The Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Board approved plans Thursday for a $100 million catering kitchen proposed by American Airlines.
The kitchen will be located in 21 acres of land in the southwest campus of the airport. American Airlines will lease the land for 40 years for a projected $39 million, or about $645,000 per fiscal year.
The airline said the existing catering kitchen, built in 1982, was too small to support the airport’s growing operation.
American previously said that it had to delay 2,300 flights between Memorial Day and Labor Day to prepare and load food and drinks on to the planes.
“In addition to more space, the new kitchen will provide updated equipment and efficiencies to improve our catering operation, which improves our reliability and provides a better experience for our customers,” Cedric Rockamore, American’s vice president of DFW of Hub Operations said in a statement.
The kitchen project will accompany the first phase of development for DFW Airport’s new Terminal F, to be situated in the same area and scheduled to open in 2022.
Construction on the new facility is scheduled to begin in January 2020. The construction project is estimated to complete in 18 months.
In addition, American Airlines also plans to break ground on a 390,000-square-foot Central Fulfillment Center, which is projected to speed up the process of fulfilling requests for parts by up to 75%.
“These investments will ensure we can continue to welcome the world to and through DFW for a very long time,” Rockamore said.
New York-based Holt Construction Corporation, which has Texas offices in Houston and Irving, was awarded the contract to construct the flight kitchen.
The kitchen will continue to be staffed and operated by LSG Sky Chefs.