First Avelo jet is set to leave McKinney National at 9 a.m. today as Fairview presses the city on aircraft noise

Update, Nov. 11: Avelo Airlines Flight 1848 left McKinney National Airport for Fort Myers, Fla., shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, the airport's first scheduled commercial passenger flight, NBC 5 reported. Mayor Bill Cox was among the passengers, according to the station.

Commercial passenger service at McKinney National Airport is scheduled to begin this morning, Veterans Day, when an Avelo Airlines flight to Fort Myers, Florida, departs at 9 a.m.

The departure opens the airport's new passenger terminal, which has four gates and room to grow to six, according to information from the airport reported by FOX 4. Tickets and bag tags will carry the airport's new three-letter code, DTX.

Where the flights go

Avelo is flying to five cities this week: Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. Nonstop service to Atlanta, Denver, Nashville, New Orleans, West Palm Beach and Sarasota is set to follow in December, for 11 destinations in all.

The carrier plans to fly Boeing 737-800 jets, starting with roughly 40 takeoffs and landings a week, NBC 5 reported. The terminal's boarding area has free Wi-Fi, seat-side charging, a nursing room and a spot for pets. A full bar and restaurant are still being built, so travelers will find snack kiosks and vending machines for now.

Fairview wants a noise plan

The start of airline service comes a week after the Fairview Town Council, on Nov. 3, approved a resolution asking McKinney for three things: a plan to reduce noise, delivered within 30 days; a plan to pay for noise-reduction work on affected Fairview homes; and an immediate application for a Federal Aviation Administration Part 150 noise study, the formal federal review that measures airport noise and identifies ways to reduce it.

Fairview also wants McKinney to consider having departing planes use more of the runway so they climb higher before crossing the town, and to weigh limits on the hours of takeoffs and landings, according to NBC 5.

Fairview's case rests on a study that the North Texas Conservation Association commissioned at the town's request. Monitors at six locations on the town's east side recorded aircraft noise for a week in May, from the 17th through the 23rd.

At four of those six sites, the day-night average topped the 55-decibel guideline set by the Environmental Protection Agency; the other two came in just under it. On the busiest monitoring day, readings peaked at 76 decibels, and the study noted that airport traffic that week was lighter than normal.

Fairview Mayor John Hubbard told NBC 5 the town is not trying to block the flights. "We can't stop the flights. We know that," he said, adding that he hopes the two cities can reach a solution residents can live with.

Responding to NBC 5, McKinney said it will continue to follow every regulation that applies to the airport and to run it responsibly for a fast-growing region.

Sources

NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

FOX 4

NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth