If you’re expecting DFW International Airport’s $4 billion new terminal to be an architectural showpiece that brings romance back to air travel, prepare to be disappointed.
If, on the other hand, you’re hoping for a modern and efficient new terminal that eases some of the inconvenience of flying, you just might be in luck. For an aging, overcrowded airport that has the overall aesthetic character of a Denny’s, that’s something to celebrate.
DFW, anyway, was never supposed to be an architectural marvel. When it opened, in 1975, its first director stated flatly that the designers had “not set out to build a monument,” calling it instead “an efficient tool.” Gyo Obata, its chief architect, called it a “no-nonsense airport.”
The new 31-gate terminal would appear to fit that description. It is a joint venture between DFW and American Airlines, which will be the sole occupant of the facility. Passengers will access the terminal via a new bar-shaped parking structure or the airport’s “Skylink” rail system. It will also be linked to neighboring Terminal D. Construction is now underway, to be done in stages, the first projected to open sometime in 2027, with full completion in 2030.
“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,” DFW chief executive Sean Donohue said in a statement.
Initial renderings show a bright and airy terminal with undulating glass walls. A central area would serve as a gateway and space for dining and retail. From there, passengers would travel down a linear concourse to reach their gates.
The project is the work of Innovation Next+, a consortium of architecture, construction and engineering firms whose roster runs a good paragraph in length. Within that group, the design team includes the firms Gensler, Muller2 and PGAL. As you might expect, with so many corporate cooks in the kitchen, the spaces, judging by the first renderings, have a rather vanilla character. Think of it as architectural sheet cake.
The most compelling aspect of the terminal is its method of construction. To save time and costs, and to reduce disruption, it will be composed of six prefabricated modules produced on airport property south of the terminals and then moved into place and sutured together. According to Donohue, the system is “unique among airport development projects.”
The terminal will be situated opposite Terminal E at the southwestern end of the airport’s central spine and will break with the semi-circular plan characteristic of Obata‘s original terminals in favor of a more conventional linear design. With that geometric intrusion, the airport will no longer have the appearance from the sky of an archaic rune left by a long-lost civilization.
The curving profile was a product of a design that seemed brilliantly functional when the airport was conceived but had become obsolete by the time it opened. Obata‘s semi-circular terminals maximized gate capacity and left empty space within the terminal arcs for parking. “What we tried was to bring the airplane and the passenger together,” said Obata. In theory, the walk from parking spot to gate would be no longer than from the cabin door of a 747 to its rear seat.
The concept made sense until a spate of hijackings in the early 1970s required new security measures, a difficult retrofit for Obata’s narrow terminals. The airline industry’s shift to a hub-and-spoke system (with direct flights replaced by connections in and out of major airports) exacerbated problems, increasing the number of flights and lengthening terminal waits.
With its central gathering area and broad concourse, the new terminal should avoid the problems that have long plagued DFW’s original terminals. The linear design allows for gates on either side of the corridor, increasing capacity while improving sight-lines.
If it is not quite the dramatic visual gateway as some other recent airports — Madrid, Portland and Singapore are good examples — it will at least meet contemporary standards. If anything, it brings to mind the $8 billion transformation of New York’s LaGuardia Airport from a grim architectural headache into a pleasant and well-appointed place for travelers.
That suits DFW’s history, and also the essential nature of Dallas, a city known more for its convenience and ease of living than for its physical beauty.
Terminal F may grade out as something closer to a B-minus, but that’s a long way from failing.
CORRECTIONS, 3:50 p.m. May 16, 2025: A previous version of this column contained errors based on outdated information. The planned Terminal F will have 31 gates, which passengers will access via a new parking garage and Skylink rail.