B
By the mid-1960s Fort Worth was getting 1% of Texas air traffic while
Dallas was getting 49%, which led to the virtual abandonment of GSW.
The joint airport proposal was revisited in 1961 after the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) refused to invest more money in separate
Dallas and Fort Worth airports.
Although the Fort Worth airport was eventually abandoned, Dallas Love Field became
congested and had no more room to expand. Following an order from the federal
government in 1964 that it would unilaterally choose a site if the cities could not come
to an agreement on a site, officials from the two cities finally agreed on a location for a
new regional airport that was north of the abandoned GSW and almost equidistant from
the two city centers. The land was purchased by the cities in 1966 and construction
began in 1969.
Voters went to the polls in cities throughout the Dallas/Ft Worth area to approve the new
North Texas Regional Airport, which was named after the North Texas Commission that
was instrumental in the regional airport coming to fruition. The North Texas Commission
formed the North Texas Airport Commission to oversee the planning and construction
of the giant airport. Area voters unanimously approved the airport referendum and the
new North Texas Regional Airport would become a reality.
Under the original 1967 airport design, DFW was to have pier-shaped terminals
perpendicular to a central highway. In 1968, the design was revised to provide for
semicircular terminals, which served to isolate loading and unloading areas from the
central highway, and to provide additional room for parking in the middle of each
semicircle. The plan proposed thirteen such terminals, but only four were built initially.
Opening and operations
DFW held an open house and dedication ceremony on September 20–23, 1973, which
included the first landing of a supersonic Concorde in the United States, an Air France
aircraft en route from Caracas to Paris.
The attendees at the airport's dedication included former Texas Governor John
Connally, Transportation Secretary Claude Brinegar, U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen and
Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe.
KDFW Dallas
July 2017
www.alliance-airways.net
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