Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is ramping up for a busy Christmas holiday travel period, with nearly 5 million customers expected to fly to, from, and through the airport between December 18-January 6.

According to a release, passenger traffic during the holiday travel period is projected to increase about 3.2 percent compared to the Christmas 2024 season.

They recommend that travelers arrive at the airport at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights, in order to navigate through construction, congested parking areas, and your usual busy check-in and security screening areas.

Busiest travel days
Large travel crowds are expected throughout the entire winter holiday period, with the heaviest timeframes for local departing and arriving customers occurring on the weekends and in early evenings.

The airport’s roads and terminal curbs are expected to be the busiest during the following periods:

• Friday, December 19-Monday, December 22
• Friday, December 26-Sunday, December 28

DFW expects its busiest travel days at the start and near the end of the season, with more than 265K passengers expected both on Friday, December 19 and on Sunday, December 28.

While daily volumes are expected to be more evenly distributed than the Thanksgiving travel period, terminal curbsides are still projected to be near those levels on several days – especially during the weekends between 10 am and 6 pm.

Terminal C
Customers departing or arriving on any day of the holiday season should prepare for heavier-than-usual traffic across the airport’s roadways – especially when approaching terminals from the north – and along all terminal curbs.

Heavy traffic is also expected at Terminal C due to ongoing construction in that area. To assist with traffic flow, the airport has reconfigured traffic flow patterns through the terminal to alleviate congested areas and provide a smoother flow of traffic. Directional signage will be installed to guide traffic through the area.

Customers flying American Airlines can avoid Terminal C congestion by checking in at any terminal and taking Skylink to their gate once through security. In fact, DFW is encouraging American customers to do exactly this, based on live traffic conditions.

The quickest access into Terminals A and B is from the north. The quickest access into Terminals C, D and E is from the south.

Other time saving tips: Prebook parking through the DFW website or mobile app; and use dedicated TollTag lanes for the fastest entry and exit.

Public Transit
Public transit is an increasingly-recommended option, especially since DART opened its new Silver Line.

• DART Silver Line: New service launched in October, linking Plano to Terminal B with stops in Richardson, Addison, Carrollton, and Coppell provides a faster northern route that avoids taking the train through downtown Dallas.
• DART Orange Line: Connects Plano, Dallas, and Irving directly to Terminal A
• Trinity Metro TEXRail: Runs from downtown Fort Worth through North Richland Hills and Grapevine to Terminal B.
• TRE + TRE Link Shuttle: Connects Dallas and Fort Worth to CentrePort/DFW Airport Station, with transfers to terminals.

Transit is also a great option for travelers arriving at DFW. Customers can take transit to a station away from the airport and coordinate a pickup, which also helps reduce curbside congestion during peak periods.

Curbside and parking protocols
Curbside areas are reserved for active loading and unloading only. Customers waiting to pick up passengers are encouraged to use cell phone lots and one-hour parking inside terminal garages (available at no additional charge).

The DFW Airport mobile app, available for iOS and Android, helps travelers plan ahead and stay informed with real-time features such as live parking availability, security wait times, terminal-specific alerts, and construction updates.

Terminal A
The new right-hand access into Terminal A will open on December 19 — earlier than planned, and a blessing for holiday travelers since it removes all of the various detours currently in effect.

The northbound access into Terminal A will be opened in its final condition.

The southbound access will open in a temporary but near-complete condition, and will will be finished in January following the peak travel period.