Spotlight On: Sheneice Hughes, Assistant Director – Administration and Customer Engagement, Dallas Love Field Airport

Spotlight On: Sheneice Hughes, Assistant Director – Administration and Customer Engagement, Dallas Love Field Airport

2022-09-01T14:05:57-04:00September 1st, 2022|Dallas-Fort Worth, Spotlight On, Transportation|

2 min read September 2022 Invest: spoke with Sheneice Hughes, assistant director of the Dallas Love Field Airport, about major projects at the airport, including numerous sustainability projects as well as the construction of a new runway, entranceway and a distinct “airport district” for locals and travelers to enjoy. 

What have been some highlights for Dallas Love Field Airport over the last year? 

The biggest thing is that we were re-constructing one of our runways – Runway 13R/31L. We only have two, so we have spent the last year getting ready to build the new one. I am pleased to say it was completed in June. We are also re-constructing our entryway. We had bollards from the 1970s that looked like tombstones but now the entryway will be modern and new with a beautiful art piece at the front called “The Lovebird,” fabricated by the artist Ed Carpenter. We should be done with the entryway by the end of the summer. We are also changing the landscape around the airport, so we can highlight to travelers that they are now entering into the new and exciting Airport District. In 2014, the Wright Amendment was lifted that restricted the direct flights for the airlines from DAL. After the Wright Amendment lifted, they were able to add direct flights which grew their business and ours. That has changed the landscape around the airport tremendously. We have apartment complexes, retail and eating establishments that weren’t here before 2014. The area around the airport is booming and growing, so we want to get to a place where people know they are definitely in the airport district. We are planning to have a safe, walkable airport, with new sidewalks along Herb Kelleher Way, Lemmon, Mockingbird and Denton Roads, and we are enhancing the lighting and putting in a beautiful landscape and artwork. We are trying to be a good neighbor because we are landlocked and surrounded by residential areas. We hope they will come and enjoy the updated airport district and watch the planes or take a walk or stop for lunch. 

What are some of Dallas Love Field Airport’s major sustainability efforts?

We have implemented many sustainability efforts over the last five years. We are carbon accredited now. The first level of accreditation received in 2017 was mapping. In 2018,we received the second level, which is carbon reduction and we have submitted our application for Level 3 – optimization. We just received a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality environmental grant award in 2021, allowing us to install 10 more Electric Vehicle charging stations. We have six in our new garage C.  We have hosted environmental fellows who have  helped us decide additional actions we can take to be better environmental stewards. We are doing a solar feasibility study focusing on renewable energy. The target date for completion is the end of June. We want to develop energy resilience and decrease long-term energy costs, so we are working within our terminal to change our lighting. 

We also have an electric vehicle master plan. With Elon Musk’s Tesla plant coming to Austin, a lot of Texans are moving to electric vehicles. We focused on waste reduction and have installed water bottle filling stations all throughout the terminal, which have saved an estimated 800,000 bottles of water since January 2020. We have been collecting cooking oil from our vendors since 2018 and have recycled 9,000 gallons in 2021. We also just installed an urban beehive which will produce our own love-inspired honey at Dallas Executive Airport.

What recent technologies have been implemented in the aviation and airport industry? 

We are trying different things. You may have heard about our robots. People have the wrong impression that they were enforcing the mask policy during the pandemic, but really, they were there to give directions. We had problems getting people to work in our information booths because of the pandemic. We were looking for solutions and the robots could answer frequently asked questions. The robots didn’t chase you around but you could approach them and ask them a question. There were mixed feelings about it, so I am not sure if we are going to keep them. TSA is working on getting new equipment that will eliminate almost all contact at security, except for the occasional pat-down. An online parking system is also something we are implementing. It is cashless and allows you to reserve a spot in Garage C. We are excited for these upgrades to come here. 

What is your airport’s role in advancing the region’s economy?

It is interesting that you asked that because we just did an economic impact study. In 2021, the airport business activity contributed $3.9 billion to the local economy. It boosted gross domestic product by $1.9 billion and increased labor income by $1 billion for a total of 12,600 direct and indirect jobs. It increased local tax revenue by $37 million for the city of Dallas. If you add in visitors, you are closer to $4.2 billion. We are an economic engine in the middle of the city and it is easy to get anywhere from here. That is also a detriment to us because we can’t build anything new without tearing something existing down. At the same time, it is very convenient and 16 million people come through Dallas Love Field on a yearly basis. 

For more information, visit: 

https://www.dallas-lovefield.com/ 

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