City moves closer to making McKinney National Airport a reality

McKINNEY, Texas - The city of McKinney is one step closer to having an airport that will provide commercial flights.

The city's planning and zoning commission approved the plans Tuesday evening to expand the airport. The next big hurdle is figuring out exactly how to pay for it.

The proposed expansion carries a price tag of more than $70 million. 

And without any turbulence, North Texas travelers could be flying out of McKinney National Airport in late 2026.

The backstory:

Last week, the McKinney City Council approved a resolution to send the site plan to the planning and zoning commission for approval since there is a need to remove trees and landscaping from the area to prevent wildlife hazards. 

Those plans call for a 45,000-square-foot passenger terminal with three initial gates, parking areas, a taxiway, and other runway equipment.

The goal is to further expand to five gates on 280 acres of land next to the existing general aviation airport building.

By comparison, Dallas Love Field has 20 gates.

The project has been in the works for many years.

The original plan for a $300 million commercial terminal paid for with $200 million in property tax bonds was rejected by voters back in 2023.

The new $72 million project is funded through sales tax revenue, federal loans, and grants.

Under the new plan, the city of McKinney said it is negotiating with two commercial airlines for service at the airport.

Once it opens, it’s expected to support about 200,000 passengers in the first year.

What they're saying:

The planning and zoning commission listened as people spoke about the site plan for a proposed airport expansion Tuesday night.

"It’s kind of a mixed bag of emotions here," said resident Katherine. "It’s kind of nice to have a plan come in. It’s pretty quiet where we live. But on the other hand, if we have a lot of traffic coming in and out, it could be kind of irritating."

Resident Hank Johnston wants the people of McKinney to get a say before crews break ground. 

"McKinney’s tagline is ‘Unique by nature.’ Yet, they’re asking to approve exceptions to its own vegetative and tree regulations," he said. "All efforts need to stop until McKinney holds a yes or no vote on passenger service to get a clear direction on the will of the people." 

Others like Richard Atkinson brought up a ballot measure that failed to fund the project. 

"Airport expansion was rejected by voters because voters do not want the increased traffic, the increased noise or the loss of much of McKinney’s ‘unique by nature’ environment," he said.

What's next:

After the public hearing, the planning and zoning commission approved the site plan.

The plan now goes back to the city council to approve funding for the $72 million terminal. Some of the funds will come from airport-generated tax bonds. 

The rest will need to come from federal loans, incentives and grant money, which the council will discuss at a later date. 

There’s no date or time for when the city council will take up the topic of additional funding for the project. 

During Tuesday’s meeting, the project manager of the site plan shared that the new terminal could see three to five flights a day to start and up to seven to ten. The flight routes are created by the airlines.