The airport did not give a timeline for any construction. The master plan is set to be finalized by the end of the year.
DALLAS — As Dallas Love Field prepares for millions more passengers every year, airport officials just unveiled a draft of a new master plan that proposes replacing a parking garage with ticketing counters, a security checkpoint and baggage claim, documents from the city indicated.
The proposed master plan changes were set to be briefed to City Council members on Wednesday.
The “preferred terminal area alternative” outlined in the documents moves the pre-secure area functions of the airport – including baggage check and claim and TSA security screening checkpoint – to a new building where Garage A is currently located.
The proposal calls for a new parking garage – Garage D – to be build next to Garage C on the right hand side of the airport road loop.
After clearing security, passengers would take a new sky bridge to the concourse, which would also be expanded by a width of about 50 feet, according to the documents.
The proposal is not yet final – the airport said it expects to finish the master planning process by the end of the year – and there is no timeline for construction.
The planning is designed to help the airport handle an estimated 11.9 million annual passengers by 2040 – up from the current estimated 10.4 million, according to the airport.
“Designed in 2013, the terminal complex was designed for a maximum capacity of 8 million annual enplaned passengers. By 2018, passengers moving through the terminal exceeded that level,” the airport documents explained.
However, additional gates at the airport are likely not in the cards; federal rules prohibit Love Field from having more than 20 gates.
“You’ve had a massive expansion of passengers because the airplanes are getting bigger and bigger and they’re going to continue getting bigger and bigger,” said aviation analyst and owner of Dynamic Travel Steve Cosgrove. “That means you need more parking space, you need more room for the ticket counters, you need more room to get through TSA, get their bags, so forth and so on.”
Cosgrove said faster airplane turnaround times are likely also at play with the increased passenger count.
The presentation from the city does not give details on cost for the expansion either, however Southwest’s recent lease extension at Love Field includes a provision the airline will fund some airport expansion projects.