Airport news

Dallas-Fort Worth Airport soars to No. 1 for best airport dining

The grub at DFW Airport is the best.

Here's news that'll make a flight delay at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport more tolerable: DFW arrives at No. 1 in a new ranking of the country’s best airports for food and beverage options.

The 2025 study by commercial furniture manufacturer Restaurant Furniture relied on Google reviews of food and beverage establishments at the busiest U.S. airports to come up with its list. Restaurants and bars at DFW earned an average of 3.56 out of 5 stars on Google — the highest number among 31 airports. The study included only those restaurants and bars with at least 20 Google reviews.

Among 74 locations at DFW, the study found Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Terminal A scored the highest average Google review rating — 4.59. DFW also boasts the top-rated IHOP, McDonald’s, Panera Bread, and Panda Express among the 31 airports that were analyzed.

This report comes after another study by online sports betting website BetUS, which declared DFW's own TGI Fridays the No. 1 best airport bar in the U.S.

“Airports aren’t usually renowned for their choices of bars and restaurants, and this is often because people just want to get through the airport and onto their final destinations as quickly as possible,” Nick Warren, head of e-commerce at Restaurant Furniture, says in a release. “However, a good airport bar or restaurant can provide a great rest stop after a long flight, and these positive experiences can go a long way towards travelers choosing which airport they will fly from in the future.”

Earlier this year, DFW unveiled an ambitious lineup of 20 new concessions on the way – "part of dozens of new concessions coming online over the next few years as the airport adds gates and builds the new Terminal F," airport leaders said. The new additions included the first 24-hour Chick-fil-A inside a major U.S. airport (Terminal A Pier).

Also on the docket are beloved DFW flavors and brands such as:

Dallas and Fort Worth-based Olivella’s Pizzeria (Terminal A-14)
Fort Worth-based Brewed Coffee for pastries, coffee and tacos (Terminal E-19)
Dallas and Fort Worth-based Mesero for Mexican American fusion food (first in a U.S. airport) (Terminal A Pier)
Dallas and Fort Worth-based La La Land Kind Café (Terminal B-43)
Dallas and Fort Worth-based Velvet Taco for innovative tacos (Terminal C Pier)

The Peach Cobbler Factory, a chain based in North Carolina, will open not one but two locations at the airport, in late 2025 and 2026 (Terminal D and Terminal C Pier).

In 2024, DFW served 87.8 million passengers, ranking it as the second-busiest airport in the U.S. and the third-busiest globally.

Rounding out the top five airports with best food are Miami International Airport (No. 2), San Francisco International Airport (No. 3), Denver International Airport (No. 4), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (No. 5).

Elsewhere in Texas:

Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston ranks 12th for best airport food, with an average Google review rating of 3.29 out of 5 stars for its food-and-beverage establishments.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport ranks 26th, with an average Google review rating of 2.96 out of 5 stars for its food-and-beverage establishments.

The study analyzed 61 restaurants and bars at George Bush Intercontinental. Just like DFW, the Houston airport’s highest-rated establishment was Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. That Pappadeux location garnered an average Google review rating of 4.48 out of 5. George Bush International also is home to the study’s highest-rated Chick-fil-A and Whataburger restaurants.

Toward the other end of the spectrum, Austin-Bergstrom offers the sixth worst restaurant and bar options among the study’s 31 airports. The study looked at Google reviews for 17 food-and-beverage establishments at the airport. Salt Lick Cellars wound up being the highest-rated establishment at AUS, with an average Google review rating of 3.89 out of 5 stars.

airport chickfila dining pappadeaux seafood kitchen dfw airport

You're Grounded

American and Southwest airlines ban humanoid robots as passengers

Photo courtesy of Elite Event Robotics/Instagram

Bebop the robot, owned by Dallas-based Elite Event Robotics, flew in May on a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland, California, to San Diego.

Dallas-Fort Worth's two major hometown airlines are drawing a hard line between human and humanoid: American Airlines and Southwest Airlines won’t permit human-like or animal-like robots to board flights as passengers.

Fort Worth-based American and Dallas-based Southwest recently adopted bans on robotic passengers after two incidents in which human-like robots joined flesh-and-blood passengers on Southwest flights.

In May, Aaron Mehdizadeh, owner of The Robot Studio rental company in Dallas, was heading from Las Vegas to Dallas Love Field with 3.5-foot-tall Stewie, according to CBS News Texas. Rather than shipping Stewie as cargo, Mehdizadeh bought the robot its own seat using a type of ticket often purchased for fragile items such as wedding dresses and equipment.

But because Stewie was technically a carry-on item, the robot wasn’t supposed to occupy a seat, according to eWeek. Crew members wound up disconnecting Stewie’s battery and relocating the robot to a window seat before takeoff.

Mehdizadeh pushed back on Southwest’s stance regarding the battery, telling CBS News Texas that Stewie’s power supply is a standard battery that’s similar to one for a laptop.

Stewie isn’t the only robot making mischief in the skies. In May, a 70-pound, human-like robot named Bebop caused a stir on a Southwest flight from Oakland, California, to San Diego.

The robot prompted a nearly one-hour flight delay after crew members realized it violated restrictions on large carry-ons and raised concerns about the battery, San Francisco TV station KGO reported. Dallas-based Elite Event Robotics owns Bebop.

Southwest seized Bebop’s lithium-ion battery, but the airline did let Bebop take the San Diego-bound flight.

Southwest’s new robot policy prohibits human-like or animal-like robots from riding in an airplane cabin or as checked baggage, no matter their size or purpose. All other robots, including toys, must fit in a carry-on size bag and comply with battery restrictions, the airline says.

In a statement sent to CultureMap, a Southwest spokeswoman says the airline “has taken a strong stance on this issue and has led the U.S. airline industry with our battery policy.”

“The robot policy is a further evolution of a [safety] journey we have been on for several months. This move was not in response to any single incident,” the spokeswoman adds. “To eliminate confusion, the policy applies to all similar devices, regardless of size.”

Lithium-ion batteries can overheat, catch on fire, or explode on airplanes.

American’s new robot policy, which took effect Monday, August 17, is similar to Southwest’s. The policy prohibits human-like and animal-like robots from sitting in a purchased seat, being stored in an overhead bin or traveling as checked baggage. The ban applies to U.S., international, and regional flights.

“While there have been no known events involving this type of robot on any American flight, this policy was developed following a comprehensive review of safety risks associated with these devices, including the large lithium-ion batteries that power them,” the airline said in an internal memo obtained by the View From the Wing travel blog.

American gate agents have been told not to allow a passenger accompanied by a robot to board a plane or to let a robot travel as a checked item, the memo says.

If a robot is discovered after check-in, American employees are supposed to follow the Federal Aviation Administration’s “undeclared dangerous goods” procedures. These procedures cover hazardous shipments like lithium-ion batteries, explosives, flammable liquids, and compressed gases that lack required warning labels or shipping documents.

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Dallas-Fort Worth Airport soars to No. 1 for best airport dining

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