Dallas Fort Worth International airport is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month.
The airport was opened in 1974 and initially served nine airlines across four terminals, three runways, and 66 gates.
It is now the third largest airport by land area and has seven runways and 171 gates.
American Airlines, which has its headquarters in Fort Worth, is the largest airline operating out of the airport.
- 1965 – Cities of Dallas and Fort Worth formed interim Board to plan and develop what would become DFW Regional Airport
- 1973 – Concorde made first landing in U.S. at DFW Airport prior to opening
- 1974 – DFW Regional Airport opened with four terminals, three runways, 66 gates
- 1977 – Ranked as world’s third busiest airport
- 1979 – American Airlines moved headquarters from New York to Fort Worth, Texas
- 1981 – American Airlines established DFW Airport as its first hub
- 1983 – Opened fourth and fifth runways
- 1985 – Renamed to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
- 1986 – Opened sixth runway and served 43m passengers
- 1989 – First commercial airport to host a space shuttle landing
- 1992 – Initiated first environmental impact statement
- 1994 – Two new control towers completed and Fire Training and Research Center opened
- 1996 – Opened seventh runway; only airport in the world with seven runways at the time
- 2000 – International cargo center and international perishable treatment facility opened
- 2000 – New consolidated rent-a-car facility opened
- 2005 – Terminal D, Skylink and Grand Hyatt opened
- 2016 – Named Airports Council International’s “Best Large Airport in North America”
- 2019 – Named Air Transport World’s “Airport of the Year”
- 2019 – American Airlines commenced Dublin to Dallas service
- 2019 – DFW handled a record 75m passengers
- 2020 – Earned U.N. Global Climate Action Award
- 2020 – Rolled out biometric boarding — where your face is your boarding pass — for international flights
- 2021 – Terminal D South extension opened
- 2022 – Terminal C “High C Gates” opened and DFW is again named Airports Council International’s “Best Large Airport in North America”
- 2023 – Established new Use and Lease Agreement pre-approving capital projects, including rebuilding Terminal C and constructing new Terminal F
