BY COLBY FARR & SHELBIE HAMILTON
Diving in deeper
The outlook
operations at McKinney’s airport is a common occurrence. While some louder planes and helicopters are noticeable from her home in the La Loma neighborhood, Escamilla said she more often hears the sound of cars driving through the neighborhood and on Airport Drive. Escamilla said she is concerned about the increased road noise and tra c as the airport grows and travelers drive in the area. Adjacent TxDOT road projects that could assist with tra c incurred by the airport expansion will be completed after the terminal opens, such as an extension of Spur 399 to US 380 and a project to reconstruct SH 5, have projected completion dates that are years past the opening of the terminal. “The airport is going to be done and ready for people, but the roads will not be and that’s going to create a lot more problems tra c-wise,” Escamilla said. While the terminal will add some landings and departures at the airport daily, Carley said the addition of commercial service will not change the airport’s business model or “the impacts that the airport has in the community.”
Adding a passenger terminal to the McKinney National Airport would make it one of three airports in the Dallas-Fort Worth region with dedicated commercial service, alongside Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport. Program manager Ernest Hu man, who man- ages aviation planning for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said the expansion will add to the region’s capacity for passenger travel. The region is projected to grow from about 8.6 million residents to 12.3 million by 2050, according to the NCTCOG’s Mobility 2050 plan. Much of that growth is expected to occur in Collin County, which is projected to increase population by 70%. NCTCOG conducted an independent study around the time McKinney called a bond election to fund the expansion, Hu man said, which identi ed that the region is approaching capacity for passenger air travel. Maegan Escamilla, an East McKinney resident, community advocate and treasurer of the McK- inney Legacy Neighborhood Association board, said the noise of planes overhead from current
Construction is underway on elements of the project by construction company Swinerton, including excavation work and grading for the construction of the terminal building, plane parking apron, parking lot, fuel farm and other infrastructure. Carley said the terminal could begin operations in November 2026. Announcements of the routes, destinations and rates for ights that will be o ered at the airport are expected to be made about six months before the terminal opening. Con rmation of airline commitments could come later this year or in early 2026 when McKinney City Council considers airline operation agreements, Carley said. “It’s a real project now,” he said. “In a sense, that’s kind of focused the airline’s interest a bit more, because they can see this is a real thing, it’s going to happen.”
Terminal operations projections
Year 1
Year 3
Up to 3 daily Avelo ights
Average of 7 daily Avelo ights
Passengers served
130K projected Avelo enplanements
450K projected Avelo enplanements
DFW International Airport
Dallas Love Field
McKinney National Airport, year 1* 200K passengers served
100M
1
2
3
80M 60M 40M 20M 0
360 jobs created
1,840 jobs created
$10.2M combined local, state and federal tax impact
$54.7M combined local, state and federal tax impact
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
*PROJECTED
NOTE: ENPLANEMENTS COUNT PAYING PLANE PASSENGERS.
SOURCE: CITY OF MCKINNEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
2 Wright Amendment restrictions repealed for Southwest Airlines at DAL
1 9/11 event
3 COVID-19 pandemic
SOURCE: CITY OF MCKINNEY, DALLAS FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, DALLAS LOVE FIELD COMMUNITY IMPACT
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MCKINNEY EDITION
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