DFW Airport’s Terminal F will be twice as big as planned; investment grows to $4B
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport’s sixth terminal will be double the size originally planned, the airport announced Thursday morning.
Terminal F will now add 31 gates to the airport and will have its own security checkpoint, baggage facilities and parking.
The project’s expansion comes after American Airlines and DFW agreed to increase investment in the terminal to $4 billion. American also extended its lease and use agreement with DFW to 2043 as part of the deal. The Fort Worth-based airline will occupy all of Terminal F.
“By far, this is the most consequential project at DFW in over 20 years, since we opened Terminal D,” said DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue, who is retiring on May 19.
Construction of Terminal F, DFW’s sixth terminal, began in November. The project was originally slated to cost $1.6 billion and add 15 gates to the airport. Terminal F is expected to open in 2027, though a timeline for when all 31 gates will be operational has not been announced.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the company is focused on making its DFW operation an example for the airline industry.
“I’m here to tell you today that with the investment in these gates and with the infrastructure that we already have here, this gives American and the DFW a clear path to building the largest single airline hub in the world,” Isom said.
Isom said American serves about 82% of passengers who fly through DFW.
American Airlines’ Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden said the new terminal will add more wide-body gates for American at DFW, paving the way for the airline to add routes to new destinations in the coming years.
American pulled its 2025 earnings forecast on April 22, citing economic uncertainty that has made it impossible to decipher what its finances could look like by the end of the year.
Garboden, who was named CCO in February, said the company is “playing the long game” by continuing to grow at DFW.
“This is a decades-long investment, and couldn’t be more important to us. We’ll get through this year,” Garboden said.
Terminal F isn’t the only infrastructure project underway at DFW.
DFW began work on its multi-billion dollar capital improvements plan last summer, but work on all its projects won’t be complete for years.
American Airlines is partnering with DFW on the $3 billion renovation and expansion of Terminal C, which is expected to be done by 2030. The project will add four new gates and rebuild another five in the terminal. Work on Terminal C is being done in three phases, so it will remain operational throughout the renovation.
Construction to add five new gates to Terminal A is also underway.
DFW kept its spot as the world’s third-busiest airport in 2024, with over 87.8 million passengers.
DFW is American Airlines’ largest hub. With 36,000 workers in the Metroplex, the airline is one of the region’s largest employers.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 11:41 AM.
