DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue, who will retire in about a month, discussed the airport’s immense growth and its biggest challenge moving forward.
DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue, who will retire in about a month, discussed the airport’s immense growth and its biggest challenge moving forward.
DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue, who will retire in about a month, discussed the airport’s immense growth and its biggest challenge moving forward.
DALLAS — In order to understand the future of one of the busiest airports in the world, one must revisit the past.
It’s something outgoing DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue knows all about. Donohue, who has decided to retire after 12 years at DFW Airport and a 40-year aviation career, still remembers his early days as CEO.
“I had only been here less than a month, and about six weeks later, Toyota announced they’re moving their headquarters,” Donohue said.
Forty years ago, DFW Airport was only a quarter of its current size, Donohue said.
He never imagined the amount of growth that would take place over the course of his 12 years in leadership. During his tenure, DFW Airport became the third busiest airport in the world and international service doubled.
In 2025, DFW Airport is projected to serve nearly 93 million passengers, a roughly 27% increase compared with around 73 million passengers in 2019.
The airport was projected to serve around 90 million passengers in 2024.
“Over the next five years, we’re going to add a lot more capacity,” Donohue said.
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That growth includes a renovation and expansion of Terminal C and the building of Terminal F, which will be the airport’s sixth terminal. The work on both terminals is currently underway.
“The one thing I would have done differently is to push harder to tear down and rebuild Terminal C; it just desperately needs it, and we waited too long to do that,” Donohue said.
Donohue’s biggest concern about the airport’s future is having enough electricity.
“Over the next ten years, in terms of DFW in the region, the one that actually concerns me the most is power (electricity),” Donohue said. “We’re going to double our power needs in five years at the airport, and when you think of all these data centers and AI data centers are going to be built in Texas, and the power they were going to need, we’re going to double our power needs in five years at the airport, and there’s just going to be this enormous growth.”
Donohue’s last day is in about a month. A new CEO has yet to be named.
If the past is any indication of what’s to come, Donohue predicts the airport will continue to soar in size and demand.
“I would say in the 2030s, there will probably be a decision to build a seventh terminal, and maybe in the 2040s, a decision to build an eighth terminal,” Donohue said.
He said the airport was in good hands when he stepped into the role, and he believes he’s leaving it in good hands now.
Donohue plans to move to Cape Cod to be closer to his adult children and his grandchild.