Dillon Pettyjohn joined Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in 2018. In a short four-year period since joining DFW Airport’s Planning department, Pettyjohn has advanced in his career from senior airport planner to assistant vice president of planning for the second busiest airport in the world.
Prior to joining DFW Airport, Pettyjohn was director of airfield operations for the US Air Force for five years, where he managed airport operations and airport planning at various US Air Force airfields around the globe. In his current role, he leads long-term research and development including strategic and tactical efforts, enabling appropriate airport growth needs, while meeting the airfield operations’ capacity requirements. He directs a team of employees and consultants that perform airport master planning, technical analysis, project development in support of the $2.5 Billion Infrastructure Capital Program. He also leads the Urban Air Mobility initiative for DFW’s planning department and plays an active role in developing various aspects of DFW Airport’s Future Terminal Development Program bringing innovation and foresightedness to all planning efforts.
Pettyjohn said he enjoys the opportunity to positively influence airport operations and development to allow for more efficient enjoyable travel into the future.
Looking to the future, he said he’d like to see “Continued research into all sides of airport business models that allow for right-size investments and developments while innovating new ways to better the airport experience.”
Additionally, Pettyjohn manages airspace and surface optimization to ensure operational effectiveness, capacity utilization, to include phasing and growth for the airport, working directly with the FAA, airline partners, and internal stakeholders.
