines (4E and the 4E satellite).^[43]

21st century operations

In 2000, the airport changed the names of the four main terminals. 2W became B. 2E became A. 3E became C. And Terminal 4E became E. When American Eagle opened their new satellite terminal on November 4, 2000, it was approximately where a terminal 1E would have been on the original naming scheme. The 13-gate, 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m²) satellite terminal was accessed by shuttle bus from Terminal A; the satellite was used for commercial commuter flights until 2005.^[44]

The airport would eventually convert the American Eagle terminal north of Terminal A to its DFW Corporate Aviation facility in 2010 in preparation for Super Bowl XLV.^[45] The corporate aviation facility has no gates as it caters to privately-owned business jets and their clientele who do not pass through security checks.

Delta closed its DFW hub in 2004 and placed its old Terminal E (formerly 4E) satellite in mothballs. Delta was in the midst of a restructuring to avoid bankruptcy, cutting its DFW operation to only 21 flights a day from over 250. Delta redeployed aircraft to hubs in Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City. Prior to the closure, Delta had a 17.3% market share at DFW.^[46]

Terminal D, built for international flights, and Skylink, a modern bidirectional people mover system, opened in 2005.^[47][48] The remaining Airport Train system, which had been mostly replaced by buses in 2003, had been fully decommissioned weeks earlier.^[23] The largest commercial aircraft in the world, the Airbus A380, made its inaugural arrival at DFW in September 2014 and was handled at Terminal D.^[49]

From 2004 to 2012, DFW was one of two US Army "Personnel Assistance Points" that received US troops returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for rest and recuperation. This ended on March 14, 2012, leaving Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport as the sole Personnel Assistance Point.^[50]

DFW Airport tentatively completed a $2.7 billion^[51] "Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program" (TRIP), which encompassed renovations of three of the original four terminals (A, B, and E). Work on the project began following the conclusion of Super Bowl XLV in February 2011. Terminal A was the first terminal to undergo these renovations, which were completed in January 2017 at a cost of about $1 billion.^[52] This was followed by the completion of Terminal E in August 2017 and Terminal B in December 2017. While Terminal C was originally part of the multibillion-dollar renovations, American Airlines in 2014 asked to delay renovations of the terminal.

Airports Council International (ACI) named DFW Airport the best large airport with more than 40 million passengers in North America for passenger satisfaction in 2016.^[53]

In June 2018, DFW Airport opened a fully functioning, free standing emergency room on airport grounds, located in Southgate Plaza near the Airport Headquarters and Rental Car Center. With this opening, the facility became the first actual ER on an airport's property anywhere around the globe.^[54]

The unused Terminal E satellite (the old Delta satellite terminal built in 1989) was remodeled and opened in May 2019 for American Eagle operations, simultaneously expanding it to 15 gates from its original 9.^[55][56]

In early 2023, Frontier Airlines^[a] established a crew operating base at DFW and added a gate to accommodate additional flights.^[57]

In 2023, DFW served 81,764,044 passengers, a record for the facility, exceeding 80 million passengers for the first time in the airport's 50-year history.^[58]

Future

DFW Airport has embarked on a series of expansion projects expected to continue through 2028.

The first phase involves construction of Terminal F, DFW's sixth terminal, originally approved in 2023 as a 15-gate concourse costing $1.63 billion, scheduled for completion between 2024 and 2026. Earlier plans had envisioned 24 gates at a cost of $3.5 billion. This initial design lacked landside facilities, with passengers processed in an expansion of Terminal E and reaching Terminal F via Skylink.^[59]

In May 2025, DFW and American Airlines announced an expanded $4 billion plan, increasing Terminal F to 31 gates with landside facilities, including ticketing, check-in, security screening, baggage claim, and a large parking structure with integrated drop-off and baggage areas. The design adds international-capable gates and connects directly to Terminal D via a walkway. American will occupy all 31 gates, with the first 15 gates opening in 2027 (as originally scheduled) and additional phases following. The expansion will allow DFW to reallocate gates in Terminals D and E to other airlines. This expansion was needed due to the substantial growth that DFW is facing today, being the third busiest airport in the world, and soon reaching over 100 million passengers by the end of the decade.^[60][61]

The second phase includes long-delayed Terminal C renovations, new piers adding nine gates to Terminals A and C, and roadway upgrades. This $2.72 billion effort is expected to wrap up by 2028.^[62][63]

Terminals

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has six terminals with 224 total gates;^[64] these terminals are in the City of Grapevine.^[7] The terminals are designed in a half-circle layout to minimize the distance between parking and aircraft and reduce traffic on main airport roads. The Skylink automated people mover system connects all terminals within the secure area, with an average travel time of about seven minutes.^[48]

Each terminal at DFW is supported by a coordinated ground transportation network, including shuttles, rental car buses, sedans and limousines, and designated rideshare pick-up zones to ensure smooth passenger movement. The airport's integrated transit system also helps travelers easily reach parking areas, hotels, and regional connections without delays.

American Airlines has a presence in every terminal at DFW. Most other domestic carriers use Terminal E, while international carriers primarily operate from Terminal D.^[65][66]

Terminal D serves as the main international terminal, equipped with U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities and a gate that accommodates the Airbus A380. International airlines offering nonstop service to DFW include: Air Canada, Air France, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, EVA Air, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, British Airways, Lufthansa, Qantas, Turkish Airlines, Viva, Volaris, and Aeromexico. Some Canadian flights from cities with pre-clearance operate from Terminal E.

• Terminal A has 36 gates.^[64]
• Terminal B has 45 gates (35 in the main terminal and 10 in a satellite building).^[64]
• Terminal C has 38 gates.^[64]
• Terminal D has 33 gates.^[64]
• Terminal E has 41 gates (26 in the main terminal and 15 in a satellite building).^[64]
• Terminal F will have 31 gates and is under construction

Hotels

The Hyatt Regency DFW International Airport was built in 1978 as the east wing of the Airport Marina Hotel. It originally had an identical twin west wing, located on the opposite side of International Parkway, which was built in 1974 and demolished for construction of Terminal D.^[67] It has 811 rooms, 92,000 square feet (8,500 m²) of meeting space and four food and beverage outlets. The hotel is located adjacent to Terminal C, with shuttle buses connecting to all terminals.^[68][69]

The Grand Hyatt DFW opened on July 1, 2005^[70] and has 298 rooms, 34,000 square feet (3,200 m²) of meeting space and three food and beverage outlets. The hotel is located directly above Terminal D, with direct access to the check-in area.^[71][72]

Another Hyatt-branded hotel, Hyatt Place, is on the south side of the airport, near the airport headquarters and the rental car hub complex.^[73]

Ground transportation

The DFW Airport area is served by International Parkway (State Highway 97 Spur), a toll road running through the center of the airport and connecting to Texas State Highway 183 (Airport Freeway) to the south and Texas State Highway 114 (John W. Carpenter Freeway) to the north. North of SH 114, International Parkway becomes Texas State Highway 121, continuing north to Interstate 635 (Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway) and the Sam Rayburn Tollway.

Public transit service is provided by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Metro. The airport is served by three rail systems: DART rail, TEXRail, and the Trinity Railway Express. DART operates the Orange Line from DFW Airport Terminal A station to Dallas and Las Colinas, and the Silver Line from DFW Airport Terminal B station to the northern suburbs of Dallas.^[74][75] TEXRail operates between DFW Airport Terminal B station and T&P Station in downtown Fort Worth. The Trinity Railway Express serves CentrePort/DFW Airport station, with shuttle connections to the airport, and links downtown Dallas and Fort Worth.

Bus service supplements rail connections. Trinity Metro operates the TRE Link route between Terminal B and CentrePort/DFW Airport station. DART operates Route 230 between downtown Dallas and the Remote South Parking facility.

A consolidated rental car facility is located at the south end of the airport and is connected to all terminals by shuttle buses. The facility, which serves 11 rental car companies, opened in March 2000.^[76][77]

Other facilities

A cargo facility at 1639 West 23rd Street is located on the airport property.^[78][79][80] Tenants include China Airlines,^[81] Lufthansa Cargo,^[82] and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.^[83]

The DFW Airport Department of Public Safety provides the airport with its own police, fire protection, and emergency medical services.^[84]

The DFW International Airport headquarters is located nearby at 2400 Aviation Drive.^[85]

In 1995, the airport opened Founders' Plaza, an observation park dedicated to the founders of DFW Airport. The site offered a panoramic view of the south end of the airport and hosted several significant events, including an employee memorial the day after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the airport's 30th anniversary celebration in 2004.^[86] As part of the perimeter taxiway project, Founders' Plaza was closed in 2007 and moved to a new location surrounding a 50-foot (15 m)-tall beacon on the north side of the airport in 2008. The 6-acre (2.4 ha) plaza features a granite monument and sculpture, post-mounted binoculars, piped-in voices of air traffic controllers and shade pavilions. In 2010, a memorial honoring Delta Air Lines Flight 191 was dedicated at the plaza.^[87]

Passenger

Cargo

Top destinations

More information Rank, City ...

Busiest domestic routes from DFW (January 2025 – December 2025)^[165]

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Los Angeles, California	1,051,010	American, Delta, Frontier, Spirit
2	Atlanta, Georgia	946,490	American, Delta, Frontier, Spirit
3	Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois	933,690	American, Frontier, Spirit, United
4	New York–LaGuardia, New York	886,550	American, Delta, Frontier, Spirit
5	Denver, Colorado	884,880	American, Frontier, United
6	Las Vegas, Nevada	874,290	American, Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country
7	Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona	840,220	American, Frontier, Spirit
8	Seattle/Tacoma, Washington	811,560	Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier
9	Orlando, Florida	798,590	American, Frontier, Spirit
10	Miami, Florida	752,520	American, Frontier, Spirit

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More information Rank, Airport ...

Busiest international routes from DFW (January 2024 – December 2024)^[166]

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Carriers
1	Cancún, Mexico	1,137,186	American, Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country
2	London–Heathrow, United Kingdom	894,500	American, British Airways
3	Mexico City, Mexico	596,715	Aeroméxico, American, VivaAerobus, Volaris
4	San José del Cabo, Mexico	496,963	American, Spirit, Sun Country
5	Guadalajara, Mexico	423,245	American, Volaris
6	Monterrey, Mexico	401,823	American, VivaAerobus
7	Toronto–Pearson, Canada	384,144	Air Canada, American
8	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico	368,818	American, Sun Country
9	Madrid, Spain	340,572	American, Iberia
10	Seoul–Incheon, South Korea	336,812	American, Korean Air

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Airline market share

Annual traffic

More information Year, Passengers ...

Annual passenger traffic (enplaned + deplaned) at DFW, 1994–present^[1]

Year	Passengers	Year	Passengers	Year	Passengers	Year	Passengers
1994	52,642,225	2004	59,446,078	2014	63,522,823	2024	87,817,864
1995	56,490,845	2005	59,176,265	2015	65,512,163	2025	85,660,127
1996	58,034,503	2006	60,226,829	2016	65,670,697	2026
1997	60,488,713	2007	59,786,476	2017	67,092,194	2027
1998	60,313,000	2008	57,093,187	2018	69,112,607	2028
1999	60,112,998	2009	56,030,457	2019	75,066,956	2029
2000	60,687,181	2010	56,905,600	2020	39,364,990	2030
2001	55,141,763	2011	57,806,918	2021	62,465,756	2031
2002	52,829,750	2012	58,590,633	2022	73,362,946	2032
2003	53,252,205	2013	60,436,739	2023	81,764,044	2033

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