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Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, is the busiest airport in Texas and 4th-busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic. In terms of land area, it is the largest airport in Texas, the second largest in the United States, and third largest in the world. The airport has the IATA Airport Code DFW, and most locals refer to the airport as "DFW International" or simply "DFW."
Opened in 1973, the airport itself takes up more area than the island of Manhattan in New York City does. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has flights going to other places in the United States, as well as Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. It is the largest aviation facility in Texas, with George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston as the second largest in the state. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport serves as the main hub for American Airlines, the largest airline in the world, which is also headquartered nearby. Delta Airlines also operates a hub here.
DFW Airport is operated in many ways like a small city. It has its own post office and its own zip code. The members of the airport's Board of Directors are appointed by the "owner cities" of Dallas and Fort Worth. However, the airport is inside the city limits of Irving, Euless, and Grapevine, a situation that has led to legal battles over jurisdiction. In 1988, the three cities sued the airport over its expansion plans, a battle that was finally decided (in favor of the airport) by the Supreme Court in 1994. To help ensure future harmony with its neighbors, the DFW Airport Board was expanded to include a non-voting member -- a representative chosen from the airport's neighbors (Irving, Euless, Grapevine, and nearby Coppell) on a rotating basis.
The new runway, opened around 1998, is said (by whom?) to have decreased air congestion throughout the United States approximately 18 to 22 percent.
DFW Airport is connected by commuter rail with both downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth through the Trinity Railway Express.
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