McKinney National Cleared for Airline Flights From November

by Connor Kerr | Sep 25, 2026 | Mundo de la aviación, Noticias | 0 comments

Dallas already has one of the busiest airports on earth. On Thursday the FAA decided the region should have another one taking airline passengers, and handed McKinney National Airport a Part 139 operating certificate.

McKinney sits about 30 miles northeast of downtown Dallas and has spent its life as a general aviation field. From 11 November it becomes something else: Avelo Airlines will base three aircraft there, fly nine announced routes, and bring roughly 150 jobs with it.

Datos rápidos

Qué pasó: The FAA issued McKinney National Airport a Part 139 Airport Operating Certificate on 25 September 2026
What it means: The airport is now certificated to handle scheduled commercial airline service
Dónde: McKinney, Texas, roughly 30 miles northeast of downtown Dallas
First airline: Avelo Airlines, starting 11 November 2026
Based aircraft: Three
Routes announced: Nine, including Las Vegas, Orlando, Fort Myers, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Denver, Atlanta, Nashville and New Orleans, phased from November into December
Jobs: Around 150 expected
Notable: Reported as the first Texas airport to receive an Airport Operating Certificate since 2005

What a Part 139 certificate actually is

It is the piece of paper that separates an airfield from an airport in the commercial sense, and it is considerably harder to obtain than the phrase suggests.

Part 139 covers the things passengers never think about and would notice immediately if they were missing: aircraft rescue and firefighting on site with the right vehicles, the right agents and crews who can reach the far end of the runway inside a specified time; pavement and marking standards; lighting and signage; snow and ice plans; wildlife hazard management, which in practice means a serious programme for keeping birds and deer away from the runway; fuelling safety oversight; and an airport certification manual documenting all of it, inspected by the FAA. A general aviation field does very little of that. An airline airport does all of it, continuously.

An Avelo Airlines Boeing 737-800 on approach to land — Avelo flies a Boeing 737 fleet and specialises in underused airports close to where people actually live. Three of its aircraft will be based at McKinney. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Avelo model, in one airport

Avelo has built its business on a simple observation: large hub airports are optimised for connecting traffic, not for the person who lives twenty minutes away and wants to fly to Orlando. The airline flies point to point from secondary fields, where turnarounds are quick, gates are cheap and the drive to the terminal is short.

“Big airports like DFW are phenomenal airports. This, on the other hand, is an easy-to-use, convenient airport.”

Andrew Levy — Chief Executive, Avelo Airlines

That is the entire pitch, and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area it has an unusually strong case. The metroplex is enormous and growing fastest in exactly the northern suburbs McKinney serves. For a family in Collin County, the difference between McKinney and DFW is not the flight, it is an hour of traffic at each end and a parking structure the size of a small town.

The risk in this model is equally well known. Secondary-airport routes are thin, seasonal and easy to abandon, and the history of American regional airports that won an airline and then lost it again is long. Avelo itself has opened and closed bases before. Three based aircraft is a real commitment, not an experiment, but it is also not irreversible.

For now, the certificate is the milestone. Getting the FAA to sign off on Part 139 is the hard, unglamorous part, and McKinney has done it. Whether the flights stick is a question for next winter.

Local coverage from inside the airport as it prepares for its first airline passengers.

Sources: NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth; AirlineGeeks; WFAA; CAPA; McKinney National Airport. Route counts differ slightly between outlets over how the November and December phases are split.

Preguntas frecuentes

What is a Part 139 airport operating certificate?

It is the FAA certificate an airport needs before scheduled airline service can operate. It covers aircraft rescue and firefighting, pavement and marking standards, lighting, snow and ice planning, wildlife hazard management, fuelling safety and an inspected airport certification manual.

When do commercial flights start at McKinney National Airport?

11 November 2026. Avelo Airlines will base three Boeing 737s at the airport and has announced nine routes in total, phased from November into December, creating around 150 jobs.

Where is McKinney National Airport?

In McKinney, Texas, roughly 30 miles northeast of downtown Dallas, serving the fast-growing northern suburbs of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It has operated as a general aviation field until now.

Which routes will Avelo fly from McKinney?

Announced destinations include Las Vegas, Orlando, Fort Myers, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Denver, Atlanta, Nashville and New Orleans. Sources differ slightly on exactly which routes open in November and which follow in December.

Why do airlines use secondary airports instead of big hubs?

Because large hubs are built for connecting traffic rather than local convenience. Secondary fields offer cheaper gates, faster turnarounds and a much shorter drive for nearby residents, which suits point-to-point carriers that do not sell connections.

Is McKinney the first new airline airport in Texas for years?

It is reported as the first Texas airport to receive an Airport Operating Certificate since 2005. Certificates are rare because the standards are demanding and because most metropolitan areas already have a certificated airport serving them.

What are the risks for a new secondary airport?

Routes from secondary fields are often thin and seasonal, and airlines can withdraw quickly. Avelo has opened and closed bases before. Three based aircraft is a substantial commitment, but it is not a permanent one.