Why Dallas Love Field Lacks International Flights: Legal Limits and 20-Gate Cap

(DALLAS) Dallas Love Field still cannot host international commercial flights, and that won’t change anytime soon. As of August 29, 2025, the airport remains bound by the Wright Amendment Reform Act and a related Five-Party Agreement that together ban international airline service while capping the airfield at 20 gates. All 20 gates are leased to domestic carriers, mainly Southwest Airlines, and federal officers at the airport only clear international arrivals for private and chartered aircraft.

The City of Dallas is updating the airport master plan, with completion expected in summer 2025, but that process does not include any steps to add a federal inspection station or enable scheduled international flights. For travelers, the practical result is simple: anyone leaving or entering the United States from North Texas must use DFW International Airport for commercial service.

Legal framework and current status

The story starts with the Wright Amendment, passed in 1979 to steer long-haul traffic to the then-new DFW and limit Dallas Love Field mostly to short-haul flights within Texas and nearby states. That framework later evolved into the 2006 Wright Amendment Reform Act, which formed the current legal wall around international service at Love Field.

The act cemented a permanent 20-gate cap and, crucially, explicitly prohibited international commercial flights at Dallas Love Field as part of a compromise among the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, DFW International Airport, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. Those same parties signed the Five-Party Agreement, a contract that mirrors the law and binds local actors to carry it out.

To change that ban, two things would have to happen:

1. Every signatory would need to agree.
2. Congress would likely need to amend or repeal relevant federal law.

Aviation attorneys and city officials say neither step is on the table. There have been no policy changes or credible efforts in 2024 or 2025 to revisit the ban, and no public official has proposed a path that would allow international commercial service at Love Field. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the combined effect of the Wright Amendment Reform Act and the Five-Party Agreement is unusual among U.S. airports and creates a high bar for any future change.

One small rule did expire in 2025: a clause that once required Southwest to give up a Love Field gate if it launched service at another North Texas airport. Its sunset frees Southwest to add flights at DFW without touching its Love Field footprint. But that shift doesn’t alter the international ban, which continues to define what is and isn’t possible at the smaller Dallas airport.

The City of Dallas Department of Aviation is steering the master plan update required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The plan focuses on:

• Managing domestic growth
• Improving terminal circulation
• Enhancing airside efficiency

All of this is being done within the existing 20-gate cap. The draft materials under review don’t include a federal inspection station or staffing plans for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to process scheduled international flights. The city’s public process and updates are posted at the official Love Field planning portal: Dallas Love Field Master Plan process page.

Impact on travelers and immigration processing

For travelers, the rules translate into clear choices. If your trip involves a foreign country, you’ll use DFW International Airport for commercial service. Love Field’s CBP presence supports general aviation only—private jets and certain charter flights can arrive from abroad and clear inspection on the field, while scheduled airlines cannot.

Key operational limitations at Love Field:

• No federal inspection station designed for commercial volumes.
• No dedicated baggage claim for international arrivals.
• No sterile corridor to separate arriving international passengers from domestic travelers.

Without those basics—and without legal authority—international commercial flights can’t operate at Dallas Love Field.

Practical implications day-to-day:

• Booking: Travelers seeking international routes should start at DFW, the region’s only commercial international gateway. Airlines plan schedules and crews with that in mind.
• Arrival formalities: International arrivals on commercial airlines land at DFW, where CBP handles passport control, customs, and agriculture checks in purpose-built halls.
• Private and charter arrivals: General aviation passengers flying into Love Field from abroad can clear inspection on the field through CBP arrangements for private aircraft. For details on ports of entry and procedures, see the official U.S. Customs and Border Protection ports directory.
• Gate access: Every one of Love Field’s 20 gates is assigned to domestic carriers, leaving no room for an international carrier even if the legal ban didn’t exist.

Stakeholder alignment

• Southwest Airlines, the dominant tenant at Love Field, says it supports the current framework and plans around the 20-gate environment.
• The City of Dallas manages demand through slot controls, gate leases, and the master plan process.
• DFW International Airport backs the status quo, given its role as the region’s international hub.
• The FAA enforces compliance with law and policy and reviews airport planning, but it isn’t pushing for international service at Love Field.

Demand vs. legal limits

Aviation analysts project Love Field’s total passenger count could approach 24 million annually by the early 2030s, putting pressure on facilities and road access. Still, the ceiling comes from law, not market interest. Even with strong local demand for short and medium-haul travel, the Wright Amendment Reform Act and the Five-Party Agreement keep the gate count fixed and the international ban in place.

Effects on specific traveler groups

This legal structure carries ripple effects for families, students, workers, and immigrants:

• A Dallas-based student heading to Canada, a family visiting relatives in Mexico, or a startup founder flying to Europe must route through DFW.
• For immigrants and mixed-status families, the separation of roles between the two airports can shape travel planning. Passengers who require secondary inspection, travel with advance parole, or carry extra paperwork for status changes will complete those steps at DFW.
• Love Field’s lack of a federal inspection station means even a seasonal pilot international route or a one-off commercial charter is effectively off the table—providing clarity for travelers who need predictable CBP processing.

Airline strategy and market division

Without the option to launch international routes from Love Field:

• Carriers concentrate on high-frequency domestic flights and connections to big hubs.
• Southwest builds dense schedules across the U.S., while American Airlines and others use DFW for long-haul and international services.
• The division keeps the market clean: Love Field focuses on quick turnarounds and domestic convenience, while DFW handles customs, cargo, and global connections.

Could the framework change?

In theory, yes. In practice, not soon.

Any move to allow international flights at Dallas Love Field would require:

1. Unanimous agreement from the City of Dallas, the City of Fort Worth, DFW International Airport, Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines.
2. Likely congressional action to change federal law.

No stakeholder is actively pushing that course. The master plan under review focuses on terminal improvements, roadway fixes, and domestic operational tweaks rather than building out a federal inspection facility.

Policy timelines and political reality

• There were no relevant policy shifts in 2024 or 2025.
• Officials report no active talks to revise the Wright Amendment Reform Act or reopen the Five-Party Agreement.
• Aviation historians note that the combination of local politics, commercial interests, and national law makes this arrangement especially durable.

VisaVerge.com reports that the structure has delivered the outcomes the signatories wanted: a strong domestic operation at Love Field and a powerful international hub at DFW.

Practical recommendations for travelers and employers

To plan effectively:

• Use DFW for any itinerary that starts or ends outside the United States.
• If you fly private or charter and intend to land at Love Field from abroad:
  • Confirm CBP clearance arrangements with your operator well in advance.
  • Review official port information through CBP.
• Watch for City of Dallas updates on terminal changes and ground access improvements at the public planning site: Dallas Love Field Master Plan process page.
• For airline-specific plans, monitor carrier announcements; however, remember that the legal ban blocks any scheduled international service at Love Field.

The bottom line: Dallas Love Field is a domestic airport by law, not by chance. The Wright Amendment Reform Act and the Five-Party Agreement continue to define its limits. Unless the parties reopen the compromise—and Congress agrees—international commercial flights will stay at DFW, and Love Field will keep doing what it does best: fast, frequent domestic service for North Texas.