Visitor Guide

DFW Airport, which first opened to traffic a few minutes past midnight on January 13, 1974, is jointly owned by the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and is operated by the DFW Airport Board. DFW Airport is the most successful cooperative project in the history of the cities, a particularly remarkable achievement given their historic rivalry. The following aviation highlights serve as a chronology of the development of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

1927 - Dallas proposes a joint airport with Fort Worth; Fort Worth declines, choosing instead to build a municipal airport, Meacham Field, on the city’s north side.

1928 - Dallas purchases Love Field from the U.S. Army for $325,000 and transforms 3,250 acres and old wartime buildings into its own municipal airport.

1934 - Dallas becomes a major hub for air-mail distribution as national air carrier Braniff Airways wins a service contract for a Dallas-Chicago route.

1937 - Fort Worth expands Meacham Field.

1940 - Dallas and Fort Worth seek separate federal funding for their respective airports; Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) suggests a joint regional airport and earmarks $1.9 million for the project.

1941 - Frustrated by the expense and inefficiency of maintaining service at two airports, American Airlines and Braniff Airways collaborate with the City of Arlington to develop centrally located Midway Airport.

1942 - Unable to agree on the main terminal site, Fort Worth and Dallas discontinue the Midway Airport project; during the next 20 years, Dallas improves and expands Love Field while Fort Worth outgrows Meacham Field and seeks other airport opportunities.

1947 - Texas Legislature passes the Texas Municipal Airports Act.

1953 - Fort Worth’s Greater Southwest International Airport opens in Northeast Tarrant County.

1961 - Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) orders hearings on proposals to construct a joint airport; Federal Aviation Administration Chief Najeeb Halaby vows his agency will not "put another nickel" into either of the cities' independent airports.

1964 - CAB finds neither Love Field nor Greater Southwest International Airport suitable for future needs and orders Dallas and Fort Worth to find a new site within 180 days or indicates that it will do it for them.

1965 - An Interim Airport Board is established with Dallas Mayor and entrepreneur J. Erik Jonsson serving as chairman; a site is selected just north of Greater Southwest International Airport and almost exactly 17 miles from both cities’ central business districts.

1966 - The first 176 acres of land is purchased for a new airport for the North Texas region.

1967- Voters in Dallas County reject the creation of a Regional Airport Authority.

1968 - The Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport Board is formally created; J. Erik Jonsson presides as first chairman; Tom Sullivan, Deputy Director of Aviation for the New York Port Authority, accepts position as DFW Airport's first Executive Director.

• The first $35 million in revenue bonds are sold to finance construction of Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport.
  
  
• Ground breaking for DFW Regional Airport takes place at site bound by cities of Grapevine, Irving, and Euless.

1969 - Initial phase of construction begins for DFW Airport.

1971 - Construction begins on the first terminal, 2W.

1972- Runway construction starts.

1973 - The first official landing occurs at DFW Airport as U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Claude Brinegar, arrives to inspect the facilities.

• Runway paving is completed at DFW Airport.
  
  
• Control tower is completed at DFW Airport.
  
  
• Dedication of Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport attended by 200,000 people; highlights include first U.S. landing by the supersonic Concorde, performances by country music singer Willie Nelson and popular entertainer Doc Severinsen; at 17,500 acres and over $700 million, DFW is called the largest and costliest airport in the world.

1974 - January 13, 1974, DFW Airport officially opens as its first commercial flight, American Airlines Flight 341, arrives on time via Little Rock, Arkansas, at 12:07 a.m.; a Fort Worth couple, J.W. and Patricia Parker, are the first passengers to deplane.

• In just three months, DFW Airport averages 18,000 passengers per day.

1978 - Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 is approved, allowing airlines to adopt new routes and more competitive rate structures.

• DFW Customs District is created.
  
  
• Foreign Trade Zone #39 is created.
  
  
• American Airlines, which began as National Air Transport in Fort Worth 50 years prior, announces plans to move its corporate headquarters from New York to Fort Worth, adjacent to DFW Airport.

1979 - Wright Amendment passes in the U.S. Congress.

1981 - Growth at DFW Airport leads to $112 million expansion; Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strikes result in significant disruption.

1982 - Braniff Airlines files bankruptcy.

1983 - In its first ten years, DFW Airport handles approximately 200 million airline passengers and more than 2.6 million tons of cargo and mail; the number of airlines providing service has expanded to over 40 - up from just twelve on opening day.

1985 - Investigation into construction irregularities has profound impact on the Airport Board; DFW Regional Airport renamed DFW "International" Airport.

1986 - FAA issues DFW Airport forecasts for the years 1990-2005, projecting 1.1 million aircraft operations per year by 2005; DFW Airport implements the first phase of its Airport Master Plan Update.

1987 - Federal task force recommends that two additional air carrier runways be constructed at DFW Airport to handle anticipated growth.

1989 - DFW Airport Board announces Airport Development Plan (ADP), which calls for addition of two new air carrier runways at DFW and rebuilding of current terminals; DFW becomes the world's second busiest passenger airport with 48 million passengers annually.

• FAA mandates additional security requirements resulting in significant increases in operational costs at airports.

1990 - DFW Airport's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is released; neighboring cities challenge DFW Airport on zoning ordinance; court tests ensue on DFW Airport's Environmental Impact Statement.

• Aviation Safety and Capacity Enhancement Act of 1990 is approved which permits airports to collect Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) to enhance capacity, safety and security.

1992 - Eastside development Mitigation Program initiated; hardship cases are reviewed.

• FAA issues favorable Record of Decision, approving Runways 16/34 East and West at DFW Airport.
  
  
• Yearly passenger traffic tops 50 million for the first time.
  
  
• Three cities file suit to challenge DFW Airport's expansion in state and federal courts.

1993 - DFW Airport seeks legislative solution to zoning issues; Texas Legislature passes Senate Bill 348 reaffirming that DFW Airport is exempt from local zoning ordinances; DFW Airport Board votes to proceed with initial design phase of Runway 16/34 East and expansion of mitigation program.

• U.S. Court of Appeals rules in favor of DFW Airport on EIS lawsuit, upholding DFW Airport's Environmental Impact Statement.
  
  
• DFW holds ground breaking for Runway 16/34 East.
  
  
• State District Court rules that Senate Bill 348 is constitutional.

1994 - DFW Airport's Twentieth Anniversary.

• FAA opens two new control towers, bringing to three the number of operational control towers on DFW Airport. DFW is the only airport in the world with three air traffic control towers.

1995 - NAFTA center at DFW Airport is dedicated.

• Economic Impact Study is released; study reveals that DFW Airport activity contributes $8.4 billion dollars annually and 167,000 jobs to the local economy.
  
  
• New Food and Beverage proposed vendors announced; 25 local vendors recommended to receive contracts for food and beverage concessions in the DFW Airport terminal complex.
  
  
• Founder's Plaza Airport observation area is dedicated.

1996 - Construction completed on Runway 17L/35R (formerly designated 16/34 East); the runway opens for operations October 1st; a Boeing 757, American Airlines Flight 486, becomes the first commercial aircraft to use the runway.

• On November 1, DFW celebrates service to three new South American destinations - Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; and Los Cabos, Mexico.

1997 - DFW Airport became the fastest-growing gateway to Latin America in 1997, adding eight new nonstop routes to Mexico, Central and South America; foreign flag carriers increased from four to nine in 1997, providing DFW passengers a wide range of choices for international travel.

The U.S. Small Business Administration presented DFW Airport Board officials with a certificate of commendation in January recognizing DFW's Minority and Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program for its efforts and commitment in helping SBA to develop competitive small businesses.

1998 - DFW ranked number one among major U.S. airports in on-time arrivals; key contributors to DFW's operating efficiency are its seven runways, 12 instrument landing approaches and three control towers - unique by industry standards.

• Terminal B was expanded and renovated to accommodate the growth in international travel; changes include gate expansion to accommodate three widebody aircraft side-by-side when parked, almost doubling the size of the "meters and the greeters" area, increasing the area around the two international ticket counters and expanding the capacity through immigration services.
  
  
• As a testimony to the commitment to run DFW like a business, the airport achieved the lowest net cost per enplaned passenger in the history of the Airport, just $2.08.
  
  
• Service to Asia from DFW increased in 1998, with the addition of nonstop daily service to Osaka, Japan.

1999 - The Airport opened a new 205,000 square-foot Class A International Cargo Center in January, adding to DFW's existing 2.1 million square feet of cargo facilities; in March, a new state-of-the-art 2,400 square foot international perishable treatment facility was added to support international cargo growth.