People make their way through terminal C at DFW International Airport on Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer
DFW International Airport is planning to renovate one of its original terminals while it waits for traffic to rebound and demand to return for the future Terminal F project.
The airport board of directors approved a $75 million design management project Thursday that will kickstart upgrades on Terminal C, the 39-gate terminal that is one of the key hubs for American Airlines’ operations at the airport.
Construction on the project likely won’t start for at least a year, airport CEO Sean Donohue said Thursday. But it would give a much-needed update to both the customer-facing sections of the terminal as well as behind-the-scenes updates to systems, such as electrical and HVAC.
Terminal C, used exclusively by American Airlines and mostly for domestic flights, lags behind the airport’s newer and more recently renovated terminals. It has outdated tile floors, low ceilings and fewer premier shopping and dining options than other parts of the airport. Completed in 1974, it’s the only terminal at the airport that hasn’t had a complete refurbishment.
The airport has been targeting Terminal C for renovation for years, but the airport and American Airlines have delayed the renovations on several occasions. The airport’s board approved $500 million for the renovation in 2019, but the scope of the project and construction costs could change the final cost.
The renovations would be paid for through gate rental fees by airline tenants, namely American Airlines.
Airports often partner with their major tenants to help design terminals and Fort Worth-based American has done similar partnerships at airports in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Chicago.
Renovations on Terminal A, which American also played a large role in, were finished in 2017 at a cost of about $1 billion. But the result was a transformation from an older, dimmer and cramped terminal into a brighter and more airy space with bigger windows to see onto runways, new seating and charging ports as well as new stores, new restaurants and renovated security checkpoint areas.
Of course, the renovations come while the future of a new sixth terminal is in limbo, at least for the time being. The COVID-19 pandemic rolled DFW passenger traffic back to 1985 levels, making a new terminal a low priority for the airport and American Airlines as they both scramble to stay afloat fiscally.
But before the COVID-19 pandemic, American Airlines was growing rapidly at DFW, pushing to more than 900 incoming and outgoing flights a day during peak periods in 2019. The airport renovated the shuttered satellite terminal in Terminal E to give more space and the airport is adding two new gates there.
American Airlines has leaned even heavier on DFW during the pandemic, with executives describing flights from the Texas airport as more profitable than most other routes.
Donohue said he believes the airport will eventually need Terminal F. Analysts say the airline industry may not recover entirely until 2023 or 2024, and that’s just to get back to 2019 levels.
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