The Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport has shelved plans to install special washing rooms for Muslim passengers following objections by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, an airport spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times on Aug. 15.
The airport had been “evaluating an internal proposal to add a set of ablution washing stations on the pre-security side of Terminal D” for international passengers, the spokesperson wrote in a statement.
Terminal D is one of five terminals at DFW and houses more than 30 of the airport’s 160 gates. It also has a connected hotel, the Grand Hyatt.
With every proposed project, the spokesperson said, DFW management considers several factors, including “operational benefits, customer service impacts, operational risks and costs,” before granting approval.
The prayer washing project had not yet reached the official evaluation point when Abbott registered his opposition to such facilities.
“Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others,” Abbott wrote on his X account on Aug. 14, and thus the airport’s plans to install Islamic washing facilities were “illegal.”
The governor announced that he had taken action so his state would “not allow illegal religious discrimination at taxpayer-funded facilities.” He directed a review of all state grants to both DFW and an airport in Houston “for possible revocation,” and also referred the issue to the Department of Transportation for its own investigation.
Abbott included links to letters that he had sent to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and DFW CEO Christopher McLaughlin. He copied U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on the Duffy letter, and the mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston on his letter to McLaughlin.
DFW then “accelerated its review due to elevated public interest this week,” the spokesperson said. It “determined not to proceed” as the project seemed unlikely to “deliver the originally anticipated operational benefits.”
Reached for comment, the governor’s press office pointed The Epoch Times to a follow-up post by Abbott in which he acknowledged the change of plans by DFW and said the proposal had been “clearly illegal.”
Houston Facility
While the issue appears to be resolved at DFW, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston has had an Islamic washing facility in place for close to two years now.
In late October 2024, the Houston branch of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston) held an official recognition ceremony to celebrate the Houston airport as “one of the first airports in the U.S. to offer such amenities” and for “setting a new standard for inclusivity and traveler comfort.”
The Texas governor is pressing the case that the Houston facility is also illegal. The Epoch Times contacted IAH for comment but received only an automated reply.
In majority Muslim nations, public facilities such as airports often have rooms or at least stations to assist in ritual cleaning ahead of prayers at five distinct times during most days.
These are less common in nations without Muslim majorities. London’s Heathrow Airport has Islamic washing facilities in its multi-faith prayer rooms. O’Hare International Airport, which services the Chicago metro area, has interfaith chapels with washing facilities.
The Department of Transportation did not return The Epoch Times’ request for clarification on whether it considered a Islamic washing room to be illegal at an American international airport.
