McKinney's Airline Terminal Opens Nov. 11 as Avelo Adds Atlanta, Denver, Nashville and New Orleans

Construction of McKinney National Airport's new passenger terminal is on time for a Nov. 11 opening, and Avelo Airlines plans to add four more nonstop destinations in December, the City of McKinney announced Sept. 24.

The new routes, to Atlanta, Denver, Nashville and New Orleans, begin in mid-December. They bring Avelo's lineup from the airport, known by its code DTX, to nine cities.

The schedule

Avelo's first flights leave on opening day. Service to Fort Myers starts Nov. 11, Las Vegas and Orlando on Nov. 12, and Tampa and Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 19.

The December additions, according to the city:

• Atlanta: starts Wednesday, Dec. 16, four flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday)
• Denver: starts Wednesday, Dec. 16, four flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday)
• Nashville: starts Thursday, Dec. 17, two flights a week (Thursday and Sunday)
• New Orleans: starts Thursday, Dec. 17, two flights a week (Thursday and Sunday)

The Houston-based carrier will base three 184-seat Boeing 737-800 jets at DTX and operate Wednesday through Monday, with no flights on Tuesdays. Tickets are sold at AveloAir.com, and the airport appears in booking systems under the code DTX.

Jobs and a federal certificate

The city expects Avelo to bring more than 100 jobs to the airport, including pilots, flight attendants, aircraft technicians, and ground-handling and customer service workers. Applications are at aveloair.com/careers.

At the same event, Ignacio Flores, who directs airports for the Federal Aviation Administration's Southwest Region, presented the airport's operating certificate to McKinney Director of Aviation Ken Carley.

Carley said in the city's announcement that "we're weeks away from completing construction on our brand-new passenger terminal." Avelo founder and CEO Andrew Levy said adding four destinations "before we have even flown our first flight from McKinney says everything about our commitment here."

How the city got here

In May 2023, 58.69% of McKinney voters opposed a $200 million bond for the airport expansion.

The City Council went ahead with a plan paid for with sales taxes rather than property-tax-backed bonds. In May 2025 it approved $58 million in construction contracts on a 4-2 vote, with council members Justin Beller and Patrick Cloutier voting no, KERA News reported at the time.

Bridgette Wallis, who writes the McKinney Citizen to Citizen blog, objected. "Two bond elections now that have failed, and they went around and still did it anyway," she told KERA. Mayor George Fuller said the city had listened and found another way to pay for it, and that voters had rejected the funding method, not the airport itself.

Sources

City of McKinney, news release, Sept. 24, 2026

KERA News, "McKinney council approves $58 million for airport expansion voters rejected in bond elections" (May 7, 2025)