Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has installed six massive, prefabricated sections of the future Terminal F Skylink station, advancing a $4 billion terminal project as other improvements across the airfield begin serving travelers.
Airport officials announced the milestone on November 3. Crews lifted the modules into position along the existing Skylink guideway, where workers will connect them to create a station serving the airport’s sixth terminal.
The latest work comes after DFW opened new gates at Terminal A and completed a third end-around taxiway in October. The projects address different parts of the same challenge: accommodating more passengers without creating additional bottlenecks between aircraft, gates, and connecting flights.
Six Heavy Lifts For A New Skylink Connection
The station modules weighed between 210 and 310 tons each. DFW compared the heaviest structure with a fully loaded Boeing 777. A crawler crane arrived in approximately 60 truckloads, and crews spent nearly two weeks assembling it before the lifts.
Crews assembled each module at ground level and then lifted it overnight. Each lift took approximately eight hours, an approach the airport says reduced disruptions to the active Skylink system. Workers still must structurally connect and integrate the six sections; passengers cannot use the new station yet.
DFW expects to open Terminal F’s first 15 gates in 2027. The completed expansion calls for 31 gates, all serving American Airlines, plus facilities for additional international operations, widebody aircraft, check-in, security screening, baggage handling, and parking. Plans also call for a walking connection to Terminal D.
How The $1.6 Billion Plan Grew To $4 Billion
When DFW began Terminal F construction in November 2024, officials envisioned a $1.6 billion program with 15 gates. DFW and American Airlines expanded the plan in May 2025, more than doubling the projected gate count and adding dedicated passenger-processing facilities.
The Dallas Express covered that expansion in May 2025 and later documented the movement of six enormous, prefabricated structures that formed the first phase of the terminal building in August. The six structures from that earlier milestone differ from the six station modules installed this week.
New Gates And A Taxiway Offer Earlier Benefits
DFW and American Airlines announced on October 21 that flights had begun using Terminal A gates A10, A11, A13, and A15 the previous week. Those four gates represent the first of 10 planned for a 140,000-square-foot pier expansion. The airport expects the rest of the project to open for the winter holiday travel season.
On October 27, the airport confirmed completion of its Southwest End-Around Taxiway, its third such route. These taxiways let aircraft move around active runways instead of crossing them. DFW says they reduce taxi time by an average of four minutes per flight on the routes they serve. That figure does not mean every flight saves four minutes.
Together, the new gates and taxiway show that parts of DFW’s construction program already affect daily operations even as work on Terminal F continues.
Passenger Growth Raises The Stakes
The terminal program sits within DFW Forward, the airport’s approximately $12 billion capital plan for terminal, airfield, and roadway improvements. In a fiscal planning document, DFW forecast 101 million passengers for fiscal 2029 and 105 million for fiscal 2030, compared with a budgeted 87.4 million in fiscal 2026. The projections are estimates, not actual passenger counts.
For travelers, the airport’s next major test will be whether the new Skylink station, expanded gates, and ground operations come together on schedule. For now, the new station’s modules are in place, while Terminal F’s first gates remain targeted for 2027.
Provided by Dallas Express
