After a false pre-pandemic start, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is getting back into the business of building a new terminal: DFW broke ground of the construction on Terminal F – its sixth terminal and the first new construction of an entire terminal at DFW since 2005.
Terminal F has long been in the works but plans to build it got shelved in 2020, when airport officials worried about what effects the pandemic would have on travel. The year 2024 has resolved that dilemma with a resounding "none": Both TSA and American Airlines are predicting record-breaking figures for travel during this holiday season and for the entire year.
The new terminal will have 15 gates, modernized amenities, and a "double-loaded concourse" — meaning that airplanes will be able to line up on both sides of the terminal. (The alternative is linear, where the planes all line up on one side, says the internet.)
“The new Terminal F will expand the airport’s footprint with state-of-the-art facilities that align with our first-in-class customer experience and operation as we support the historic rise in air travel to and from the North Texas region,” says DFW CEO Sean Donohue in a statement.
Terminal F is a $1.6 billion program that will feature a 400,000-square-foot concourse, plus a future-conscious design in which DFW will be able to expand Terminal F with additional gates and other supporting facilities.
The construction joins ongoing expansions at DFW in Terminal A and Terminal C, with the ultimate goal of adding 24 new contact gates to prepare for continued growth.
An expansion of Terminal E is also included in the program that will add more than 100,000 square feet of new check-in, security, and baggage claim facilities dedicated to customers flying to or from Terminal F. Customers using Terminal F will check in at Terminal E and connect between the two gates by using the airport’s Skylink system, which will welcome a new station above Terminal F when the terminal is anticipated to open in 2027.
They're building the terminal using an innovative modular construction technique in which segments are built, then moved to the final terminal site. Compared to traditional construction methods where all activity takes place on the site of the new facility, modular construction increases project efficiency and expedites construction timelines because construction activity can take place simultaneously at two sites. It also moves the construction activity away from the terminal, reducing impact to customers and airlines.
DFW first used the modular construction to rebuild five gates in Terminal C in 2022.
“By utilizing modular construction techniques that we first pioneered with the High-C Gates, we will deliver Terminal F using technology at a scale that’s unique among airport development projects," Donohue said.
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 Company, Phillips May Corporation, H. J. Russell & Company and CARCON Industries, with PGAL, Gensler and Muller2 as design team members.
