DFW Airport Abandons Foot-Washing Station Plans After Abbott Threat

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has abandoned plans to install additional foot-washing stations for Islamic travelers following a funding threat from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Abbott directed a state review into grants provided to Dallas and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. He claimed that designated ablution facilities — used for the Muslim ritual of wudu before prayer — amount to unlawful religious discrimination at publicly owned sites.

A Dallas airport representative told FOX 4 Dallas-Forth Worth that airport officials had been evaluating a proposal to build new stations on the pre-security side of Terminal D, the international terminal. Following high public interest, officials accelerated their assessment and opted to cancel the project.

In a statement, officials said the proposal was dropped after leadership concluded “it would not deliver the originally anticipated operational benefits.”

The decision follows Abbott’s directive targeting airport funding and requesting a federal investigation. In a letter to Dallas airport CEO Christopher McLaughlin, Abbott argued that government-managed facilities could not favor one religious tradition over others.

“These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion,” Abbott wrote. “Just as the government cannot favor the secular over the sacred, it also cannot favor one religious view of the sacred over all others in our ‘pluralistic society.’”

Abbott has asked U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Federal Aviation Administration to review accommodations at both airports. In his letter, the governor noted that state grant recipients must certify compliance with anti-discrimination laws, warning that any entity violating those terms “will face the consequences.”

In addition to Dallas’ proposal, Abbott cited Houston’s airport, which opened a prayer space and ritual washing facility in February 2024 furnished with “copies of the Quran, prayer rugs, prayer beads and a turbah.”

The Dallas airport already maintains two ablution stations inside the post-security Interfaith Chapel in Terminal D, which were installed during renovations in 2019.

Before the decision to cancel the project, Katie Chaumont, assistant vice president of communications at the airport, defended the existing facilities and explained the expansion plans.

“Like many international airports across Texas and the country, DFW has offered an ablution washing station on the post-security side of its international terminal for years without concerns,” Chaumont said in a statement to FOX 4. “The airport is evaluating an internal proposal to expand that service to one additional set of restrooms on the pre-security side of the same terminal.”

It remains unclear whether Dallas’ decision will end Abbott’s financial review.

The Independent has contacted airport officials for comment.