Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, one of the nation's busiest airports, is getting a new $1.6 billion terminal as well as upgrades to existing terminals at the airport touted as being larger than the island of Manhattan.
Construction on the sixth terminal at the airport started last week, marking the first new construction of an entire terminal in nearly two decades for the international hub. The terminal, called Terminal F, will add 15 gates to the airport upon its completion in 2027 for other airlines outside of its biggest customer, Fort Worth-based American Airlines.
The new terminal will support the "historic rise in air travel to and from the North Texas region" and expand the airport's footprint, said CEO Sean Donohue.
Terminal F is being built with the ability to expand with additional gates and other supporting facilities, if needed, executives say. In addition to the new terminal, the airport is also expanding Terminal A and Terminal C. In total, the expansions and new terminal will bring 24 new gates to the international airport.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport transported more than 81 million passengers last year and more than 1 million tons of cargo in 2021, according to the airport's website. The airport's expansion is expected to help grow these metrics. In adding to its capacity, it could impact industrial real estate and economic growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area.
The Terminal F project includes the addition of a 400,000-square-foot concourse, as well as the expansion of Terminal E to add more than 100,000 square feet of new check-in, security and baggage claim facilities, dedicated to travelers flying to or from Terminal F. The two terminals will be connected through the airport's Skylink light rail system with the help of a new station above Terminal F.
Unlike some of its prior iterations of the international airport, Terminal F is being built in modules at a pre-fabrication site at the airport before being moved across the airfield for installation at the final terminal site. The modular construction was first used at the airport to rebuild five gates in Terminal C in 2022. Officials say such a process increases the efficiency of multiple projects and expedites the construction timeline.
In addition to modular construction being used on Terminal F, it is also underway on the expansion of Terminal C and is planned for Terminal A. In taking away core construction from the existing terminals being used by airlines, it reduces operational impacts to airlines and passengers.
For the record
The design-build team for the Terminal F concourse and Skylink station is Innovation Next+, a joint venture comprised of Archer Western Construction, Turner Construction, Phillips May Corp., H. J. Russell & Co. and CARCON Industries, with PGAL, Gensler and Muller2 as design team members.