[5] Several full-service fixed-base operators (FBOs) provide general aviation services: fuel, maintenance, hangar rentals, and air charters.

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.

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.

[10] 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.

[12]: 12  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.

The War Department had ordered the small caretaker force at Love Field to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus.

[citation needed]) The Gulf Coast ACTC school later moved to Brady, Texas;[16]: 32  and Love Field also had an Air Materiel Command modification center.

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.

The expansion, showcasing Alexander Girard, Herman Miller and Ray and Charles Eames designs, featured the first rotunda concourse, jet bridges, and several airport innovations.

All carriers then operating at Love Field—American, Braniff, Continental, Delta, Eastern, Frontier, Ozark, and Texas International—simultaneously agreed to shift all commercial flights to DFW Airport when it opened in early 1974.

The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and the Dallas–Fort Worth Regional Airport Board sued, arguing that the 1968 agreement gave them the authority to force Southwest to fly from DFW; however, the courts ruled in Southwest's favor, stating that the cities could not block the airline from using Love Field so long as it remained open as an airport.

Hurst insisted on flying to South America and made a variety of other demands, including food, cigarettes, parachutes, jungle survival gear, US$2,000,000 (equivalent to $14,568,019 in 2023), and a handgun.

[39][40][41][42] In 1973, Love Field, which had more than 70 gates and saw frequent Boeing 747 service, reached record enplanements at 6,668,398 and ranked as the eighth busiest airport in the United States.

After exceeding expectations initially, by the end of the first full year of operation, Llove's attendance rates had drastically dropped, leading to the complex being closed in May 1978.

This upset local officials, who feared increased commercial traffic at Love Field could threaten DFW Airport's financial stability.

Muse Air was unable to operate profitably at Love Field and was purchased by Southwest in 1985, renamed TranStar Airlines, and ultimately shut down in 1987.

Although Continental's proposal was ultimately stillborn, it led to a United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) ruling that the Wright Amendment only prohibited through-ticketing specific flight segments to or from Love Field, and that selling a passenger a separate ticket on a connecting flight at another airport—a practice known as double ticketing—was legal if the second ticket was not offered until the traveler asked for it.

However, in 1996, Love-based upstart Legend Airlines said it would operate long-haul flights under the 56-passenger exemption, using McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets modified in a 56-seat all-business class configuration.

[51] On February 10, 2000, a federal judge lifted the injunction against Continental Express' proposed interstate service to Cleveland, and the airline announced that flights would begin on June 1.

[52] After further legal battles and delays in gaining final approval from the FAA, Legend began the first long-haul service from Love Field since 1974 with a flight to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) on April 5, 2000, using a refurbished 56-seat DC-9-30.

In November 2005, Senator Kit Bond of Missouri attached an amendment to a transportation spending bill to exempt his state from the Wright restrictions.

[51] The same day, American Airlines announced that it would start service from Love Field to the same Missouri airports on March 2, 2006, along with flights to the Southwest strongholds of San Antonio and Austin.

[56] On June 15, 2006, a compromise was reached between American, Southwest, DFW Airport and the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth to repeal the Wright Amendment with several conditions.

On November 2, 2014, Southwest added new service to Atlanta, Nashville, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York–LaGuardia, Phoenix, San Diego, Orange County (California) and Tampa.

[64] To get its merger with US Airways approved by the Department of Justice (DOJ), American Airlines was forced to give up its 2 gates at Love Field.

Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America all expressed interest, while the DOJ indicated a low cost carrier should receive the gates.

[73] On June 10, 2016, a police officer intervening in a domestic altercation shot and wounded a suspect who rushed at him with a large stone in the vehicle loading zone near the baggage claim.

In November 2020, the carrier JSX began passenger service from Love Field to Houston Hobby, adding competition to the route dominated by Southwest Airlines.

On April 22, 2021, the airport initiated a $141 million project to completely demolish and rebuild runway 13R/31L, which was last repaved in 1990 using concrete designed to last 20 years at lighter Wright Amendment traffic levels.

Airport leaders had hoped to repave the runway while air traffic was reduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the project was postponed due to pandemic-related funding uncertainties.