Encompassing 27 square miles, Dallas/Fort Worth International is one of
the world's largest and busiest airports, accommodating more than
150,000 passengers each day. The 1974 opening of D/FW was preceded by
nearly half a century of an often acrimonious aviation rivalry between
Dallas and Fort Worth that featured a colorful cast of business leaders,
municipal officials, and airline executives. Through its first 40 years,
D/FW grew from a regional hub into a global crossroads for passenger and
air cargo service. Bold, imaginative leadership sustained the airport
through the failure of its largest tenant airline, the effects of 9/11,
an air traffic controllers' strike, and more than one fuel crisis. An
extraordinary economic engine for North Texas, D/FW stands poised to
become home to the world's largest airline, validating the original
planners' dream of a dynamic focal point for domestic and international
commercial aviation.