Workers at DFW participated in a wall-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), the world’s third-busiest passenger airport, has marked the start of work on a $3 billion project to rebuild its Terminal C.
Terminal C is the busiest of the five terminals at American Airlines’ base hub. The rebuild will also expand the facility, which DFW describes as its “most outdated terminal.” The renewed terminal is slated to be fully operational in 2030.
The project will turn the terminal into “a modern and spacious experience by removing more than 400 view-blocking columns, installing new dynamic glass windows and raising the roof throughout,” the airport said in a statement. DFW added the terminal will feature “all-new facilities, including shops and restaurants, lounge space, check-in areas, security checkpoints and improved restrooms.”
The airport noted that concurrently with the first phase of Terminal C’s rebuild, there will be pier expansions of both Terminal C and Terminal A. DFW has a total of 171 gates across its five terminals. The airport has seven runways.
DFW handled 81.8 million passengers in 2023, up 11.7% year-over-year. Only Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport and Dubai International Airport handled more annual passengers last year.
The project now underway will add nine gates to DFW as the planned pier expansions will give Terminal C four more gates and Terminal A five more gates.
The Terminal C tier expansion will span 115,000 ft.2, while the Terminal A pier expansion will span 140,000 ft.2
Following the first phase of the project, which includes both pier expansions, much of Terminal C will be demolished to be rebuilt in two additional phases, according to the airport.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the “reimagined Terminal C at DFW” is a “monumental expansion” of one of “Dallas’ greatest assets, facilitating more dynamic [flight] connections with our nation and the world.”
The design and building of the first phase of the Terminal C project, which includes the A and C pier expansions, is being directed by a joint venture of Texas firms Austin Commercial, Azteca Enterprises and Alpha & Omega.
The Terminal C project is part of a planned $9 billion in spending on upgrades dubbed “DFW Forward,” which will encompass “180 projects, in various stages of planning, development and construction, that are spread throughout the airport’s extensive airfield, terminal and roadway systems,” according to the airport.
One of those projects is adding a sixth terminal to the airport. Terminal F, which will have 15 gates, is aimed for a 2027 completion, with the cost pegged at $1.6 billion.
DFW CEO Sean Donohue said the $9 billion capital improvement program will “reimagine the customer experience in many ways and provide the needed framework to support more historic growth in air travel to and from North Texas. As we grow closer to serving 100 million passengers each year, it’s time for DFW to enhance our remaining legacy terminal and imagine brand new ones.”
He added that the “work in front of us … is going to be complex, challenging and impactful.”
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