Hotels near ⁨Dallas Love Field (DAL)⁩

Dallas Love Field (IATA: DAL, ICAO: KDAL, FAA LID: DAL) is a city-owned public airport in the neighborhood of Love Field, about 6 miles (10 km; 5 nmi) northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened and now serves as a secondary. Love Field covers an area of 1,300 acres (530 ha) at an elevation of 487 feet (148 m) above mean sea level and has two runways. Love Field is the birthplace, corporate headquarters, and a major operating base of Southwest Airlines; as of August 2021, Southwest has a 95% market share at the airport. Several full-service fixed-base operators (FBOs) provide general aviation services: fuel, maintenance, hangar rentals, and air charters. The City of Dallas Department of Aviation headquarters is on the airport grounds. == History == Dallas Love Field is named after Moss L. Love, who, while assigned to the U.S. Army 11th Cavalry, died in an airplane crash near San Diego, California, on September 4, 1913, becoming the tenth fatality in U.S. Army aviation history. His Wright Model C biplane crashed during practice for his Military Aviator Test. Love Field was named by the United States Army on October 19, 1917. === World War I === Dallas Love Field originated in 1917 when the Army announced it would establish a series of camps to train prospective pilots after the United States entered into World War I. The airfield was one of 32 new Air Service fields. It was constructed just southeast of Bachman Lake, and it covered over 700 acres and could accommodate up to 1,000 personnel. Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters, maintenance, and officers' quarters. Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents. Love Field served as a base for flight training for the United States Army Air Service. In 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction. After completing their primary training at Love Field, flight cadets were transferred to another base for advanced training. After officially opening on October 19, 1917, the first unit stationed at Love Field was the 136th Aero Squadron, transferred from Kelly Field, south of San Antonio, Texas. Only a few U.S. Army Air Service aircraft arrived with the 136th Aero Squadron, and most of the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny aircraft to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by railcar. Training units assigned to Love Field during World War I were: Post Headquarters, Love Field, October 1917 – December 1919 71st Aero Squadron (II), February 1918 Re-designated as Squadron "A", July–November 1918 121st Aero Squadron (II), April 1918 Re-designated as Squadron "B", July–November 1918 136th Aero Squadron (II), November 1917 Re-designated as Squadron "C", July–November 1918 197th Aero Squadron, November 1917 Re-designated as Squadron "D", July–November 1918 Flying School Detachment (Consolidation of Squadrons A-D), November 1918 – November 1919 The 865th Aero Squadron (Repair) was formed at Love Field in March 1918 as a JN-4 aircraft repair and maintenance support unit. It was assigned to the Aviation Repair Depot, Dallas, Texas (at Love Field), in April 1918 and demobilized in March 1919. With the sudden end of World War I in November 1918, the future operational status of Love Field was unknown. Many local officials speculated the U.S. government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by Love-trained pilots in Europe. Locals also pointed to the optimal weather conditions in the Dallas area for flight training. On November 11, 1918, cadets in flight training were allowed to complete their training; however, no new cadets were assigned to the base. The separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment, as many of the personnel assigned were being demobilized. === Inter-war years === In December 1919, Love Field was deactivated as an active duty airfield and converted into a storage facility for surplus De Havilland and JN-4 aircraft, some of the latter having been repurchased by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in the spring of 1919. In what was called "the largest recruiting mission in the spring and summer of 1919", Lt. Col. Henry B. Clagett began with seven DH-4s departing Dallas and flying as far as Boston. A small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for administrative reasons, and it was used intermittently to support small military units. In January 1921, 1st Lt William D. Coney attempted to fly from San Diego to Jacksonville with just one stop—at Love Field. In 1921, the aviation repair depot next to Love Field moved to Kelly Field in San Antonio to consolidate with the supply depot at Kelly and form the San Antonio Intermediate Air Depot. In 1923, Dallas was a route point between Muskogee and Kelly Field on the southern division of the model airway. However, by 1923, the decision had been made to phase down all activities at the new base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets, and it was closed. The War Department had ordered the small caretaker force at Love Field to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus. The War Department leased out the vacant land to local farmers and ranchers. In 1928, Dallas purchased Love Field, which opened for civilian use (the first passenger service was by the National Air Transport company). On April 9, 1932, the first paved runways at the airfield were completed. In March 1939, the airfield had 21 weekday airline departures: 9 American, 8 Braniff and 4 Delta. On October 6, 1940, Love Field's Lemmon Avenue Terminal Building opened on the east side of the airfield. === World War II === "On 6 June 1939, the War Department approved...nine civil school detachments", including one at Dallas (cf. a 1940 school approved for Ft Worth's Hicks Field, a new 1942 Ft Worth Airfield–Tarrant Field at the government plant and that had a four-engine pilots' school,) and a Ferrying Command control center at Dallas's Hensley Field. By October 1940 at the Texas Army Airfields, classes had entered the Dallas Texas Aviation School, which provided basic (level 1) flight training using Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. The Gulf Coast ACTC school later moved to Brady, Texas; and Love Field also had an Air Materiel Command modification center. In September 1942, the Air Transport Command activity at Hensley Field moved to Love Field. ATC's 5th Ferrying Group, consisting of Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadrons (WAFS) ferried PT-17s, AT-6s and twin-engine Cessna AT-17s; and Love Field was also used by the San Antonio Air Service Command for aircraft overhauls. The 2d Ferrying Squadron of the 5th Ferrying Group was moved by Air Transport Command from Love Field to Fairfax Field at Kansas City on April 15, 1943. In September 1943, a new north–south runway 18/36 and northwest–southeast runway 13/31 were completed. Air Force facilities closed at the end of World War II except for Love Field's automatic tracking radar station (call sign Dallas Bomb Plot) for Radar Bomb Scoring that had been established by June 6, 1945 (transferred to Strategic Air Command on March 21, 1946, 10th RBSS Det 1 by 1957). === Post-war === On November 29, 1949, American Airlines Flight 157, a Douglas DC-6 en route from New York City to Dallas and Mexico City with 46 passengers and crew, slid off Runway 36 after the flight crew lost control on final approach. The airliner struck buildings and caught fire, killing 28. It was the deadliest air disaster in Texas history at the time and, according to modern reference sources, remains the deadliest crash at the airfield. Pioneer Air Lines moved its base from Houston to Love Field in 1950. In 1953, Fort Worth opened Amon Carter Field, which would later become Greater Southwest International Airport, to compete with Love Field. Fort Worth had attempted to negotiate with Dallas to collaborate on the new airport, but Dallas repeatedly declined those attempts. Upon completion, all of the passenger airlines were transferred from Fort Worth's previous airline airport, Meacham Field, to Greater Southwest, leaving Love Field and Greater Southwest as the only air transportation options for the Dallas–Fort Worth area. The February 1953 C&GS diagram shows Runway 7 (4,301 ft (1,311 m)), Runway 13 (6,201 ft (1,890 m)) and Runway 18 (5,202 ft (1,586 m)). On June 1, 1954, Runway 7/25 was closed; it was later removed to allow terminal expansion. Love Field then had two runways: Runway 13/31, the main runway, and the shorter 18/36. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 52 weekday departures on Braniff, 45 on American, 25 Delta, 21 Trans-Texas, 12 Central and 9 Continental. Three nonstops a day to Washington DC, three to New York/Newark, six to Chicago, five to California and 12 a week to Mexico City. === Jet age === Love Field's new terminal (the third terminal, designed by Donald S. Nelson) opened to the airlines on January 20, 1958, with three one-story concourses, 26 ramp-level gates and the world's first airport moving walkways. Air carriers serving the airport at the time included American Airlines, Braniff International Airways (which was based in Dallas), Central Airlines (which was based in nearby Fort Worth), Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Trans-Texas Airways (which later changed its name to Texas International Airlines). Turbine-power flights began on April 1, 1959, when Continental Airlines introduced the Vickers Viscount turboprop. Jet airline flights began on July 12, 1959, when American Airlines started Boeing 707 flights to New York. By 1963, Love Field had direct, no change of plane Boeing 707 jet service to London and Frankfurt jointly operated daily by Braniff International and Pan American World Airways (Pan Am). The trips were conducted via an interchange agreement between the two airlines, with these flights making an intermediate stop at Chicago O'Hare Airport. In 1961, Mr. and Mrs. Earle Wyatt gave a large bronze statue titled One Riot, One Ranger for display in the airport's new terminal. Famed Texas-born sculptor Waldine Tauch created the piece. The inscription refers to an incident in which a single Texas Ranger was supposedly dispatched to quell a riot. The statue was removed from the airport in June 2020 after it was revealed that the ranger who modeled for the statue had been dispatched to the Dallas area in 1956 to help white supremacist protesters defy lawful efforts to end racial segregation of local public schools. On November 22, 1963, United States President John F. Kennedy arrived at Love Field on Air Force One and was assassinated in Dealey Plaza less than one hour later while his motorcade was traveling from Love Field to the Dallas Trade Mart and died at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Texas Governor John Connally was riding in the presidential limousine and was seriously wounded. Ninety minutes later, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president aboard Air Force One before it departed from Love Field to Washington, D.C. On April 2, 1965, the 8,800 ft (2,700 m) parallel Runway 13R/31L opened (Runway 13/31 became Runway 13L/31R). The project had been vexed by legal wrangling; safety concerns were raised regarding its proximity to schools and its minimal safety areas, while nearby residents attempted to stop the anticipated increase in jet noise and the removal of homes and businesses adjacent to the airport to accommodate the project. Several terminal expansion programs were fueled by the boom in air travel during the 1960s. American Airlines expanded its concourse in 1968, and Braniff opened its "Terminal of the Future." The expansion, showcasing Alexander Girard, Herman Miller and Ray and Charles Eames designs, featured the first rotunda concourse, jet bridg