The number of international passenger and cargo flights is on the rise at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport as strategies to increase traffic and tonnage appear to be paying off.
DFW Airport officials this week looked at international flight data over the last five years at the Dallas Business Journal’s request.
“If you roll back the clock to 2012 to where we are today, it’s double digit growth,” said Sean Donohue, CEO of DFW Airport.
The number of departing international passenger flights at DFW grew 35 percent, from an average of 67 per day in 2012 to 91 per day now, airport statistics show. The number of departing international seats available grew 51 percent, from 9,455 per day in 2012 to 14,675 now.
The airport anticipates a record 73 million customers this year, including more than 4 million international travelers.
DFW Airport netted eight international destinations since 2012, bringing the total international destinations served to 57, according to the airport’s data. International airlines added were Qatar Airways, Emirates, Cayman Airways, Volaris, Wow Air, Icelandair, Interjet, Japan Airlines, Avianca, AeroMexico and Qantas.
“Our goal is to continue to grow the international traffic here at a rate that drives value for the region,” Donohue said.
JFK Airport in New York topped all U.S. airports with more than 15 million international passengers, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The major airport in Los Angeles, with 11 million international passengers, was second, followed by Miami with 10 million and San Francisco with 6 million international passengers.
Each international flight adds an estimated $250 million annually to the DFW economy, according to a study by Waco-based economic forecasting firm The Perryman Group.
DFW Airport in 2016 accelerated its push for more international destinations in 2016 by offering carriers greater incentives to launch nonstop flights to overseas cities. The incentives typically include reduced landing fees and marketing costs for the new service.
The airport also sponsors trade missions out of the country to build partnerships with international airlines, expand the number of international flights for DFW and solidify traffic for existing international flights.
