A North Texas general aviation airport plans to offer commercial service flights as early as 2026.
McKinney National Airport is exploring early-stage plans to offer commercial flights for customers in a move to join Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport and Love Field, according to City officials.
For the airport project to move forward, McKinney residents must vote to approve a bond referendum requiring a firm commitment from one of the many airline carriers. The bond committee recently convened to review the project plans.
Finding interest from an airline or carrier should not be a problem, said Ken Carley, director of the McKinney National Airport.
“We’re talking with all of them,” Carley said. “At different levels, all have expressed interest in being here.”
Collin County is experiencing booming growth, McKinney Mayor George Fuller said. He explained that plans for a new airport are being considered only to facilitate the metroplex’s growth, not to compete with airports like DFW or Love Field.
“Just Collin County alone will grow from 1.1 million to over 3 million people,” Fuller said. “Cities like Denison, Durant, Princeton, Westin, and Anna will benefit from commercial services here in McKinney.”
On an annual basis, city leaders predict that up to 500,000 passengers will travel through the planned airport, though Fuller believes the number could grow much larger than that.
The project is estimated to cost about $300 million. In return, McKinney’s mayor said, “I believe we’ll see billions of dollars of economic impact to the region in time.”
Though it is still too early to determine which airline carrier would foot the bill, Fuller said the City would look at available funds at both the state and federal levels.
Once complete, the airport’s commercial flight terminal will include four gates, with the ability to add 12 additional gates as the airport grows, said Barry Shelton, assistant city manager for McKinney.
Between 10 and 20 commercial flights will depart from the McKinney National Airport each day, according to Shelton.
North Texas Regional (former air force base west of Sherman) will also be seeing increased activity with the two semiconductor facilities being built up there.