STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Sustainable
AGENDA DATE: September 10, 2025
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S): N/A
DEPARTMENT: Office of Government Affairs
EXECUTIVE: Ahmad Goree
______________________________________________________________________
SUBJECT
Title
A resolution to approve the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Board’s FY 2026 budget - Financing: No cost consideration to the City
Body
BACKGROUND
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is requesting that the Owner Cities of Dallas and Fort Worth approve its fiscal year (FY) 2026 Budget. The 1968 Contract and Agreement between the Cities of Dallas and Fort Worth requires that the Owner Cities approve DFW’s annual budget. This document summarizes the major components of the DFW Airport’s FY 2026 Budget. The resolution approving tThe FY 2026 Budget Book is scheduled for consideration at the September 10 City Council Meeting reflects DFW’s continued strong growth with record passengers, non-airline revenues, and net revenues to the DFW capital account. It reflects a higher debt service due to the revised Terminal F program, but the lowest operating expense percentage increase since the pandemic.
Summary
DFW’s FY 2026 Budget includes new records for passengers, non-airline revenues, and net revenue transferred to DFW’s discretionary Capital Account. The FY 2026 Budget reflects higher debt service due to the revised Terminal F program but the lowest operating expense percentage increase since the pandemic. In 2023, DFW and the Airlines signed a 10-year Use and Lease Agreement with pre-approved capital investments, including the construction of a 15 gate Terminal F. In the second quarter of FY 2025, DFW and the airlines developed a new approach to Terminal F that increased the footprint to add a headhouse, parking garage, new roadways, and a federal inspection services facility, and increased the total number of gates to 31. This also increased the Terminal F budget from $1.6 billion to $4.0 billion, thus the higher debt service cost.
Other budget highlights followBudget highlights:
• Passengers are budgeted at 87.4 million in FY 2026, a 1.4 million (1.6%) increase from the FY 2025 Outlook.
• FY 2026 non-airline revenues are budgeted $623.7 million, a $31.3 million (5.3%) increase from FY 2025 Outlook.
• FY2026 non-airline net revenues (i.e., profits) are budgeted at $304.4 million, a $10.1 million (3.4%) increase from FY 2025 Outlook.
The FY26 Expenditure Budget is $1.442 billion, a $147.7 million (11.4%) increase from the FY25 Outlook.
• The FY 2026 Operating Expenses Budget is $756.9 million, a $41.2 million (5.8%) increase from the FY 2025 Outlook due primarily to increased employee-related costs, fixed contract increases, and restoration of the CEO contingency. The FY26 Operating Expense Budget increase also includes $5.5 million related to the transfer of Terminal A and C maintenance from American Airlines to DFW effective May 1, 2026. Without this maintenance transfer, the FY 2026 Budget increase would be 4.8%.
• The FY202 6 Debt Service Budget is $684.9 million, a $106.5 million (18.4%) increase from the FY 2025 Outlook primarily due to the planned issuance of $2.1 billion of new bonds in September 2025 to finance capital programs, primarily the Central Terminal Area expansion and Terminal F.
The DFW Board of Directors approved the FY 2026 budget in the amount of $1.442 billion on August 7, 2025, by Resolution 2025-08-233. The FY 2026 Budget request from the Cities of Fort Worth and Dallas is the approval of a $1.452 billion budget that includes $10 million of contingency outside the airline rate base. This contingency may only be used if approved by the DFW Board of Directors.
The use of contingency outside the rate base has been requested by DFW and approved by the Cities for the past 15 years.
Annual Expenditures (in Millions) FY26 Budget
Operating Expenses $ 756.90
Gross Debt $ 684.90
Total Expenditure Budget within Rate Base $1,441.80
Board Contingency outside Rate Base $ 10.00
Total Budget with Contingency $1,451.80
In accordance with the Contract and Agreement of 1968, the DFW Board is required to submit a budget showing the total expenditures to be made in any fiscal year to the Owner Cities of Dallas and Fort Worth for approval by their governing bodies.
PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS)
On August 7, 2025, the DFW Board of Directors approved the FY 2026 budget.
This item has no prior action.
FISCAL INFORMATION
No cost consideration to the City.