DFW Airport – one of the busiest in the entire world – is one step closer to a major upgrade.
On Tuesday, the airport's board and operations committee is looking to move ahead on building a new terminal and expanding others.
The hub for the world’s largest airlines, American Airlines, unveiled plans last year to build the all-new Terminal F. It will be the 6th terminal for the facility.
The airport's operations committee is set to take the next steps in officially approving a contract to design and construct this new terminal. According to the agenda, Innovation Next+ based out of Irving is handling that end of the project.
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If you haven't seen them yet, this is just one of the renderings of what Terminal F will look like.
It will include 15 gates and a new SkyLink station to connect the new terminal to the rest of the airport. Terminal F will be built on the southwest side of the airport adjacent to the airport's existing Express South parking lot and, after looking at a rendering, will not follow the crescent shape of the airport's other five terminals but will instead be a rectangle with gates on two sides of the building.
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During an announcement in the fall, officials said they plan to start construction on Terminal F late next year and have the new terminal operational in 2026.
The improvements don't stop at Terminal F.
American Airlines and DFW also plan to spend another $3.2 billion on other improvements, including renovations and expansion for new gates at Terminals A and C, along with other modernization projects around the airport.
They'll spend an estimated $2.72 billion on terminal improvements including, "a major reimagining of Terminal C, gate expansions extending from Terminal A and Terminal C, and significant upgrades to roadways and terminal access."
An artist's rendering, below, shows the planned expansion out of Terminal C. The airline said all three terminal expansions will bring 24 additional gates to the existing terminals to prepare both AA and DFW for long-term growth.
The redesign and expansion of Terminal C will be done in phases and should be completed by 2028.
An economic impact study unveiled just a few months ago paints it all by numbers in just how massive DFW Airport is and why upgrades like this are happening.
DFW Airport contributes $24 billion in visitor spending each year while supporting over 600,000 direct and indirect jobs across the region.
In 2023, the airport saw over 80 million travelers – an all-time record as demand for travel continues to skyrocket post-pandemic.
"There's no doubt that travel is still in demand. We hit the ground running at the beginning of 2024. We are booking travel like crazy,” said Jeff Bartlett, owner of Travel Marks Intl. travel agency based in Dallas.
He said while this construction will produce growing pains for travelers, it is desperately needed in the end.
"They're predicting in the next five years to seven years, 100 million passengers flowing through Dallas Fort Worth International Airport every year. You think about the numbers on it. It's massive,” he said. “They're going to have to keep up with the demand. They want to keep up with the ease of getting through the airport. They want to offer the restaurants, the shops, and things to keep people busy."
