City officials in both Fort Worth and Dallas have approved plans for DFW International Airport to build new facilities for handling cargo.
Executives at the airport decided a few years ago to make growing their cargo business a priority. The airport handled 730,000 tons of cargo in 2015 and just over 1-million tons in 2021.
Some of that growth has been fueled by the shipping increase associated with the growth in e-commerce.
"We're a relatively small player in this for such a large, important airport in the global system. We're relatively new to this market so we have a tremendous upside there," said John Ackerman,
Executive Vice President for Global Strategy and Development at DFW International Airport. "Right now, about 98 percent of international e-commerce comes into this country through three airports - and we're not one of them. No airport in this region is one of them. It's the coastal airports."
The airport plans to spend $119 million on the project, which will include two cargo-handling buildings and parking spaces for up to eight large aircraft.
"It will bring airplanes, it will bring volumes. It will bring all the things we like as an airport," said Ackerman. "This is jobs for north Texans. This creates economic vitality for the region."
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