“When you’re inside the fence, on an airplane, you shouldn’t have to worry about wildlife, vehicles or people coming through the perimeter,” stresses Tony Hart, airport security manager at Dallas Love Field (DAL).
But without the right perimeter fencing and security in place, trespassers can hop fences, crash cars through gates and sneak past security to jump a plane or wreak other havoc.
Knowing this, DAL has taken a multi-layered approach to protecting its 50,000-linear-foot border with fences, security gates, surveillance cameras and patrols.
Many airports use chain-link fencing with barbed wire, but DAL officials sought more advanced fencing with a more pleasing appearance. Now, impact-resistant fencing protects the airfield from a myriad of intruders.
“Our goal was to make sure everything was taken care of,” Hart says. “We wanted to protect the people on the airfield from people, vehicles and animals that might breach the fence. Because at an airport, there is no room for error.”
| facts&figures
Project: Perimeter Security Location: Dallas Love Field Airport Scope: About 50,000 linear ft. of airfield border Cost: $6.5 million over multiple projects Key Components: Crash-rated fencing, ornamental industrial fencing, magnet-operated gates, surveillance cameras Project Timeline: 2010-Present Design & Prime Engineer (Streetscapes Project): Kimley-Horn General Contractor: Huitt-Zollars Fencing: Montage Industrial with Invincible profile & Stalwart K12 by Ameristar Bollards: Ameristar Camera Technology: AXIS & Hanwha thermal & multi-directional cameras Gates: VMAG Key Benefits: Increased security from perimeter intrusion by vehicles, animals & trespassers; upgraded aesthetics |
Catalyst and Solution
Courtly Parker, the airport’s interim assistant director of Public Safety, explains that the recent effort to better secure DAL’s perimeter traces back to August 2010, when a suspected carjacker led police on a high-speed chase that ended with the vehicle crashing through the airport’s chain-link fence and swerving onto a runway.
After this incident, DAL initiated a perimeter planning process, beginning with a thorough assessment of its borders. “Through this evaluation, we learned what we needed to do, what we could do, and what we couldn’t,” Parker says, noting that the airport shares its boundary with leased and other Department of Aviation properties. Given these challenges, DAL hired a consultant to develop a perimeter enhancement plan.
The resulting design included crash-rated perimeter fencing in key areas. Other fencing that balanced safety with aesthetics was specified in less critical areas.
While the improvement project was in progress, another breach occurred. This time, a drunk driver crashed into a gate, striking a fuel truck and two private jets. While airport operations weren’t suspended, the incident reinforced the need for stronger perimeter security.
“Dallas Love Field is a little different from many airports in that it’s in a heavily metro area,” explains Chris Dodder, head of business development at Ameristar, the company that supplied DAL’s new fencing and other perimeter security products.
The airport entrance is just off Mockingbird Lane, a major Dallas thoroughfare with heavy traffic. It is this very stretch of road where the airport added crash-rated fencing to protect people, property and equipment from wayward vehicles.
Mark Fragale, interim assistant director of Aviation Operations and Field Maintenance, affirms that DAL’s location heightens the need for crash-barrier fencing. “We don’t have the luxury of having a substantial amount of land between the roadway and the airfield,” he explains. “In some areas, the road is less than 30 feet from the perimeter fence.”
However, while hardening perimeter security, the airport wanted to maintain its Streetscape Enhancements Project, executed under the direction of Kimley-Horn from fall 2023 to fall 2025. That included new sidewalks, bike paths, landscaping, gateway designs, lighting, intersection safety upgrades, traffic signals, directional signage and neighborhood green spaces.
“It was a complete beautification of the entrance, but we still needed smart features to protect the airfield,” Fragale specifies.
To meet both objectives, the airport chose two different styles of fencing—crash-rated where needed and another industrial version with more attention to aesthetics in other areas. “There are several components to the fencing,” says Parker. “It’s anti-climb, has a wildlife barrier and there are hardened points to prevent vehicles from driving through.”
Bollards and other preventive components were added in spaces between the roadway and perimeter fencing.
“We also put in water barriers in areas where we still had some issues,” he adds.
Finding the Right Fence
In retrospect, Parker says the airport’s previous perimeter security—an 8-foot-tall chain-link fence with barbed wire on top—could be easily compromised. Today, a mix of fencing, selected to suit different needs at various sites, makes that harder.
“We integrated Stalwart fencing, which is our cabled crash system, with our Montage Industrial fence system with the Invincible profile, which has a curved picket top, to make it more secure,” says Matt Bean, project manager for Ameristar’s Southeast Region.
To prevent intruders from climbing over the fence, DAL added a mesh barrier to the perimeter fencing. “We didn’t do this in every area initially. We only installed it in areas where people were still trying to climb the fence,” Parker says, adding that anti-climb mesh has been added to all Department of Aviation maintained perimeter fencing.
A 2-foot-high “critter guard” was added to keep rabbits, coyotes and other animals from getting onto the airfield.
To complement its new crash-rated fencing, the airport installed gates from VMAG with built-in barriers and crash beams. And in areas where barrier arms would not fit, a cable barrier system was built into the gate.
“The VMAG gates enhance security because they run on magnets and open and close really fast,” Parker says. “The less time the gate remains open, the more secure you will be.”
At gates, the airport added security cameras where fiber optic cabling was already installed. “Those cameras monitor the gates at all times,” he adds.
Performance and Installation
Stalwart K12, the most formidable fencing DAL added, is designed to stop a 15,000-pound vehicle traveling 50 miles per hour within 3 to 23 feet.
The crash-rated barrier relies on a 1-inch braided cable that spans the fence horizontally to stop vehicles. This cable is installed into three horizontal rails that are secured to footers buried 7 feet below ground and encased in concrete.
“When a vehicle hits these cables, it transfers the energy from this impact, down the bollards, where the kinetic energy is absorbed,” Bean explains.
Installing this type of fencing is a big construction project, Dodder advises.
The contractor digs the 3-foot diameter by 7-foot deep footers for the 8-inch bollards placed every 32 feet 8 inches, with a 9-inch diameter by 3-foot deep footer for the intermediate I-beam spaced 8 feet apart between the bollards.
After the concrete is dry, the contractor installs the fence rails and threads the braided cable into the rails and bollards. “Then, they return and put brackets on the bollards and I-beams, hang panels on these brackets, and install the critter guard and other features,” Dodder chronicles. “Finally, they fill the bollards with concrete.”
To boost contractor skill, Ameristar provides installation training. “This isn’t just posts and brackets,” says Dodder. “It is a fairly sophisticated install. We want to help contractors who are unfamiliar with its installation, so they are not learning on the job.”
The crash-rated barrier fencing at DAL was already “field tested” in 2024, when a driver lost control of his vehicle, drove through the intersection and hit the perimeter fence. “The barrier did its job in preventing the vehicle from going all the way through,” Fragale reports.
Aesthetics Also Matter
“A chain-link fence with three strings of rolled barbed wire can secure a perimeter, but this is a very institutional look,” Bean comments. “Most designers want to see a softer touch that accomplishes the same level of security.”
Another drawback of barbed wire is that an intruder with wire cutters can cut through it in less than 30 seconds, he adds.
In contrast, Montage Industrial ornamental fencing is much harder to breach. “You cannot get through it with a wire snips,” Bean relates. “Keep in mind, any type of fence can be breached with the right tools and enough time. A fence is meant to delay, detect and deter breaches in security.”
Adding mesh barriers makes it harder for people to scale the fence, Parker adds. “When you put wire mesh on fencing, people cannot grab hold of the wrought iron to pull themselves up or go through. We installed that in the last year.”
The black ornamental fencing was also selected for visual appeal. “DAL is an airport that understands and appreciates the ‘good neighbor’ mindset,” Bean remarks. “They didn’t want the airport to look like a prison, especially with it being right in the downtown area. They understood that airport is the face of the city for travelers coming in and leaving. And they wanted to put their best foot forward.”
Landscaping around the fence further enhances the curb appeal. “It offers both beautification and protection against a vehicle getting through,” Fragale notes.
Montage Industrial fencing is made of galvanized steel that is pre-treated with zinc phosphate, then covered by an epoxy primer and acrylic topcoat. This shields the fencing from environmental wear and reduces maintenance needs.
“Fencing is a tremendous investment for an airport,” Dodder relates. “We want to make sure they feel good about that investment, and it’s not a system they have to paint every five years.”
Jorge Tapia, interim superintendent of Airfield Maintenance at DAL, considers the fencing’s 20-year warranty a key selling point. The airport maintains the perimeter fencing and gates daily, but has a contract with Construction Rent-A-Fence for assistance with major issues. Additionally, DAL has a contract with Ameristar and VMAG for other upkeep, parts and equipment.
“This is not a normal fence that will rust in a few years, and then we have to repaint and maintain it,” Tapia says. “It’s more robust than that.”
Next Steps
DAL isn’t done boosting its perimeter security. Improvement plans are in the works for private hangars and fixed base operators (FBOs). “We will expect them to use the same materials or something similar and provide the same level of security,” says Fragale.
New gates from VMAG are supplemented with location-specific beams and barriers.
“Our next steps also include adding more technology and cameras,” Parker says. “We don’t have fiber optic in some areas, so we cannot hardwire our cameras all the way around the perimeter. The airport’s Operational Technology Divisions is currently researching wireless solutions that will enable us to have cameras around the entire perimeter and to add cameras with analytics capabilities that automatically look for intrusions.”
Securing an airport perimeter is a constant effort. Hart concludes, “It demands a quality product that beautifies the neighborhood while providing the highest level of security possible.”
