Fort Worth Alliance Airport

Billed as the world's first purely industrial airport, it was developed in a joint venture between the City of Fort Worth, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Hillwood Development Company, a real estate development company owned by Ross Perot Jr.[2]

The official groundbreaking ceremonies were held in July 1988, and the airport officially opened on December 14, 1989.[3][4]

Alliance Airport was an occasional source of friction between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth prior to the repeal of Wright Amendment, which imposed long-distance flight restrictions at Dallas Love Field after non-compete clauses in the 1968 DFW Concurrent Bond Ordinance signed by Dallas and Fort Worth failed to stop Southwest Airlines from beginning service from Love. The bond agreement prohibited both cities from offering municipal airport services that are "potentially competitive" with DFW.[5][6] Fort Worth officials long asserted that Alliance is not a direct competitor to DFW, as no attempt was ever made to initiate passenger service there, and the FedEx and American Airlines bases would never have been located at DFW instead.[7]

In the early 1990s, factions in Dallas were calling for Wright Amendment restrictions to be lifted to enhance local airline service. On 21 February 1992, Dallas city leaders threatened to block a proposed $120 million expansion of Alliance, accusing Fort Worth leaders of undermining support for other local airport projects; Dallas councilman Jerry Bartos, an influential repeal proponent, was accused of trying to make Alliance a negotiating point in his campaign to repeal the Wright Amendment.[8] On 25 February, Dallas leaders dropped their objections when it became clear that the planned expansion would not jeopardize federal funding for other local airport projects.[9] On 8 April, the city of Fort Worth sued the City of Dallas, accusing Dallas leaders of violating the non-compete clause by scheduling a City Council vote on the Wright Amendment.[10] The 1992 repeal proposal and lawsuit were later dropped after negotiations between the cities, but it was revealed in 1997 that, during a private meeting held on 11 May 1992, influential Fort Worth politicians and civic leaders were seriously concerned that their support for Alliance could give Dallas grounds to countersue Fort Worth for also violating the bond agreement.[6]

In 1993, Russian flag carrier Aeroflot proposed opening a cargo base at Alliance as part of a proposed joint venture with the Perots to expand cargo operations at three airports in Russia. On 6 May 1993, a group of Russian officials negotiating for the proposal arrived at Alliance in an Ilyushin Il-96, the first U.S. visit by the new passenger jet.[11]

In 1998, the Wright Amendment issue resurfaced when Fort Worth and American Airlines sued Dallas, Continental Airlines, Continental Express, and Legend Airlines for supporting the Shelby Amendment, which lifted Wright Amendment restrictions on flights to Alabama, Kansas, and Mississippi. On 1 October 1998, Legend countersued Fort Worth, accusing the city of a "double standard" in its simultaneous support for Alliance and opposition to expansion at Love. Lead Fort Worth attorney Lee Kelly contested the accusations, saying that "neither passenger service, nor any other service, believed to be competitive with the services or interests of [DFW] currently exists [at Alliance]," while Fort Worth mayor Kenneth Barr dismissed attacks on the all-cargo airport as "a bunch of nonsense."[7] On 29 October 1998, State District Judge Bob McCoy dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that Legend was not a party to the 1968 DFW bond agreement and thus lacked standing to sue.[12]

Alliance stood in for Los Angeles International Airport during the filming of the pilot episode of the short-lived 2004 TV drama LAX.[13]

A $260 million runway and taxiway extension project was completed in April of 2018 to allow heavily loaded cargo aircraft to take off from either runway in hot and high Texas summer weather conditions and reach Europe unrefueled. The project had been under construction since 2003 and required the relocation of nearby sections of Farm to Market Road 156 and a BNSF Railway line. Runways 16R/34L and 16L/34R were previously 8,200 feet (2,500 m) and 9,600 feet (2,900 m) long, respectively.[14]

The control tower at Alliance

Fort Worth Alliance Airport covers an area of 1,198 acres (485 ha) and has two concrete runways: 16L/34R measuring 11,000 x 150 ft (3,353 × 46 m) and 16R/34L measuring 11,010 × 150 ft (3,356 × 46 m).[1]

For the year ending May 31, 2017, the airport had 112,326 aircraft operations, averaging 308 per day: 75% general aviation, 7% air carrier, 13% military, and 5% air taxi. At that time there were 26 aircraft based at this airport: 2 single-engine, 7 multi-engine, 8 jet and 9 helicopter.[1]

Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets at the 2019 Fort Worth Alliance Air Show

American Airlines was previously the largest tenant at the airport, operating a major maintenance base which closed in December 2012 as part of AMR's Chapter 11 reorganization. Current major tenants include:

• Amazon Air (new hub opened on October 2, 2019)
• BNSF Railway (Alliance intermodal facility)
• Bell Helicopter Textron (customer acceptance center)
• Drug Enforcement Administration (aviation operations center)
• DynCorp International (main operations center)
• FedEx (southwest regional sorting hub; FedEx also operates from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's east cargo facility)
• GDC Technics (aircraft modification company currently occupying the ex-American Airlines facility)[15]
• Tarrant County College – Aviation Learning Center (2014)[16]

• 8 April 1992: A student pilot in a Cessna 150, registration number N67816, became lost during a nighttime solo cross-country flight and initiated an emergency landing at Alliance when the aircraft began losing power; the aircraft struck power lines and a tree on approach, causing substantial aircraft damage and minor injuries. The accident was attributed to fuel exhaustion caused by the pilot's failure to refuel the aircraft during an earlier intermediate stop; a factor was the pilot's inadvertent disorientation.[17]
• 17 February 2001: A Piper PA-32, registration number N8355L, was on approach when propeller RPM suddenly increased and engine instruments indicated zero oil pressure. The aircraft lost power and was substantially damaged during the subsequent off-airport forced landing; one pilot suffered serious injuries, while a second pilot and two passengers suffered minor injuries. The accident was attributed to "the improper installation of the oil filter bypass valve by an unknown person, which resulted in the loss of engine oil and subsequent loss of total power during a normal descent. A contributing factor to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing."[18]
• 29 May 2011: The owner-pilot and a flight instructor in a Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil, registration number N747CH, lost yaw control during low-altitude practice maneuvers with the hydraulic assist for the flight controls switched off. The aircraft crashed, rolled onto its side, and caught fire, and all three occupants suffered minor injuries. Investigators found that the manufacturer advised against attempting low-altitude, low-speed maneuvers without hydraulic assistance, as the aircraft could become very difficult to control. The accident was attributed to "The pilot's loss of control due to his not maintaining adequate airspeed and altitude during a simulated hydraulic flight control failure. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision and delayed remedial response."[19]

• List of airports in Texas

• Fort Worth Alliance Airport, official web site
• Alliance Air Services
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective January 28, 2021

• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KAFW
  • ASN accident history for AFW
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KAFW
  • FAA current AFW delay information