DFW: the taxi runs long in every month of the year

A flight landing at DFW takes a median 13 minutes to reach the gate, second only to O’Hare among the busiest airports, and that holds in every month of the year at 12 or 13. Other airports have a slow season. DFW is steadily long.

Evening and the morning bank run slowest

The slowest 1 in 10 take at least 21 minutes, and 4.0% of flights take 30 or more. The slow tail peaks at 26 minutes in the 6 PM and 8 PM hours, sits at 23 in the 8 AM hour, and drops to 17 or 18 in the early afternoon.

The airline matters too. Delta runs 11 and 15, American 13 and 22, and Frontier 15 and 39.

Thursday morning is the one to avoid

DFW’s security peaks hardest on Thursdays, when the top band typically runs from 6 to 11 AM, then again at 3 and 4 PM. Mondays and Fridays run 6 to 10 AM. Sunday has only 1 hour in the top band, unusual among the busiest airports, though most of the day sits a band lower.

Tuesday and Wednesday have no hour in the top band. With 18 checkpoints, DFW has by far the most of the busiest airports, and the band here is an average across them. The one nearest your gate may be quieter or busier.

You don’t need the train to leave

Each terminal has its own claim and its own curb, and the Skylink is inside security, so a local arrival never needs it. Walks run short: Terminal C is 2 to 6 minutes to the curb. Terminals B and D are the long ones, at up to 15 or 16.

For a carry-on in row 25 the typical trip from landing to curb is 29 minutes, and 39 on a slow one. The taxi is most of the difference. With a checked bag it’s about 38, the biggest bag cost among the airports here, because the short walk leaves you waiting at the belt. That bag figure is a judgement.

Rail is only near Terminals A and B. From C, D and E, take the Terminal Link shuttle first.

Passport control runs through Terminal D, and 12.8% of arrivals waited over 30 minutes last year. Terminal D also holds 13 of DFW’s 20 lounges. Priority Pass opens 2, in D and E.

What this can’t tell you

The Skylink matters if you’re connecting, and this page doesn’t cover connections.

A large new terminal is under construction, and walks will change when it opens.

Taxi figures cover domestic flights only, and the records can’t say why a flight took long. The rideshare level here is unconfirmed, so follow the signs.

Security bands are typical, not live, and not a guarantee. Walks are modelled from maps and nobody has timed them.

Taxi and passport figures are measured. Security bands and walks are modelled. Bag time is judgement. Methods: taxi-in, security hours, landing to the curb.

On a flight into DFW, Skycap uses the taxi for your airline and hour in your curb time.

Typical security times are estimated from public passenger-throughput data. Not affiliated with any airport, airline or government agency.