If you thought DFW airport could not get any bigger, think again, as nine new gates are coming to the international airport, four of which will be located in Terminal C, along with new amenities that could change how people travel.
As reported by The Dallas Express, DFW Airport received $35 million in federal taxpayer money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in the fall.
The funds could enable DFW airport to become one of North America’s first and largest carbon-neutral airports. The federal taxpayer funds will help build a new zero-carbon electric central utility plant to meet current and future heating and cooling needs, improve resilience, maximize efficiency, and put the airport in a position to reach net-zero carbon by 2030.
DFW Airport will construct the power plant between Terminal C’s roadways and the Hyatt Regency Hotel’s nearby parking lot.
New high-tech amenities are also slated to transform DFW’s airport experience.
“Place an order for any restaurant in the airport and have it delivered to you at the gate, and if you’re lucky, you may see a robot deliver it to you,” Kenneth Buchanan, executive vice president of revenue management & customer experience at DFW Airport told CBS news.
Additionally, “smart bathrooms” will let passengers know how many stalls are in use and how long it will take them to walk to the nearest restroom. There are even improvements for the airport’s youngest travelers.
“Obviously, this is where many parents travel with young kids,” said Addie Gundry, founder and CEO of Pluie, the world’s first and only self-sanitizing diaper changing table. “They’re there a long time,” Gundry explained, “It’s not always the most relaxing, and they always need to change diapers.”
The state-of-the-art changing table sanitizes every 60 seconds, eliminating bacteria or viruses.
Furthermore, health and safety features will be added to the airport’s HVAC system, upgrading it to include UV lighting which cleans and decontaminates the circulating air.
“We’re always trying to be on that leading edge when it comes to innovation,” Buchanan said.