While the airport has seen 35% growth in passenger traffic since 2013, and is expected to see record traffic this summer, major expansions are planned to help support growth in operations.
In a nutshell
In a presentation at the Metroport Chamber membership luncheon on May 8, Heath Montgomery, vice president of communications and marketing for DFW Airport, quoted several figures about the airport as it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The airport is the 3rd largest airport by land, he said, and includes:
- Five terminals with a sixth terminal planned
- Seven runways
- 171 gates
- 27 airlines
Montgomery said in 2023, more than 81 million passengers visited DFW Airport and 791,192 tons of cargo were shipped. He added the airport is larger than the island of Manhattan and 60,000 employees work there.
In terms of growth, Montgomery said in the last decade, DFW airport has climbed the ranks from fourth busiest in the world to third busiest in 2023.
“This year, we could get really close to 90 million passengers, which is incredible,” Montgomery said. “This is going to be the busiest summer travel season on record, not just for us, but nationally.”Zooming in
Montgomery noted two projects coming online over the next few years that will help facilitate the increased traffic at DFW Airport: transforming existing Terminal C and the construction of a new sixth Terminal F.
“If you’ve flown out of Terminal C lately, it’s the only terminal that hasn’t been retouched," Montgomery said. "It looks like it’s straight out of 1974.”
He said in order to complete the renovation of Terminal C with minimum impact to passengers, modular construction techniques will be used where new pieces of the terminal will be built and then swapped out with pieces of the existing terminal. The renovation is expected to be completed by 2028.
“We’ll literally be building these new facilities away from the terminals, putting them on a big crawler device and then moving them into place over the next few years,” Montgomery said.
Airport officials said unlike the other terminals, which are crescent shaped, Terminal F will be a rectangular shape with gates on two sides of the building. It will be located on the south side of the airport and is expected to be completed in 2026.
