DFW Airport to expand new Terminal F even larger than planned

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and American Airlines are stepping up a plan to accelerate and expand the scope of the airport’s new Terminal F.

According to a release, they'll be doubling the number of gates, adding facilities to grow international operations, increasing lounge and premium space, creating a new single building for passenger check-in, and adding a dedicated parking garage.

The new plan extends the Use and Lease Agreement between DFW and American to 2043 and increases the estimated Terminal F investment to about $4 billion to create what will be DFW’s signature terminal experience, serviced entirely by American.

In 2023, DFW and American Airlines reached a new 10-year Use and Lease Agreement with pre-approved capital investments, including the construction of Terminal F as a 15-gate facility which passengers would access from Terminal E via the airport’s Skylink system. Future plans included the addition of dedicated areas for ticketing, check-in, security screening, baggage claim and parking facilities.

With a positive long-term outlook for growth in passengers and of North Texas, the Terminal F expansion program will now include all the previously planned phases ahead of schedule. This consequential investment will expand the scope of Terminal F to deliver additional capacity for widebody aircraft and international flight processing and includes additional spaces for state-of-the-art amenities, more shops and restaurants, and public art.

In addition to a new centralized Skylink Station, the new Terminal F will also provide a walking connection with Terminal D, creating even more access across DFW’s terminals. Plus, the new parking garage is set to be one of the airport’s largest with a design that includes built-in curbside circulation to maintain the quick access to check-in and security that DFW passengers have come to expect.

The original first phase of Terminal F is well underway and still scheduled to be operational in 2027, with the newly added phases planned to come online in additional phases. American plans to occupy all 31 gates of the new terminal, creating even greater operational efficiencies for the airline and an enhanced experience for connecting passengers – which make up about 60% of DFW’s passenger traffic.

"In the last decade, DFW has grown its passenger traffic by 50 percent and exceeded the wildest expectations of our founders to become the third-busiest airport in the world," said DFW CEO Sean Donohue in remarks at a press conference on May 1. "Thanks to our close partnership with Robert Isom, American Airlines remains a competitive advantage that continues to show the strength of the airport as a global hub that is supporting the massive economic growth of the Dallas Fort Worth region. Moving forward with Terminal F in this way ensures that DFW and American maintain that momentum.”

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said that “DFW is American’s largest and most critical hub, and with this expanded plan for Terminal F, DFW has a clear path to become the largest airline hub in the world."

With the new vision for Terminal F, the airport’s ongoing DFW Forward capital plan became even more historic with a total of more than $12 billion in transformational investments, either planned or underway, that will provide major improvements and expansions across the airport’s extensive facilities and complex infrastructure over the next several years. This includes the approximately $3 billion program underway to reimagine and expand Terminal C, as well as expand Terminal A.