DFW Airport is going high-tech to support operations

New technologies, from drones to robotics to AI, are coming to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport across operational departments. 

The need for those new technologies is exemplified by the operational challenge the airport faces regularly, said Jerome Woodard, executive vice president of operations. He presented these advances in an overview to the airport’s board of directors Oct. 1.

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“We process and move about 250,000 people per day from this airport, and we have well over 2,000 flight operations on a daily basis,” he said. “It takes 45,000 people working at this airport in order to facilitate 85 million (passengers), which is what we see on an annualized basis.”

His team fields over 6,500 calls for fire services, over 100,000 nonemergency calls, and close to 200,000 custodial requests each year, he said. 

Woodard’s operations group consists of four divisions: Airfield Operations, Environmental Affairs & Sustainability, Integrated Operations Center and the Department of Public Safety.

Airfield Operations is responsible for ensuring a safe airfield. The team operates in a highly regulated environment due to federal requirements that govern airport operations. 

Woodard said sophisticated drones are now being used to assist with inspection of taxiways and runways multiple times per day. The drones have infrared and thermal imaging capability, and can look for airfield debris much more efficiently than humans in vehicles can, thereby reducing impact to airfield operations.

Six fully immersive simulators are used to train operators of airport vehicles, including aircraft tugs, trucks and snow removal equipment, Woodard said. The simulators have hydraulic systems that move the cabs and seats to provide operators with physical feedback based on the operation they are conducting. Surround sound systems provide audible cues to round out the immersive training experience.

Woodard touted the Environmental Affairs & Sustainability division’s role in reaching the airport’s net zero carbon emissions goal by 2030. Net zero means a 90% reduction in carbon emissions from a defined baseline year. In 2010, DFW Airport emitted 175,000 tons of carbon. By 2025, emissions had been cut to 31,000 tons — an 82% reduction — giving confidence that the 90% goal is achievable by 2030. 

“It takes real intention in terms of your policies and practices to be able to reach a goal like this,” Woodard said. “This will be monumental for us because there’s no other airport within the United States that has this designation.”

Woodard said the Integrated Operations Center maintains a full view of all the airport’s activities including movement of passengers, vehicles and aircraft, as well as weather tracking and emergency response coordination. 

Woodard said the center fields approximately 1,200 requests on a daily basis, with approximately 60% of those being phone calls. 

With the intent of improving the center’s efficiency, an AI call-taking system is being deployed. 

“The AI will be answering the call, and it will be able to address the situation to a point of remedy for those folks that are calling in,” Woodard said.

Enhancements are also being made to a large video wall in the IOC to improve operators’ situational awareness.

Woodard also described technological improvements coming to the airport’s Department of Public Safety, which has police, fire and aviation security responsibilities.

The most notable enhancement is the introduction of a Spot robotic “dog” from Boston Dynamics to assist explosive ordinance disposal personnel.

The new robot will work in concert with the airport’s larger inspection devices, Woodard said. 

“The Spot unit will be able to get into smaller spaces and scan an area, providing situational awareness for our personnel,” he said.

eVTOL landing at DFW

On Sept. 12 and 13, DFW Airport hosted Joby Aviation’s electric vertical take off and landing aircraft as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, which demonstrates how emerging electric aircraft can safely operate within a major commercial airport. 

“This activation was only possible because of the years of planning and investment that we’ve made in (advanced air mobility) feasibility, including the successful installation of a charging infrastructure at Corporate Aviation,” said DFW Airport CEO Chris McLaughlin. 

The activation McLaughlin referred to involved Joby’s aircraft taking off from Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport and landing at DFW Airport, taking off from DFW and landing at Toyota’s North American Headquarters in Plano, and then returning to DFW. Toyota is a major investor and strategic manufacturing partner for Joby.

McLaughlin said that the flights, “Underscore the collaboration among the FAA, TxDOT, industry partners, and our regional leaders.”

Expenses approved

The board voted unanimously to approve a total of $353 million in new expenditures at the Oct. 1 meeting.

Significant projects approved included $172 million for realignment of Terminal E exiting traffic and construction of two new aircraft taxiways beneath the Terminal F Skylink guideway; $74 million for construction of a Terminal F passenger ticketing facility, a 5,200-space parking garage, roadways, and a vertiport for vertical take-off and landing aircraft; and $33 million for the purchase of 28 new rental car buses, with eight being electrically powered and 20 powered by compressed natural gas.

DFW Airport Board of Directors

Documenter: Doug Wilhelm

Date: Oct. 1, 2026

Learn more about this meeting by clicking here. For the agenda, click here.

Doug Wilhelm is a member of the Fort Worth Report Documenters crew. If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at [email protected] with “Correction Request” in the subject line.