Dallas Love Field plans a $2.5 billion expansion program that the city expects to start in late 2027. The Love Field Expansion Airport Program, known as LEAP, is expected to take about six years and lift capacity from about 18 million to 24 million annual passengers within the airport’s existing 20 gate cap, city officials said.

LEAP, formally the Love Field Expansion Airport Program, bundles 14 major projects, led by a terminal headhouse estimated at $695.8 million and a concourse estimated at $304.9 million. The City of Dallas puts the full program at about $2.54 billion and says the work must proceed while the airport keeps operating safely and continuously. Funding is expected to come from airport capital funds, general airport revenue bonds, passenger and customer facility charges and grants, and Aviation Director Patrick Carreno has said no sales or property tax revenue is used. The city says the airport can reach 24 million passengers without adding a single gate, because federal law caps Love Field at 20.

That ceiling traces to an agreement reached about two decades ago among Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, DFW Airport and the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, and the contrast across the Metroplex is sharp. At DFW Airport, the Terminal F project saw American Airlines and the airport agree in May 2025 to double the gate count at a planned investment of about $4 billion, while the structural framework of its first phase was completed in August 2025 with six prefabricated modules. That first phase is expected to open in 2027. Meanwhile, Love Field is concentrating on moving more passengers through the same 20 gates.

Dallas Love Field Expansion Airport Program Targets 24 Million Passengers on 20 Gates

The Dallas Love Field Expansion Airport Program responds to a terminal that outgrew its design. City documents show the terminal complex was designed in 2013 for a maximum of 8 million enplaned passengers, and traffic passed that level by 2018.

In addition, the program targets a rise from about 18 million to 24 million annual passengers, an increase of one third. Carreno has said the gain would come partly from larger aircraft carrying more seats and from higher flight frequency rather than from new gates.

Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier at Love Field. Its Airline Use and Lease Agreement, approved by Dallas City Council in May 2025, pre-approved $800 million in terminal funding, and the same agreement allows up to $600 million for 12 additional gates if federal law changes.

City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has called the program “the most significant capital investment in Love Field’s history.” For scale, the Love Field Modernization Program that delivered the current terminal cost about $519 million, so the Dallas Love Field Expansion Airport Program is roughly five times larger.

$2.5B Dallas Love Field Expansion Airport Program: City Readies Six Year Terminal Rebuild in Texas

Dallas Love Field Expansion Airport Program Costs Concentrate in Terminal, Parking and Rental Car Works

The city’s June 15 update to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee broke the estimate into 14 elements totaling $2.54 billion. The terminal headhouse and the concourse together come to about $1 billion, close to 40 percent of the total.

Landside works carry the next largest share. The Maple Manor consolidated rental car facility is estimated at $396.9 million, Parking Garage D at $382.7 million and remote parking at $214.6 million.

Roadways add further cost, with the entrance roadway intersection at $159.6 million and curbside and terminal roadways at $120 million. Moreover, the central utility plant is estimated at $58.5 million, with smaller allocations for aprons and support buildings.

The city described the figures as high level planning estimates and said enabling, relocation and repurposing projects could add cost. As CRO reported in its earlier coverage of the program, most of the cost is expected to be financed through general airport revenue bonds.

Dallas Love Field Expansion Airport Program Timeline Depends on Design Packages and Approvals

Carreno has said enabling work and some demolition should begin by the end of 2027, with full construction in 2028. The city’s timeline graphic lists headhouse and roadway, Garage D, concourse and support facility construction starts, along with Garage A demolition, across a window that runs through 2033.

Dallas City Council awarded four program consulting contracts on May 27, 2026, and the teams were onboarded from June 8 to 11. Boston Consulting Group is executive program advisor, HNTB is program manager, Parsons leads digital transformation and building information modeling services, and Freese and Nichols leads utilities planning.

Federal approvals are also in play. The city targeted final approval of environmental documentation with the Federal Aviation Administration by fall 2026, and CRO did not find confirmation of that approval at the time of writing.

Design, theme and delivery recommendations were due to return to the committee and council in fall or winter 2026, and the city has said the timeline will be revised once design packages and delivery methods are set. A design architect and a construction contractor for the major works have not been named in the city materials reviewed.

$2.5B Dallas Love Field Expansion Airport Program: City Readies Six Year Terminal Rebuild in Texas

Project Overview

Project Name: Love Field Expansion Airport Program (LEAP), Dallas Love Field Developer or Owner: City of Dallas, through its Department of Aviation Location: Dallas Love Field, Dallas, Texas Project Type: Airport terminal, concourse, roadway, parking and support facility redevelopment across 14 major projects Project Value: About $2.54 billion (City of Dallas estimate, June 2026) Capacity Target: 24 million annual passengers, up from about 18 million, within the existing 20 gate cap Key Components: Terminal headhouse ($695.8 million), concourse ($304.9 million), consolidated rental car facility ($396.9 million), Garage D ($382.7 million), remote parking, roadways, central utility plant Funding: Airport capital funds, general airport revenue bonds, passenger facility charges, customer facility charges and grants Anchor Airline: Southwest Airlines, with $800 million of terminal funding pre-approved under its May 2025 lease agreement Status: Design phase; program management team onboarded in June 2026 Construction Start: Enabling work and demolition targeted for late 2027; full construction in 2028 Expected Completion: About six years of construction; city timeline runs through 2033 and is subject to revision Procurement Model: Not yet announced; delivery methods to be recommended to council Regulatory Framework: FAA environmental review, with final approval targeted for fall 2026; federal cap of 20 gates Previous Program: Love Field Modernization Program, about $519 million

Project Team

Owner and Operator

Owner: City of Dallas, Department of Aviation (Dallas Love Field)

Airlines and Regulators

Anchor Airline: Southwest Airlines Federal Regulator: Federal Aviation Administration

Program Consultants

Executive Program Advisor: Boston Consulting Group Program Manager: HNTB Digital Transformation and BIM Services: Parsons Utilities Planning: Freese and Nichols

Design and Construction

Design Architect: Not yet disclosed General Contractor: Not yet awarded

Related Project (Terminal F at DFW Airport)

Airport Owner: DFW Airport Anchor Airline: American Airlines