The City of Dallas could expand Love Field. Aviation Director Patrick Carreno says the number of passengers could increase from nine million this year to 12 million in 2030.
"It's a good problem to have," he told the Dallas City Council. "The city, Southwest Airlines, nobody could have envisioned the number of passengers who were going to come through and what would happen the next ten to eleven years."
The Wright Amendment expired in 2014 allowing airlines to fly across the contintental United States from Love Field. The law limited traffic at Love Field to fly within Texas and neighboring states to limit competition with DFW Airport, which had opened in 1974.
Love Field went through a modernization program in 2014, but Carreno told the city council an increase in passengers made another expansion necessary. He said federal law limits Love Field to 20 gates, "so it's crucial we improve the efficiency at the airport and do what we can do get those extra three million enplanements out of this airport."
Carreno said Love Field could build a build an entry-way with two levels to separate arrivals and departures to provide more curb space. He said the airport could also tear down Garage A and replace it with another building. Love Field could then build another garage next to Garage C.
"These would be pretty dramatic changes, but once we get into some advanced planning and start working with the architects, we'll preserve that ease-of-use at Dallas Love Field, that identity, that sense of place that you're in Dallas," Carreno said.
He told the council the Department of Aviation could finish advanced planning next year along with the potential cost. The department says design could start next year with six years of construction starting in 2027.