DFW International Airport — continual growth and influence

  • After many years of planning, DFW International opened in 1974. The plan to put it in the middle of nowhere at the time was to connect Dallas and Fort Worth and create a long-term catalyst for regional growth. The 17,500-acre airport was the largest in the US until Denver’s new airport in 1995.  
  • DFW’s new airport worked and served as an immediate catalyst for new development in the region, being one of the sparks that ignited the development of Las Colinas. Today, Las Colinas and the area around the airport boasts 20+ Fortune 1,000 HQs, including McKesson, Caterpillar, Fluor, AMN Heath, and the like.  
  • While the pandemic collapsed travel, DFW airport bounced back completely in 2022 and has shown passenger gains in 2023.  As of last year, it ranked as the second busiest airport in the US, just behind Hartsfield in Atlanta. DFW also has an active cargo business, ranking 11th, due to it being within 4 hours of almost all U.S. cities.  
  • Most importantly, many corporations that have relocated to the region note the critical importance of DFW Airport in their decision, pointing out its central U.S. location and ease of domestic and international travel as key reasons for their choice to open operations in the Metroplex.

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