Airport news

American Airlines introduces new way to breeze through security at DFW Airport

Get through the line and to the plane faster.

Photo courtesy of Ibarra Engineers

As airports experience a crush of travel delays, American Airlines is making it easier to get through security checkpoints at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines just rolled out its new Mobile ID feature at DFW. Anyone with a mobile phone, a TSA PreCheck membership, an AAdvantage number, and either a driver’s license or U.S. passport can now verify their identity with facial recognition at DFW’s security checkpoints.

Later this year, American will launch Mobile ID at Miami International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Washington Reagan National Airport, and other airports.

By simplifying the identity verification, “we’re helping our customers exchange stress for convenience and saved time, and propelling the travel industry further along the path to a truly seamless customer experience,” says Julie Rath, vice president of customer experience, loyalty, and marketing at American.

Here’s how you can join the Mobile ID program:

Sign up for TSA PreCheck if you don’t already have it.
Download Airside’s Digital Identity App for iOS or Android devices.
Take a photo of your face.
Scan your driver’s license or passport with the app.
Enter your American Airlines AAdvantage number.

The app verifies a traveler’s information using technology from a company called Thales by comparing it against DMV or passport records. A customer’s data is securely stored in the app.

As they pass through security, a traveler presents a QR code on their phone and agrees to share their American Airlines Mobile ID with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). After that, a traveler looks into a camera at the TSA PreCheck checkpoint. TSA’s computer system then matches the customer’s encrypted image against their Mobile ID. The entire airport process typically takes less than five seconds.

Once a traveler’s identity is verified, TSA erases their encrypted digital ID from its checkpoint readers, and the traveler retains the digital ID on their device until they’re ready to use it at another spot, such as an airport lounge.

American tested digital ID in 2021 for touchless bag drops and Admirals Club entry at DFW. American customers participating in the tests could use facial recognition instead of presenting a government- issued ID, boarding pass, or American-branded credit card to check their bag or enter the lounge.

In the future, American will introduce similar technology at airport kiosks, bag checks, and domestic boarding gates. American travelers already can verify their identity through facial recognition provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at several international boarding gates.

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Module News

DFW Airport shares peek of pre-fab modules at new Terminal F

DFW Airport

Ooooh nice module, DFW.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has completed its latest construction milestone: what it calls the "historic" move of six prefabricated module structures that will form the framework for the first phase of the airport’s new Terminal F.

The modules, some nearly as large as a football field, were moved overnight during a two-week period using self-propelled modular transporters along one of DFW’s airside taxiways. The structures were then placed onto the foundations constructed at the Terminal F site, where the facility will now proceed to the next stage of construction.

This is DFW’s third project to deploy the innovative module-based method to reconstruct or expand its terminal facilities, with the most recent moves being the largest modules for a terminal expansion at any airport.

The modules for Terminal F are approximately four times larger than the structures moved earlier this year for the ongoing expansion of Terminal C. The largest of the six modules measured 278 feet long by 136 feet wide and weighed 3,320 tons – about as heavy as 12 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner widebody aircraft.

According to DFW CEO Chris McLaughlin, embracing modular construction is faster, with less impact on travelers. He's not the only fan of modular construction and the benefits it brings to airports.

DFW Executive VP of Infrastructure and Development Mohamed Charkas is also a fan of modular construction. ““DFW is at the forefront of innovation in terminal construction, continually redefining what's possible,” Charkas says.

In May, DFW and American Airlines announced the decision to expand the scope and accelerate the phasing of the new Terminal F. With the first phase of construction already underway, DFW has been designing the subsequent phases while concurrently building the modules offsite.

The first phase of the Terminal F expansion program is anticipated to open with 15 gates in 2027.

Terminal F is planned to ultimately deliver a total of 31 gates to be serviced entirely by American Airlines, expand capacity for international operations and widebody aircraft, and include areas to facilitate parking, ticketing, check-in, security screening and baggage operations.

American will return some gates in other areas of the airport, which will help facilitate the growth of other airlines at DFW as well.

In addition to a new centralized Skylink Station, which is included with the first phase of construction, the final configuration will provide a walking connection with Terminal D.

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