DFW Airport has a plan to add 9 new gates by 2026

DFW International Airport executives are pushing a plan to add nine new gates in Terminals A and C to keep pace with growing airline demand after delaying their plans for a new terminal at the start of the pandemic.

On Thursday, the DFW board will vote on $ 139 million to fund the projects, which include the renovation of the aging Terminal C building, which has not undergone major renovations since the 1970s.

But along with the renovation, DFW hopes to add new “piers” that extend from Terminals A and C, essentially providing a new corridor for aircraft parking for passenger loading and unloading. In total, the renovation of Terminal C and the addition of the new gates will cost more than $ 1.5 billion, about half the cost of Terminal F.

A lone traveler sits next to empty chairs at an American Airlines gate in Terminal C of DFW International Airport on Wednesday, April 8, 2020.  The coronavirus pandemic is having an impact on the travel industry.  (Vernon Bryant / The Dallas Morning News)

The new terminal “piers” could give DFW more time to review the schedule and scope of the upcoming Terminal F project, a new $ 3 billion terminal that requires the full support of American Airlines, which would be the main tenant for any extension.

The plan is supported by the Americans, the Fort Worth-based airline announced on Tuesday. That’s key because the airline will eventually pay the rent that will fund the new gates, and the expansion is planned with the US in mind, airport officials said.

“American has been working closely with Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on plans for upcoming construction projects at Terminals A and C,” said Matt Miller, American Airlines spokesman. “This additional gate space will allow American to fly at the same level with minimal construction disruption for years to come, and it will allow us to grow at DFW over time.”

DFW International Airport officials put the upcoming Terminal F project on hold in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, raising concerns over the growth of the aviation industry. Terminal F would have added up to 25 new gates to the DFW, hopefully enough to meet the needs of American Airlines and other airlines in the years to come.

“The Terminal C renovation project is separate from Terminal F,” said DFW Airport spokesman Bill Begley. “We continue to assume that, depending on the pace of the global air traffic recovery, we will continue with Terminal F in the future.”

DFW welcomed 75 million passengers in 2019, a stellar year, as American Airlines expanded to more than 900 daily flights during its peak months. This was one of the reasons why those responsible for DFW planned a new terminal, on which the area now used as a parking lot, which had always been planned for the sixth terminal, was used.

COVID changed all that. 2020 was DFW’s worst year for passenger traffic since the Reagan administration, and airports and airlines across the country put growth plans on hold while waiting to see how many years it would take for traffic to fully recover. While domestic traffic hits pre-pandemic levels due to private customers, it could be years before business and international traffic returns.

Around 16 months after their plans were rejected, airport executives still haven’t committed to resuming work on Terminal F while American Airlines, which is responsible for 80% of airport traffic, is fully recovering. In the meantime, airport staff are working on adding the nine new gates that could reduce the need for Terminal F for a few more years.

DFW recently completed work on a new expansion in Terminal D, adding four new gates with a “Terminal of Future Design” that includes larger windows, state-of-the-art window displays, and restaurants and retail outlets from Dallas’ Trinity Groves.

A translucent video image is displayed on the windows of the new Terminal D extension at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The extensions to Terminals A and C include work on security checks and baggage claim areas. It will also include a major makeover to the look of Terminal C. Terminal C is one of the original terminals at DFW International Airport and was completed in 1972. The airport’s other four terminals have all been updated in recent years.

If all goes well, the renovation of Terminal C along with the new piers in each terminal is expected to be ready for customers by the end of 2026.

DFW’s board of directors on Tuesday preliminarily approved two contracts for the first phase of the project, valued at $ 172 million, which would include design and engineering work including the terminal expansions.

Aerial view of American Airlines aircraft outside the gates of Terminal C at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) on Thursday, April 16, 2020.

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