DALLAS — Safety and efficiency improvements underway at DFW International Airport received a welcome infusion of federal dollars Thursday with the arrival of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
Buttigieg announced $28.8 million in federal dollars for an airfield safety project and took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking at the southwest end of the airport.
When planes taxi, they often have to wait for landing or departing planes to pass in front of them.
Recent close calls, including one in January at JFK Airport in New York, have been linked to that congestion problem.
Instead, DFW Airport has an end-around taxiway on its east runways: essentially a U-turn that allows planes to taxi around the end of the runway instead of directly through it. Secretary Buttigieg's visit was to announce the federal government's continuing investment to create an additional end-around taxiway on the southwest side of DFW Airport.
"Part of the big picture here is the President's agenda of investing in America. Safety will always be the north star of the department of transportation," Buttigieg said. "It will always be the guiding light of the FAA."
Safety that Buttigieg is also monitoring in Raymond, Minnesota, the scene of the latest train derailment in the U.S., where ethanol tankers ignited and forced mandatory evacuations. Unfortunately in the U.S. the rail system, with more than 1,000 accidents a year, averages three derailments every day.
But the U.S. aviation system has not had a fatal airline crash in 14 years. Buttigieg and DFW Airport leadership say that improvements like the newest two-year project at DFW Airport are meant to keep it that way. DFW International Airport CEO Sean Donohue says the current project will also get airplanes to their gates more quickly.
"Anything that improves the efficiency of the airfield and improves the ability of the FAA to handle the growth in our traffic is a very positive thing for DFW," Donohue said. "So, yes it's all about safety. But it provides efficiency, it provides us greater flow, and that's great for the future."
A future for what is already considered the second busiest airport in the world.
A DFW International Airport spokesperson says the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) committed to providing $180 million for both the Northeast (now completed) and Southwest (under construction) end-around systems, including the $28.8 million announced Thursday.
