Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport.html



Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW, ICAO: KDFW, FAA LID: DFW) is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth,² and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas.

Overview

With 684,779 aircraft movements in 2007,³ it is the third busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft movements. In terms of passenger traffic, it is the seventh busiest airport in the world transporting 59,784,876 passengers¹ in 2007. In terms of land area, at 18,076 acres (7,315 ha),⁴ it is the largest airport in Texas, the second largest in the United States, behind Denver International Airport, and fourth largest in the world. It is the ninth busiest international gateway in the United States, behind Houston Intercontinental Airport.⁵ It is tied with Chicago O'Hare International Airport with the most runways, with seven. In 2006 the airport was named the "Best Cargo Airport in the World" according to the second edition of a survey.⁶⁷

The airport, within the incorporated cities of Euless, Grapevine, and Irving, serves 135 domestic destinations and 38 international, and is the largest and main hub for American Airlines (800 daily departures), and also the largest hub for American Eagle. Eighty four percent of all flights at Dallas/Fort Worth are operated by American Airlines. Delta Air Lines moved its Dallas/Fort Worth hub to Los Angeles International Airport in February 2005 in an effort to cut costs and avoid direct competition with American before eliminating it all together due to the Oil price increases since 2003. The airline shrank operations from 256 daily nonstop flights to 22.

The airport is often referred to by its IATA airport code, "DFW." It is operated in many ways like a small city. It has its own post office, ZIP Code, and Public Services. The United States Postal Service gave the airport its own city designation, DFW Airport, TX.⁸ The members of the airport's Board of Directors are appointed by the "owner cities" of Dallas and Fort Worth. The airport is inside the city limits of three other suburban cities, a situation that has led to legal battles over jurisdiction (see below). To help ensure future harmony with its neighbors, the DFW Airport Board includes a non-voting member — a representative chosen from the airport's neighbors (Irving, Euless, Grapevine, and Coppell) on a rotating basis.

DFW is connected by shuttle bus to a commuter rail station just south of the airport. The Trinity Railway Express line serves both downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth.

History

As early as 1927, before the area had an airport, Dallas proposed a joint airport with Fort Worth. Fort Worth declined the offer, choosing instead to build a municipal airport, Meacham Field, on the city's north side.

In 1940, Dallas and Fort Worth sought money for their separate airports. In 1941, American Airlines and Braniff Airways were unhappy at the expense and struck a deal with the city of Arlington to develop Midway Airport, but the governments of Dallas and Fort Worth disagreed over its construction, and the project was abandoned in 1942. During the next 20 years, Love Field expanded while Meacham Field outgrew its airport and sought other airport opportunities.

Following an order from the Civil Aeronautics Board in 1964 that they would unilaterally choose a site if both cities could not come to an agreement on a site within 180 days, and in 1965, officials from the two cities finally agreed on a location for a new regional airport, that was north of the abandoned GSW and almost perfectly equidistant from the two city centers. The first 176 acres was purchased jointly by both cities in 1966. The initial construction began in 1969.

In 1971, construction began on Terminal 2W (later Terminal B) and runway construction began in 1972. The first landing occurred the following year when Claude Brinegar arrived to inspect the airport. Also in 1973, the control tower and runways were completed, and the dedication of DFW Regional Airport was visited by 200,000 people. The first landing of a supersonic BAC/Sud (now BAE Systems and Aerospatiale) Concorde in the United States occurred, as well as performances by country singer Willie Nelson and entertainer Doc Severinsen. The airport owned 17,500 acres, making it the largest and costliest airport in the world at $700 million. Concorde later served DFW in a cooperative agreement between Braniff Airways, British Airways, and Air France, before the demise of Braniff ended the service.

DFW Airport opened for commercial service on January 13, 1974 when American Airlines Flight 341 arrived on time from Memphis via Little Rock, at 12:07 am. Fort Worth residents J.W. and Patricia Parker were the first to deplane.⁹ Just three months from opening, the airport handled 18,000 passengers a day. In 1978 American Airlines (which began as National Air Transport in Fort Worth 50 years earlier) announced the move of its headquarters from New York to Fort Worth.

During 1974-1983, DFW handled about 200 million passengers and more than 2.6 million tons of cargo and mail; the number of airlines serving the airport expanded to more than 40, increasing from just 12 airlines on opening day. In 1985, the name changed to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. In 1987 the federal task force recommended that DFW add 2 more runways, the addition of which were announced in 1989, along with the rebuilding of Terminals A, B, C, and E. DFW became the world's second busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic with 48,000,000 passengers. In May 1989, the space shuttle Atlantis, along with its 747, landed at DFW Airport because it had to divert due there to bad weather in Florida.

After an environmental impact study on the construction of the new runways and terminal rebuilding was released the following year, the cities of Irving, Euless, and Grapevine sued the airport over its expansion plans, a battle that was finally decided (in favor of the airport) by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993. Also in 1993 DFW had groundbreaking for Runway 16/34 East. In 1994, the FAA opened 2 new control towers at DFW, making it the only airport in the world with three control towers.

In 1996, construction was completed on Runway 17L/35R (formally designated 16/34 East), and on October 1, 1996, it opened for operations. American Airlines Flight 486 (a Boeing 757) was the first commercial aircraft to use the runway. On November 1, 1996, DFW started service to Lima, Peru; Los Cabos, Mexico; and Santiago, Chile. In 1997 DFW became the fastest growing gateway to Latin America, adding 8 new routes to Mexico, Central America, and South America. Foreign flag carriers increased from four to nine, providing DFW passengers a wide range of choices of travel. In 1998, DFW airport ranked #1 with on-time arrivals. Also in 1998 Terminal B was expanded to accommodate international travelers, and service to Asia increased with a new route to Osaka.

In 1999 the airport opened a 205,000 sq. ft. Class A International Cargo Center in January, adding to its existing 2.1 million sq. ft. of cargo facilities. A new international terminal (Terminal D) opened in July 2005.

Disasters at DFW

• On the afternoon of August 2, 1985, Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 on a Fort Lauderdale-Dallas/Fort Worth-Los Angeles route, crashed at DFW Airport after encountering severe wind shear, killing 8 of 11 crew members, and 128 of the 152 passengers on board, as well as 1 person on the ground.
• On August 31, 1988, Delta Air Lines Flight 1141, a Boeing 727 bound to Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah, crashed after takeoff from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, killing 2 of 7 crew members, and 12 of 101 passengers on board.

Disasters involving flights with a DFW connection

• On June 2, 1983, Air Canada Flight 797, which was flying on a Dallas/Fort Worth-Toronto-Montreal route, made an emergency landing at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Kentucky; 23 of the 46 people on board were killed by either smoke inhalation or flash fire.
• On June 1, 1999, American Airlines Flight 1420 crashed upon landing at Little Rock National Airport at Little Rock, Arkansas on a flight from Dallas/Fort Worth, killing the captain and 10 of the 139 passengers.

Incidents involving DFW

• On December 20, 2007, American Airlines Flight 1538, an MD-80 flying from Dallas/Fort Worth to Orlando International Airport, had to return to Dallas/Fort Worth after the plane suffered an unexpected drop in altitude following a turbine failure in one of the two engines. None of the crew or 115 passengers were injured. ¹⁰

Terminals, airlines and destinations

diagram of DFW

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has five terminals. The airport is designed with expansion in mind, and can theoretically accommodate up to thirteen terminals totaling 260 gates, although this level of expansion is unlikely to be reached in the foreseeable future.

The terminals at DFW are semicircular (except for the newest terminal, Terminal D, which is a "square U" shape) and built around the airport's central north-south arterial road, Spur 97, also known as "International Parkway." Until the late 1990s, they were designated by a number (2 being northernmost, 4 being southernmost) and a letter suffix ("E" for East, "W" for West). This system was later scrapped, and the terminals are now lettered from A to E. Terminals A, C, and E (from north to south) are on the east side of the airport, while Terminals B and D (from north to south) are on the west side.

DFW's terminals are designed to minimize the distance between a passenger's car and airplane as well as reduce traffic around terminals. A consequence of this layout is that connecting passengers had to walk extremely long distances between gates (in order to walk from one end of the semicircular concourse to the other, one must walk the entire length; there were no shortcuts between the ends). Since DFW is American Airlines' largest hub, this has caused problems. The original people mover train (opened with the airport, but notoriously slow and uni-directional) was replaced by SkyLink in April 2005, which serves all five terminals at a considerably higher speed and is bi-directional.

Terminal A

American Airlines and its regional affiliate American Eagle have a large presence at Dallas/Fort Worth. The world's 2nd largest airline, in terms of passengers transported, operates its largest hub at DFW. The two airlines operate at four of the five terminals at the airport. Terminal A, previously called "Terminal 2E" when the airport was first opened, is fully occupied by American Airlines for domestic flights. Prior to the opening of Terminal D, Terminal A operated most of AA's international flights at the airport. During the late 1990s, a significant number of American Eagle flights moved to Terminal B. Also in the late 1990s, American Eagle built a Satellite Terminal (Named Satellite Terminal A2) due to the lack of aircraft gates. It was located near Terminal A and was only accessible via shuttle buses. Satellite Terminal A2 (Gates A2A-A2N) was abandoned in 2005 when American Eagle moved all operations to Terminals B and D. However there are plans underway to redevelop the aging Terminal into a world class hub larger and more exclusive than international terminal D into becoming American Airlines exclusive Central Terminal.

Terminal A has 31 gates: A6-A29, A33-A39

Terminal B

This terminal was originally called "Terminal 2W" when the airport first opened. American Eagle occupies 16 gates at Terminal B. United Airlines is the only other airline that occupies the terminal as Midwest Airlines and US Airways relocated to Terminal E in July of 2006. Terminal B is the former Braniff Terminal. Prior to the opening of Terminal D, all non-AA international flights operated from this terminal.

Terminal B has 38 gates: B3, B4A, B4B, B5-B8, B9A, B9B, B10-B11, B12A, B12B, B13-B31, B33-B35, B36A, B36B, B37-B38, B39A, B39B

Terminal C

American Airlines operates all the gates at Terminal C, originally called "Terminal 3E" for only domestic flights.

Terminal C has 31 gates: C2-C4, C6-C8, C10-C12, C14-C17, C19-C22, C24-C33, C35-C37, C39

International Terminal D

International Terminal D designed by HKS, HNTB and Corgan Associates, opened in July 2005. The new terminal is a 2,000,000 sq ft (186,000 m²) facility capable of handling 32,000 passengers daily or 11.7 million passengers annually, with 29 gates and an integrated 298-room Grand Hyatt DFW [1] Hotel. The terminal features 200 ticketing positions and a federal inspection facility capable of processing 2,800 passengers per hour. The concession areas consist of 100,000 sq ft (9,290 m²) of retail, including many dining and retail options.

International Terminal D

The new eight-level parking garage has over 8,100 parking spaces and uses a Smart Technology System that lets guests know which floors are full. Air-conditioned skybridges with moving walkways and elevators connect the garage to the terminal, and an arrivals canopy roof shields pedestrians from inclement weather as they enter and exit the terminal.

Terminal D has 29 gates: D6-D8, D10-D12, D14-D18, D20-D25, D27-D31, D33-D34, D36-D40

Terminal E

Terminal E, originally called Terminal 4E, was occupied primarily by Delta Air Lines until Delta closed its hub in 2005 and retained only flights to its other hubs. Terminal E is distinctive in that it has a satellite terminal connected by an underground walkway. The satellite, previously used by Delta and later used by Delta Connection carriers, is currently unused. Terminal E is also connected to other terminals only by Skylink and is lacking the walkways that link other terminals.

Terminal E has 28 gates: E2-E21, E31-E38. Terminal E had customs facilities that were used when Delta operated flights to Frankfurt in the early 1990s, and when Air France and AeroMexico used to serve D/FW before the International Terminal D was constructed. In the 2000s, SkyTeam partner airlines Continental and Northwest moved to gates adjacent to Delta. Currently, airlines serving Terminal E include:

Cargo

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport handles sixty percent of all air cargo in Texas. Asia and Europe account for over 75% of the cargo at the 27th busiest cargo airport in the world.^{citation needed}

In a recent survey by Air Cargo World, Dallas/Fort Worth ranked as "The Best Cargo Airport in the World". Frankfurt International Airport came in second, while Hong Kong International Airport and the world's busiest cargo airport, Memphis International Airport, tied for third. [2]

Trade data

• Asia 48%
• Europe 34%
• Latin America 9%
• Middle East 3%
• Indian subcontinent 2%
• Oceania 2%
• Africa 1%
• Rest of World 1%

Cargo carriers

• ABX Air
• Air China Cargo
• Air France Cargo
• Air Transport International
• Airborne Express
• AirTran Cargo
• Alaska Air Cargo
• Ameriflight
• Carribean Transportation Services
• Cathay Pacific Cargo
• China Airlines Cargo
• China Cargo Airlines
• Continental Airlines Cargo
• Czech Airlines Cargo
• Delta Cargo
• EVA Airways
• FedEx
• Frontier Airlines Cargo
• Korean Air Cargo
• Lufthansa Cargo
• Martinaire
• Midwest Airlines Cargo
• Singapore Airlines Cargo
• United Parcel Service
• UPS Supply Chain
• US Airways Cargo

References

External links

Texas portal

• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, official website
• QTVR tour of DFW control tower
• DFW Tower.com
• FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 25 September 2008
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KDFW
  • ASN accident history for DFW
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KDFW
  • FAA current DFW delay information

Coordinates: 32°53′45″N 97°2′25″W / 32.89583, -97.04028