Impact of Airport Growth

The Denton Enterprise Airport has experienced substantial growth since 2014. Examples of this growth can be seen in the areas of based aircraft, operations, and the enhancements to infrastructure to support operations such as a 2019 addition of a parallel runway and the 2024 reconstruction of the main runway.

The image above illustrates this growth period. Over the past four years our flight operations have grown considerably, from an average of 150,000 per year to over 200,000 per year. Projections included in the 2024 Master Plan view this trend as continuing. Over 240,000 operations are expected in the year 2029 while that number will increase to over 320,000 operations in 2044. The number of based aircraft, which can be used as an approximation of overall airport development, have increased from less than 300 in 2020 to over 400 today. Those numbers will continue to increase with 475 based aircraft expected in the year 2029 and 717 based aircraft expected in 2024.

The 2021 Pavement Study identified a number of pavement segments that continue to require rehabilitation or reconstruction, the cost of which would exceed $22 million (in 2021 dollars). An additional 22 pavement segments require significant maintenance at a cost of over $1.5 million (in 2021 dollars). Future infrastructure needs will only increase as airport activity increases, and will include taxiway and taxilane rehabilitation, vehicular roadway maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement of the air traffic control tower, and drainage and storm water improvements.

The growth in airport activity, along with current and future infrastructure needs, are a significant driver of operational and capital costs for the airport.