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The expansion planned for Dallas Love Field Airport is estimated to cost between $2.3 and $2.5 billion. The one element of the project that will have the most impact on the surrounding neighborhoods, businesses, and traffic is still undecided.
During a July public meeting of the Dallas Love Field “Love What’s Next” 2025 masterplan, leaders presented early plans for a flyover lane for vehicular traffic entering and exiting the airport, aimed at keeping traffic moving along an already congested Mockingbird Lane. However, those plans were premature as officials appear to have pivoted away from the concept and the visualization was omitted from last week’s presentation.
Austin Futch, aviation planning and development manager for the City of Dallas Aviation Department, explained that more consultation would have to take place with the businesses along Mockingbird Lane if a flyover were to be used.
The entrance and exit to Dallas Love Field will require “a solution that works for the airport and the community at large,” Futch said.
For context, the Dallas Love Field master plan is essentially the airport’s roadmap: a federally required, comprehensive study of the facility that lays out short-, medium-, and long-term development needs. The planning process, which began in 2023, helps the city and airport anticipate future passenger demand and decide what upgrades to prioritize.
Number of Flights May Increase out of Dallas Love Field
Another change affects the space currently used for baggage claim. At the July public meeting, the area was presented as future office space for the TSA and FAA. Under the updated plans, the structure will be demolished and replaced with additional aircraft parking.
“Baggage claim as we know it will be gone,” said Colleen Quinn with Ricondo, a facilities and operation services firm hired to help develop Dallas Love Field’s masterplan. That space “will accommodate some overnight parking.”
The number of flights is set to go up, as well. Currently, 10 flights depart each day from 20 gates, Quinn said. Once the airport expansion is complete, that’ll increase to 10.5 flights per day per gate, adding an additional 10 flights daily.
Dallas Love Field currently participates in a Voluntary Noise Abatement Program, which reduces the number of flights landing after 11 p.m. and taking off before 6 a.m. — in theory, reducing noise to surrounding neighborhoods such as Love Field West, Elm Thicket/Northpark, and Briarwood.
Concourse Expansion Still Moving Forward Unchanged
One part of the masterplan that is still moving forward unchanged is the expansion of the concourse.
Working in phases, Quinn said the concourse expansion is needed to relieve crowding during peak periods, when travelers have difficulty finding a seat or grabbing food before their flights.
“There will be more seating, more concessions, and larger bathrooms,” she said. “That will make a huge improvement” to the concourse.
Property taxes will not be used to pay for the more than $2 billion price tag on the expansion, said Jason Apt, also with Ricondo.
Nearly half of the cost will be covered by bonds, which will be repaid over time using customer and passenger facility charges paid by travelers using airport services.
The proposed Dallas Love Field expanison “is financially feasible,” Apt said.