Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city - owned public airport 6 miles ( 10 km ) northwest of downtown Dallas , Texas . It was Dallas ' airline airport until 1974 when Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport ( DFW ) opened . In March 2012 Love Field is served by Southwest Airlines , United Express , Delta Connection , and SeaPort Airlines . Southwest Airlines corporate headquarters is at Love Field , and Dallas is a focus city for them . Seven full service fixed base operators ( FBOs ) provide general aviation service : fuel , maintenance , hangar rentals , and charters . Some also provide meeting rooms , car rentals , limousine service and restaurants . Facilities and aircraft . Dallas Love Field covers an area of at an elevation of above mean sea level . It has three runways : For the 12 - month period ending October 31 , 2007 , the airport had 247 , 235 aircraft operations , an average of 677 per day : 39 % general aviation , 37 % scheduled commercial , 23 % air taxi and 1 % military . At that time there were 693 aircraft based at this airport : 3 % single - engine , 4 % multi - engine , 93 % jet and 1 % helicopter . The City of Dallas Department of Aviation headquarters is on the grounds of the airport . Airlines and destinations . Love Field ' s passenger terminals have 19 gates , divided into two terminals : 1 and 2 . Terminal 1 ( United & Delta ) has four gates : 29 – 32 ( Terminal 1 will close in October 2014 ) . Terminal 2 ( Southwest ) has 15 gates : 1 – 12 , 14 , 15 ( Gates 5 - 15 are now Closed ) & Gates 2 - 4 have been renumbered as Gates 42 - 44 . North Concourse ( Southwest ) Gates 1 - 11 opened on April 16 , 2013 . Gate 12 opened July 2013 . Eight additional North Concourse Gates to open in October 2014 . Legend Terminal . The terminal was built by Legend Airlines and was later used by Legend Airlines and Delta Connection / Atlantic Southeast Airlines . Under the terms of lifting the Wright Amendment , the number of gates at the airport is limited thus effectively precluding use of the terminal for scheduled passenger flights . The gates of the former terminal were demolished and the remaining structure converted into a U . S . Customs and Border Protection facility . Previous airline service . Several airlines have served Love Field in the past including : American Airlines , American Freighter , Braniff International Airways , Capital Airlines , Continental Airlines ( now United ) , Delta Air Lines , Eastern Air Lines , Legend Airlines , Ozark Air Lines , Saturn Airways , Slick Airways , Southern Air Transport , Trans - Texas Airways and more . Public transit . Currently , DART bus route 524 serves the airport . The DART Orange Line & Green Line light rail serves the airport at Inwood / Love Field Station , which opened in 2010 . Passengers must use the bus from route 524 in order to travel between Love Field and the Inwood / Love Field Station . When terminal reconstruction is complete , a people mover system will directly link the terminal to DART ' s Burbank Station . Charter Service and FBOs . Love Field is also home to a number of charter flight companies and FBOs including : Future . In early 2009 a plan to modernize Love Field was announced . The $ 519 million master plan will replace the existing terminals with a new 20 - gate concourse and expanded baggage facilities . The project is scheduled to open when the last of the Wright amendment restrictions end in 2014 . The project also calls for a $ 250 million people mover system to connect to Dallas Area Rapid Transit ' s Burbank Station . History . Dallas Love Field is named after First Lieutenant Moss L . Love . Love was assigned to the U . S . Army 11th Cavalry , who died in an airplane crash near San Diego , California on 4 September 1913 , becoming the 10th fatality in U . S . army aviation history . His Wright Model C biplane crashed during practice for his Military Aviator Test . He was the eighth aviation officer to be killed and the 10th fatality in Army aviation . Love Field was named by the United States Army on October 19 , 1917 , World War I . Dallas Love Field has its origins beginning in 1917 when the Army announced its intention of establishing a series of camps to train prospective pilots after the United States entry into World War I . The airfield was one of thirty - two new Air Service fields . It was constructed just southeast of Bachman Lake , and it covered over 700 acres and could accommodate up to 1 , 000 personnel . Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters , maintenance , and officers ’ quarters . Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents . Love Field served as a base for flight training for the United States Army Air Service . In 1917 , flight training occurred in two phases : primary and advanced . Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction . After completion of their primary training at Mather , flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training . It opened on 19 October 1917 , and the first unit stationed at Love Fieldwas the 136th Aero Squadron , which was transferred from Kelly Field , south of San Antonio , Texas . Only a few U . S . Army Air Service aircraft arrived with the 136th Aero Squadron , and most of the Curtiss JN - 4 Jennys to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by railcar . Training units assigned to Love Field during World War I were : With the sudden end of World War I in November 1918 , the future operational status of Love Field was unknown . Many local officials speculated that the U . S . government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by Love - trained pilots in Europe . Locals also pointed to the optimal weather conditions in the Dallas area for flight training . Cadets in flight training on 11 November 1918 were allowed to complete their training , however no new cadets were assigned to the base . Also the separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment , as many of the personnel assigned were being demobilized . Inter - war years . With the end of World War I , in December 1919 Love Field was deactivated as an active duty airfield , however , and a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for administrative reasons . The facility was converted into a storage facility for surplus De Havilland and JN - 4 aircraft were stored at Love Field ( some JN - 4s were bought back by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in the spring of 1919 . ) Post - war " the largest recruiting mission in the spring and summer of 1919 " was led by Lt . Col . Henry B . Clagett beginning with seven DH - 4s departing Dallas and which flew as far as Boston . A small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for administrative reasons and it was used intermittently to support small military units . In January 1921 , 1st lt William D . Coney attempted to fly from San Diego to Jacksonville with just one stop — at Love Field . In 1923 , Dallas was a route point between Muskogee and Kelly Field on the southern division of the model airway . However by 1923 , the decision had been made to phase down all activities at the new base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets and it was closed . The War Department had ordered the small caretaker force at Love Field to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus . The War Department leased out the vacant land to local farmers and ranchers In 1927 , Dallas purchased Love Field which opened for civilian use ( 1st passenger service was by the National Air Transport company . ) On April 9 , 1932 , the first paved runways at the airfield were completed , and in March 1939 the airfield had 21 weekday airline departures : 9 American , 8 Braniff and 4 Delta . " On 6 June 1939 , the War Department approved . . . nine civil school detachments " , including one at Dallas ( cf . a 1940 school approved for Ft Worth ' s Hicks Field , a new 1942 Ft Worth airfield - - Tarrant Field at the government plant and which had a 4 engine pilots ' school , ) and a Ferrying Command control center at Dallas ' Hensley Field . ) World War II training and ferrying . By October 1940 at the Texas World War II Army Airfield , classes had entered the Dallas Texas Aviation School which provided basic ( level 1 ) flight training using Fairchild PT - 19 s as the primary trainer ( several PT - 17 Stearman s and a few P - 40 Warhawk s were also assigned . The Gulf Coast ACTC school later moved to Brady , Texas ; and Love Field also had an Air Materiel Command modification center . In September 1942 , the Air Transport Command activity at Hensley Field moved to Love Field . ATC ' s 5th Ferrying Group , consisting of Women ' s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadrons ( WAFS ) ferried PT - 17s , AT - 6s and twin - engine Cessna AT - 17s ; and Love Field was also used by the San Antonio Air Service Command for aircraft overhauls . The 2d Ferrying Squadron of the 5th Ferrying Group was moved by Air Transport Command from Love Field to Fairfax Field at Kansas City on 15 April 1943 . In September 1943 a new north - south runway 18 / 36 and northwest - southeast runway 13 / 31 were completed . Air Force facilities closed at the end of WWII except for Love Field ' s ( call sign Dallas Bomb Plot ) for Radar Bomb Scoring that had been established by 6 June 1945 ( transferred to Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946 , 10th RBSS Det 1 by 1957 . ) 1947 to 1957 . On March 9 , 1947 Love Field ' s Lemmon Avenue Terminal Building opened on the east side of the airfield . On November 29 , 1949 American Airlines Flight 157 , a Douglas DC - 6 en route from New York City to Dallas and Mexico City with 46 passengers and crew , slid off Runway 36 after the flight crew lost control on final approach . The airliner struck a parked airplane , a hangar , and a flight school before crashing into a business across from the airport , killing 28 . This was the deadliest air disaster in Texas history at the time and , according to modern reference sources , remains the deadliest crash to take place at the airfield itself . Pioneer Airlines moved its base from Houston to Love Field in 1950 . The February 1953 C & GS diagram shows runway 7 ( 4301 ft ) , runway 13 ( 6201 ft ) and runway 18 ( 5202 ft ) . On June 1 , 1954 Runway 7 / 25 was closed ; it was later removed to allow terminal expansion . Love Field then had two runways : Runway 13 / 31 , the main runway , and the shorter 18 / 36 . The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 52 weekday departures on Braniff , 45 on American , 25 Delta , 21 Trans - Texas , 12 Central and 9 Continental . Three nonstops a day to Washington DC , three to New York / Newark , six to Chicago , five to California and 12 a week to Mexico City : DAL was big league . 1957 to 1974 . Love Field ' s new terminal ( the third and current terminal , designed by Donald S . Nelson ) opened to the airlines on January 20 , 1958 with three one - story concourses , 26 ramp - level gates and the world ' s first airport moving walkways . Airlines serving the airport at the time included American , Braniff , Central ( which was based in Fort Worth ) , Continental , Delta and Trans Texas ( later Texas International ) . Turbine - power flights began on April 1 , 1959 when Continental Airlines introduced the Vickers Viscount turboprop . Jet airline flights began on July 12 , 1959 when American Airlines started Boeing 707 flights to New York . In 1961 Mr . and Mrs . Earle Wyatt gave a large bronze statue bearing the inscription " One Riot , One Ranger " for display in the airport ' s new terminal . Famed Texas born sculptress Waldine Tauch created the piece . The inscription refers to an incident in which a single Texas Ranger was dispatched to quell a riot . Because of terminal renovation from 2010 to 2013 , the statue was moved temporarily for display to the nearby Frontiers of Flight Museum , but the statue has now been returned to a prominent location in the lobby of terminal one ( August 2013 ) . On November 22 , 1963 President John F . Kennedy arrived at Love Field on " Air Force One " , and was assassinated in Dealey Plaza while his motorcade was traveling from Love Field to the Dallas Trade Mart . Hours later , Lyndon B . Johnson was sworn in as president aboard " Air Force One " before its departure from Love Field . On April 2 , 1965 the 8 , 800 ft ( 2 , 682 m ) parallel Runway 13R / 31L opened ( Runway 13 / 31 became Runway 13L / 31R ) . The project had been vexed by legal wrangling ; safety concerns were raised regarding its proximity to schools and its minimal safety areas , while nearby residents attempted to stop the anticipated increase in jet noise and the removal of homes and businesses adjacent to the airport to accommodate the project . Several terminal expansion programs were fueled by the boom in air travel during the 1960s . American Airlines expanded their concourse in 1968 and Braniff opened its " Terminal of the Future . " The expansion , showcasing Alexander Girard , Herman Miller and Ray and Charles Eames designs , featured the first rotunda concourse , jet bridges and several airport innovations . Braniff connected their new terminal to new remote parking lots with the Jetrail monorail system in 1970 . Texas International expanded their concourse in 1969 , and Delta ' s concourse was expanded in 1970 . In 1972 Love Field saw an hijacking incident . On 12 January , Billy Gene Hurst , Jr . , a resident of Houston , Texas , hijacked Braniff Flight 38 , a Boeing 727 airliner , as it departed William P . Hobby Airport in Houston bound for Dallas . After the plane landed at Love Field , Hurst allowed all 94 passengers to deplane , but continued to hold the 7 crewmembers hostage . Hurst insisted on flying to South America and made a variety of other demands , including food , cigarettes , parachute s , jungle survival gear , US $ 2 million , and a handgun . After a 6 - hour standoff , police gave Hurst a package containing parachutes and some other items , and the hostages escaped while he was distracted examining the package ' s contents . Police stormed the craft soon afterwards and arrested him without serious incident . He was later sentenced to 20 years in prison . Needing a larger airport , Dallas and Fort Worth agreed to build Dallas / Fort Worth Regional Airport ( the original name of the current Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport ) . It was agreed that to protect the new airport , each city would restrict its own passenger - service airports from air - carrier operations . Southwest Airlines , founded in 1971 and headquartered at Love Field , built its business on selling quick , no - frills trips between Dallas , Houston , and San Antonio . The company felt that the notion of a quick trip would be destroyed by a long drive to the new airport . Prior to the opening of DFW , Southwest Airlines sued for the right to remain at Love Field . In 1973 the courts ruled that the City of Dallas could not restrict Southwest Airlines from operating out of Love Field , so long as it remained open as an airport . This ruling effectively granted Southwest the right to continue to operate its existing intrastate service out of Love Field . The airlines operating from Love Field at the time DFW was conceived executed agreements with DFW stipulating that no airline could operate at the new airport if it continued to operate any flights out of Love Field . Southwest , created after the other carriers had signed on to the DFW operating agreements , was not a signatory and remained as the only airline operating at Love Field . 1973 saw Love Field , which had more than 70 gates and saw frequent Boeing 747 service , reach record enplanements at 6 , 668 , 398 as the eighth busiest airport in the United States . On January 13 , 1974 DFW Airport opened , ending most passenger service at Love Field . 1974 through 1999 . With the drastic reduction in flights and only 467 , 212 enplanements in 1975 , Love Field decommissioned several of its concourses . The city of Dallas attempted to make use of these dormant facilities by leasing some of them to an entrepreneur who opened the " Llove Entertainment Complex " in November 1975 . The main lobby at the front of a former terminal was transformed into movie theaters , ice rink , roller rink , huge video arcades , restaurants and bowling alley . Llove seemed especially suited for the pre - teen and teen crowd , who could spend the day for a single admission charge of about $ 3 . 50 . Llove closed in May 1978 . Several of the concourses were remodeled into support and training buildings for Southwest Airlines . After deregulation of the U . S . airline industry in 1978 , Southwest Airlines was able to enter the larger passenger markets and announced plans to start providing interstate service in 1979 . This angered the City of Fort Worth and DFW International Airport , which resented expanded air service at Love Field . Therefore , Fort Worth - based U . S . Representative ( later Speaker of the House ) Jim Wright helped get a " compromise " law through Congress that restricted air service at Love Field . Using the pretext of protecting DFW , the Wright Amendment restricted passenger air traffic out of Love Field in the following ways : Passenger service on regular mid - sized and large aircraft could only be provided from Love Field to locations within Texas and the four neighboring states ( Louisiana , Arkansas , Oklahoma , and New Mexico ) . Long - haul service to other states was possible , but only on commuter aircraft with no more capacity than 56 passenger s . While the Wright Amendment prevented any other major airlines from starting service out of Love Field , it did not deter Southwest . Based on short trips to begin with , Southwest continued to flourish as it used multiple shorthaul flights to build its Love Field operation . Some people managed to " work the system " and get around the Wright Amendment ' s restrictions . For example , a person could fly from Dallas to Houston or Albuquerque , change planes , and then fly to any city Southwest served — although he or she had , at the time , to do so on two tickets in each direction , since the Wright Amendment specifically barred airlines from issuing tickets that violated the law ' s provisions . This work around was also problematic due to the fact that between flights checked baggage had to be collected and checked onto the next flight . This had the effect of creating mini - hubs at Houston / Hobby Airport and the Albuquerque International Sunport . Southwest continued to grow and became one of the most successful and profitable airlines in the United States . Due to the success of Southwest Airlines , other airlines began considering the use of Love Field for short haul trips . Southwest co - founder Lamar Muse started Muse Air , a short haul competitor using DC - 9s and MD - 80s between Love Field and Houston in 1982 . Muse Air was unable to operate profitably against Southwest at Love Field , and was purchased by Southwest in 1985 and renamed TranStar Airlines . Southwest ceased Transtar operations in 1987 . Continental Airlines expressed its intent to fly out of Love Field in 1985 , which led to years of court battles over the interpretation of the Wright Amendment as Fort Worth and DFW International Airport continued to try to prevent expansion at Love Field . Seeing the benefit of increased air traffic at Love Field , the City of Dallas began to actively lobby for the repeal of the Wright Amendment restrictions in 1992 . In 1997 the Shelby Amendment passed through Congress , amending the Wright Amendment . A compromise of sorts , the Shelby Amendment allowed Love Field flights to three more states , Kansas , Mississippi , and Alabama . It amended the definition of 56 - passenger jets that could fly to other states to include any aircraft weighing less than 300 , 000 pounds with 56 or fewer seats . The Shelby Amendment caused several airlines to consider flying 56 - passenger jets out of Love Field , including Continental , Delta , and a new airline , Legend . The City of Fort Worth immediately sued the City of Dallas to try to prevent the Shelby Amendment from going into effect . American , headquartered at DFW , joined the lawsuits against Dallas , but also said that if other airlines were allowed to fly out of Love Field , it would have no choice but to offer competing service . In 1998 , after a year of legal decisions and appeals , Continental Express became the first major airline other than Southwest to fly out of Love Field since 1974 . American began service out of Love Field shortly thereafter , but continued to sue to stop the service . Fort Worth and American Airlines eventually sued the DOT to stop allowing more flights out of Love Field . 2000 to present . In 2000 , several federal appeals court decisions finally struck down all lawsuits against the Shelby Amendment . Fort Worth and American Airlines appealed to the U . S . Supreme Court , which refused to review the case . These legal decisions opened the door to increased long haul flights out of Love Field using 56 - passenger jets , including new service by Delta and Legend . The majority of this 56 - passenger jet market was composed of business travelers making day trips to other cities . In 2001 , the September 11 , 2001 , attacks and the subsequent recession greatly reduced the demand for air travel in the U . S . , especially within the business traveler market . As a result , most of the airlines providing long haul 56 - passenger flights stopped service and pulled out of Love Field . By 2003 , Southwest and Continental Express were the only two major commercial airlines operating out of Love Field . However , due to Southwest ' s success and the possibility of other airlines returning in the future , the airport has completed an expansion of its parking facilities and is redeveloping one of its terminals . New parking facilities in a 2 , 400 - space garage opened in 2002 and 2003 , connected to the terminal with a climate controlled walkway . The East Concourse , formerly Braniff ' s " Terminal of the Future , " was demolished as part of the Love Field Modernization Program . Love Field celebrated 85 years in the aviation industry in 2002 and was designated as a Texas State Historical Site in 2003 . The Frontiers of Flight Museum , which had been located inside the airport terminal since 1988 , moved to the north side of the airport in a separate facility . In November 2004 , at a breakfast sponsored by the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce , Southwest announced their active opposition to the Wright Amendment , claiming that the law is anti - competitive and outdated . On November 30 , 2005 , Missouri was added to the list of states exempted from the Wright Amendment by an amendment written by Sen . Kit Bond . Southwest began nonstop flights to Kansas City and St . Louis on December 13 . American Airlines and American Eagle began flights from Love to St . Louis , Kansas City , Austin , and San Antonio on March 2 , 2006 , although American Airlines subsequently pulled out of the market , leaving American Eagle to offer a reduced service to Austin and Kansas City alone . In 2008 , American decided to terminate the Austin and Kansas City service and replace it with service to O ' Hare International Airport ( which Southwest does not serve ) using 50 - passenger regional jets in compliance with the Wright provisions regarding aircraft size , although American Eagle recently stopped service from Love field altogether . On June 15 , 2006 , it was announced that American Airlines , Southwest Airlines , Dallas - Fort Worth International Airport and the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth had all agreed to seek full repeal of the Wright Amendment , with several conditions . Among them : the ban on nonstop flights outside the Wright zone would stay in place until 2014 ; through - ticketing to domestic airports ( connecting flights to long - haul destinations ) would be allowed immediately ; Love Field ' s maximum gate capacity would be lowered from 32 to 20 gates ; and Love Field would handle only domestic flights non - stop . Southwest will be able to operate from 16 gates , American 2 gates , and Continental 2 gates . JetBlue and Northwest Airlines have claimed that the gate cap will effectively bar any airlines not named in the compromise to ever operate from Love Field , even though the agreement calls for Southwest , American and Continental to share gates with new airlines that desire to serve the airport . The cap of 20 gates would effectively restrict the purpose of the 2014 lifting of the ban on nonstop flights outside the Wright zone . After extensive negotiations with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees , the compromise bill passed both Houses of Congress on Friday , September 29 , just before the 109th Congress adjourned for the November elections . Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison led the effort to pass the bill in the Senate while Rep . Kay Granger led a bipartisan Texas House coalition to see the bill through to a successful conclusion in the House . President George W . Bush signed the bill into law on October 13 , 2006 . Southwest and American Airlines then required approval from the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) to begin one - stop flights from Love Field to destinations outside the Wright limits . On October 17 , 2006 , Southwest Airlines announced that it would begin one - stop or connecting service between Love Field and 25 destinations outside the Wright zone on October 19 , 2006 . American Airlines made travel between Love Field and locations outside the Wright zone available by October 18 , 2006 . In 2008 the airport handled 8 , 060 , 792 passengers . The airport became embroiled in a controversy over concessions contracts when Dallas mayor Tom Leppert , during a March 3 , 2010 , City Council meeting , abruptly withdrew support for no - bid contracts with current airport food vendor Star Concessions Ltd . and newspaper and book vendor Hudson Retail Dallas , insisting that the contracts should be opened to public bidding instead . At a February 22 , 2010 , meeting , the City Council recommended that the existing contracts , set to expire in June 2011 , be extended until 2026 with an additional three - year option and exclusive rights to 54 percent of vending space in a new terminal scheduled to open in 2014 . After several abortive attempts to resolve the issue , the City Council voted on August 18 , 2010 , to open all concessions space in the new terminal for public bidding ; city staff would attempt to reach a deal with Star and Hudson to operate existing concessions space from 2011 to 2014 , otherwise it would also be opened for public bidding . At 3 : 25 PM on August 19 , 2010 , an hour - long police chase ended at Love Field when Dallas police vehicles rammed a truck driven by carjacking suspect Michael Browne , who had driven through an airport perimeter fence and onto an active runway in an attempt to evade pursuing officers . Flight operations were briefly disrupted but no aircraft were directly endangered . Transportation Security Administration officials announced that a review of airport security measures would be conducted due to the incident . On April 28 , 2013 , a man entered the airfield at Dallas Love Field in a truck and sped down Taxiway Alpha at speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour . He originally was thought to have been shouting " Jihad " , probably caused by paranoia over the Boston Marathon bombing that occurred weeks before , but he was later found to have been yelling " Jesus ! " He was arrested after dropping his keys , a wallet , and a Bible . Accidents and incidents . Airport operations . The following occurred at the airfield itself , immediately after takeoff , during the final landing approach , and / or during an attempted go - around : Flights departing from or bound for Love Field . The following did not occur near the airfield itself but involved flights originating from or bound for Love Field :