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

DFW International Airport leaders are pushing forward with a plan to add nine new gates in terminals A and C to keep up with growing airline demand after delaying its plans for a new terminal at the beginning of the pandemic.

On Thursday DFW’s governing board is poised to vote on $139 million to fund the projects that would also include renovations to the aging Terminal C structure that hasn’t seen a major refurbishment since the 1970s.

But along with the renovation, DFW is hoping to add new “piers” extending out from terminals A and C, essentially giving a new corridor to park planes for passengers to load and unload. In all, renovating Terminal C and adding the new gates will cost more than $1.5 billion, roughly half what Terminal F was expected to cost.

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

The plan does have American’s backing, the Fort Worth-based carrier said Tuesday. That is key because the carrier will eventually pay the rent that will fund the new gates and the expansion is designed with American in mind, airport officials said.

“American has worked closely with Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on plans for upcoming construction projects at Terminals A and C,” said American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller. “This additional gate space will allow American to continue its same level of flying with minimal construction disruptions in the coming years, and it will enable us to grow at DFW over time.”

DFW International Airport officials put the pending Terminal F project on hold in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world and added worries about the growth of the air travel industry. Terminal F would have added as many as 25 new gates to DFW, hopefully enough to fill the needs of American Airlines and other carriers for years to come.

“The Terminal C renovation project is separate from Terminal F,” said a statement from DFW Airport spokesman Bill Begley. “We still expect, depending on the pace of global aviation recovery, to proceed with Terminal F in the future.”

DFW welcomed 75 million passengers in 2019, a banner year, as American Airlines expanded to more than 900 flights a day during its peak months. That was one of the reasons DFW leaders planned a new terminal, using land now being used as a parking lot that had always been planned for the sixth terminal.

COVID changed all that. 2020 was the worst year for passenger traffic at DFW since the Reagan administration, and airports and airlines nationwide put growth plans on hold while they waited to see how many years it would take for traffic to fully recover. While domestic traffic is approaching pre-pandemic levels on the strength of leisure customers, business and international traffic could still take years to come back.

Some 16 months after pushing back their plans, airport leaders still haven’t committed to restarting work on Terminal F while American Airlines, which is responsible for 80% of the airport’s traffic, fully recovers. In the meantime, the airport staff is moving forward to add the nine new gates that could push back 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 the future design” that includes bigger windows, cutting-edge window displays and dining and retail, with restaurants from Dallas’ Trinity Groves.

The expansions of terminals A and C will include some work on security checkpoints and baggage claim areas. It will also include a major overhaul to the way Terminal C looks. Terminal C is one of the original terminals at DFW International Airport and was completed in 1972. The other four terminals at the airport have all received updates in recent years.

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

DFW’s board of directors gave preliminary approval to two contracts Tuesday for the $172 million first stages of the project, which would cover design and engineering work, including the terminal expansions.