Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, one of the 40 high-volume airports around the country affected by the federal mandate reducing air traffic by 10%, is restoring operations with the government shutdown over.
“With the government shutdown over, travel is getting back on track,” American Airlines, the airport’s largest tenant, said on its website. “We’re committed to keeping our customers informed and are providing additional flexibility for customers as operations get back to normal.”
Chis McLaughlin, the airport’s chief executive, told airport board members at their Nov. 6 meeting that the airline planned to make flight reductions in early November that were in line with the Trump administration’s directive. President Donald Trump signed a bill late Nov. 12 ending the shutdown.
The reductions came as DFW turned the page on its 2025 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. The airport experienced strong financial performance despite passenger totals falling 6.4 million short of a predicted target of 92.7 million. Expenses were down for the year, which offset the reduction of passenger-driven revenue.
American Airlines said Thursday it’s experienced fewer flight delays and cancellations in the last several days. (Courtesy photo | American Airlines)
Looking into the current fiscal year, McLaughlin indicated that October was a strong passenger month, and he sees positive signs for future bookings with the holidays approaching. But he acknowledged uncertainty about how the reductions will affect bookings.
American Airlines announced a week ago it reduced flight schedules by 4% at 40 airports through Nov. 10, “amounting to about 220 flights canceled each day. Even with these cancellations, we plan to operate around 6,000 daily flights.”
American offered a fee waiver for passengers’ changes to itineraries if they’re traveling through impacted airports, including DFW. Passenger count is a key driver of revenue that the airport generates from parking, concessions and fees charged to rental car companies. A reduction in the number of flights will negatively affect revenue that comes from landing fees charged to airlines.
“We are encouraged by the last few days of operations that have already brought fewer delays and cancellations,” American Airlines said Thursday on its site. “That means fewer day-of delays and close-in cancellations for our customers. We are well positioned to recover quickly because of our operational decisions to minimize disruption. Our approach was to limit inconvenience for our customers. We took unprecedented actions to provide flexibility for customers, and we are grateful for their loyalty and patience throughout a challenging period.”
American Airlines said Thursday its approach to the government shutdown to “limit inconvenience” has paid off. (Courtesy photo | American Airlines)
McLaughlin thanked air traffic controllers and TSA agents for their hard work during the ongoing government shutdown and recognized their efforts in continuing to ensure the airport runs smoothly and safely.
“These men and women are doing their very best to carry the weight of their essential roles and execute their mission with dedication,” he said.
Changes to small business policies
In other discussions, DFW Airport board members made changes to the small business policies. Officials said they did so to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order that undoes previous federal mandates regarding diversity, equity and inclusion and restores merit-based standards across government and federally funded programs.
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The airport receives federal grants for aviation infrastructure improvements, law enforcement, public safety and emergency management, which would be jeopardized if it were to be found noncompliant with the executive order.
The board members approved:
1) Suspending their current Minority/Women Business Enterprise Program Policy and replacing it with a new Small Business Enterprise program policy.
2) Adopting an amended Small Business Enterprise Concessions program policy.
3) Adopting an amendment to the Small Business Enterprise component of their Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Policy.
The first change became effective Nov. 7. The others will become effective upon review and approval by the FAA.
McLaughlin thanked the board for accommodating the changes and acknowledged it has been a difficult discussion internally.
“Every decision we’ve made is with our community in mind, within the legal constraints that have been placed upon us,” he said.
DFW Airport Board Meeting
Documenter name: Doug Wilhelm
Date: Nov. 6, 2025
See more about this meeting at documenters.org.
He indicated that invitations were sent to advocacy partners for a meeting to talk through the changes. He added, “I believe that as you hear more about these programs, you’ll have confidence that we remain committed to our values and committed to our community and the small businesses that keep North Texas thriving.”
Other business
Other business included approving $269.2 million in spending focused primarily on the delivery and operation of the first group of gates in the new Terminal F; modernizing the West Airfield electrical infrastructure; and paying for Terminal D passenger enhancements that include two new screening lanes, 19 self-service bag drops, 42 self-serve check-in kiosks, relocation of curbside check-in to an internal location, and construction of a sensory room to provide a quiet and calming place for customers.
Doug Wilhelm is a member of the Fort Worth Report’s Documenters crew.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at news@fortworthreport.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
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