North Texas Is Getting an Airport Where Nobody Could Board a Flight Until Now

McKinney National Airport, north of Dallas, is about to start commercial passenger service. Avelo Airlines will begin flying from the airport on November 11 with twice-weekly service to Fort Myers, and the opening coincides with a new 46,000-square-foot passenger terminal.

More routes follow quickly. Las Vegas and Orlando service begins November 12, then Fort Lauderdale and Tampa on November 19. Orlando and Fort Lauderdale will operate five times per week, Las Vegas and Tampa four times, and Fort Myers twice. Avelo will use Boeing 737s and base two aircraft in McKinney, which becomes one of its five crew bases.

The terminal starts with four boarding gates and can expand to six. It includes food and beverage concessions, hold rooms, a 980-space public parking lot, rental cars and ground transportation. Avelo expects to create more than 100 jobs, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics.

The airport has been a general aviation field for more than 40 years, and that activity continues under the identifier TKI. Commercial flights will use the code DTX, which matters when searching fares. For North Texas travelers it adds an alternative to the region’s larger airports, though the early schedule is limited.

Sources: Aviation Pros, City of McKinney