Why does DFW International Airport charge visitors a drop-off/pick-up fee?

Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the United States. This American Airlines hub features 5 terminals with 182 gates that serve over 20 airlines. DFW International Airport covers 27 square miles which makes it large enough to have its own zip code (for reference, the entire island of Manhattan has a footprint of 23 square miles). If you are a regular traveler, there is a good chance you have had a layover in DFW. Today, we explore how an airport deep in the heart of Texas became an early adopter of a trend that is gaining steam across the pond: airport drop-off/pick-up fees.

What are airport drop-off/pick-up fees?

Airport drop-off & pick-up fees are gaining notoriety around the world as airports look to increase revenue streams & reduce congestion. In theory, imposing fees on car access to airport terminals should dissuade people from driving to the airport in favor of cheaper alternatives like public transportation & off-site parking. That’s just simple supply & demand, right?

Of course, we all know things like this are never as simple as they appear. DFW is currently the only airport in the US that charges a fee for all vehicles that enter airport property (including personal vehicles), but airports around the country have been charging similar fees through less obvious methods for years. 

Taxi/rideshare surcharges, permit fees, and airport parking rates are all revenue-generating methods that drive up the direct & indirect costs of visiting our nation’s airports. The next time you step onto a third-party shuttle van to/from an airport, you better believe that the company has baked in the airport surcharges into your bill. Just because it isn’t an individual line item on your receipt doesn’t mean you aren’t subsidizing the cost.

That said, the concept of charging personal vehicles a drop-off/pick-up remains a hotly debated topic that has not been well-received in the U.S. (at least not yet).

Why does DFW charge fees for vehicles visiting the airport?

DFW generates revenue from two main sources: airlines and non-airline business units (including on-site vendors like concessionaires, rental car agencies, and hotels).

In 2022, non-airline business units contributed more revenue ($523M) to DFW International Airport than all airline terminal use & landing fees did ($455M).

So what does DFW do with all the money they receive from drivers visiting the terminals? Parking & transportation fees (which include the International Parkway fee) feed into DFW’s Capital Improvement Fund via the DFW Cost Center.

As referenced in DFW’s latest financial report, the Capital Improvement Fund “may be used at DFW’s sole discretion for any legal purpose”. As of September 30, 2022: “DFW had 294 capital projects in process for a total obligation remaining of $3.4 billion”.

There are some limits on how much net revenue DFW gets to pocket in its Capital Improvement Fund. When profits (or net losses) exceed certain thresholds, DFW applies those gains/losses directly to its landing fees. 2022 was a particularly profitable year for DFW’s non-airline business units, which means that DFW funneled an extra $97.3 million dollars from the DFW cost center towards reducing landing fees for airlines.

How much does it cost to drop-off/pick-up passengers at DFW International Airport?

As of 2021, drivers can expect a tiered toll fee structure based on the amount of time they spend on International Parkway (the lone road that provides access to DFW’s terminals):

Time Spent in DFW	Toll Fee
0 min – 8 min	$6
8 min – 30 min	$2
30 min – 2 hrs	$3
2 hrs – 4 hrs	$9
4 hrs – 6 hrs	$10
6 hrs – 24 hrs	$27

Pass-Through Fee ($6)

Why should drivers be charged $6 for getting in & out of DFW within 8 minutes?

DFW’s International Parkway runs right through the airport’s massive footprint that borders 4 separate cities in two different counties. Put simply, this north-south parkway is the quickest way to drive between those cities.

The $6 fee (raised from $4 back in 2019) is specifically targeted at commuters who use International Parkway as a shortcut. When DFW bumped up the pass-through fee to $6 in 2019, they estimated that 2,500 commuters cut through DFW airport every day.

Interestingly, the number of pass-through drivers has been steadily declining over the past 10 years. In 2013, DFW was seeing over 4,500 daily pass-through trips. That number decreased to roughly 1,000 pass-through trips in 2022. Thanks to DFW’s rate hikes in that timeframe though, that 2022 volume only represents an annual decrease in revenue of $200k as compared to 2013’s financial figures.

Be warned: it is entirely possible to pick up a passenger & exit the parkway within 8 minutes of entering if you make good time, so make sure to keep your eye on the clock while on International Parkway.

Drop-off/Pick-up ($2) & Meeter/Greeter ($3) fees

So if keeping commuters off of DFW’s International Parkway is the goal of the recently raised pass-through fee, why does DFW charge drivers who are visiting the airport to drop-off or pick-up passengers?

There is surprisingly little published literature on this subject, but a review of DFW’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report reveals that the $2-$3 fees have grown into a significant revenue stream for the airport. Prior to the pandemic, DFW reported over $20 million/year in revenues from vehicles that spent between 8-120 minutes visiting the airport.

Terminal Parking ($27/day)

While the pass-through toll & drop-off fees can add, the majority of the airport’s parking & transit revenue comes from travelers who park directly at the terminal.

In 2022, DFW International Airport raked in $122 million in revenue from travelers who parked directly at the terminal. That is more than 10x the revenue the airport received from those who opted for the cheaper Express & Remote parking lots.

I try to avoid the more expensive terminal parking for any trips longer than 24 hours because the price can really add up on long trips, but booking your parking directly on DFW’s website can save you up to 50%.

How do I pay the drop-off/pick-up fee at DFW?

DFW partners with the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) to directly charge drivers’ NTTA toll tags when passing through the toll gates on International Parkway.

If you don’t have a NTTA tolltag, there are separate cash/credit payment lanes. To use these lanes, you will be required to pull a ticket from a drive-up kiosk when entering DFW International Parkway. That ticket needs to be presented again when exiting the parkway to confirm your charges; lost tickets incur a hefty penalty fee.

Is there any way to avoid the drop-off/pick-up fee at DFW?

DFW’s drop-off/pick-up fee is only waived for vehicles bearing Disabled Veteran or military specialty license plates issued by the state of Texas. You can find a list of all eligible specialty license plates directly on DFW’s website.

For travelers who do not have those eligible license plates, taking public transportation to DFW is the next best option. There are two light rail networks with stations at the DFW terminals: TEXRail (connects to downtown Fort Worth) and DART (connects Dallas and a handful of the mid-cities).

If public transit is not feasible, I can offer one very impractical travel hack to avoid paying the toll/fee: DFW’s Rental Car Center is located outside of the toll road, so passengers could theoretically be dropped off or picked up here & hop on the complimentary DFW Rental Car Center shuttle to get to/from the terminals. Whether or not the extra time & hassle is worth saving two whole dollars is completely up to you.  

Will more U.S. airports implement drop-off/pick-up fees?

Some airports (like DFW) are able to turn a profit on these ground transportation-related fees, while other airports count themselves lucky if they recoup enough revenue to break even on their operating expenses each year. 

DFW’s toll fees are all part of the same system used to track terminal parking costs at DFW (though DFW’s prepaid terminal parking rates are significantly cheaper than the posted daily parking rate). DFW reports that Parking (inclusive of the toll charges & ground transportation fees paid by commercial entities) is the airport’s largest source of non-airline revenue. 

Considering the global drop in airport traffic since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not hard to understand why other airports are looking for ways to bring in money like this. The U.K. has seen a number of airports move towards a similar pricing model under the guise of reducing curbside traffic. Gatwick Airport (LGW), the second-busiest UK airport after Heathrow, is the latest high-profile airport to institute a drop-off fee as of March 2021.

I think it is inevitable that more U.S. airports will make similar proposals some day. A 2015 study conducted by researchers at Iowa State’s Institute for Transportation came to a similar conclusion: because drop-off/pick-up fees stand to represent a tiny percentage of an airline ticket cost, a small fee will not significantly change passenger behavior. How quickly we see other airports adopt this pricing structure is anyone’s guess, but DFW’s success has set a precedent for all of America. 

Final Thoughts

The world of airport operations is a fascinating beast that often gets overlooked by the general public. The fact of the matter is that airport drop-off & pick-up fees are gaining steam around the world.

DFW’s parking/toll fee structure is an anomaly in America. Who would have thought that the model for American adoption of this concept would be found deep in the heart of Texas? If you would like to further nerd out on the subject, the City of Phoenix Aviation Department published an interesting Ground Transportation Fees Benchmarking Study to see where PHX Sky Harbor International Airport compared with other major airports.

Unfortunately, what this all boils down to is quite simple: passengers are unlikely to modify their flight itinerary based on which airport does or does not charge this fee. If you don’t agree with that assessment, allow me to pose the following question: has the additional airport fees on taxi/rideshare trips ever convinced you to stop flying into a certain airport for good? 

Do you think your home airport is ready for drop-off/pick-up fees?