McKinney National Airport has signed up its first airline to operate commercial flights: According to a release, the Collin County airport has forged an agreement with Avelo Airlines, the low-cost airline based in Houston. Avelo has signed a Use and Lease Agreement, meaning it will fly planes brimming with travelers out of the airport, which is expanding its service to accommodate passenger flights.
Operating under the code TKI, McKinney National Airport has served as a general aviation airport for more than 40 years but is now transitioning to provide commercial air service in support of the area's growing population.
McKinney city and airport leaders are constructing a four-gate terminal building, with the ability to expand to six gates, in support of airline service that is anticipated to launch at TKI in late 2026.
In March 2025, the airport was awarded $30 million by the McKinney Community Development Corporation for construction of the eastside airport infrastructure and passenger terminal. That work has already begun.
Avelo's five-year ULA, which includes an optional five-year extension, establishes the terms and conditions for Avelo and other prospective airlines, including use of:
- Runway and taxiways
- Aircraft parking and maintenance areas
- Non-exclusive areas such as check-in counters, boarding gates, and flight displays
- Exclusive areas, including designated office and administrative space
The agreement also sets the rates and charges for a carrier’s operation at TKI, to include a per-passenger use fee and aircraft fuel fees.
McKinney Mayor Bill Cox called the signing of Avelo an "important milestone," and Avelo Airlines founder and CEO Andrew Levy said that the company is excited to be the launch airline at TKI.
"We believe that our everyday low fares, convenient and reliable service, combined with an easy-to-use, small airport, is a combination the residents of McKinney and North Texas will enthusiastically embrace," Levy says. "As a proud Texas company, we are especially excited to plant our flag at TKI, just a few hours north of our home in Houston."
Avelo currently operates one flight out of the DFW area: direct flights from DFW Airport to New Haven, Connecticut, which it offers two times a week at amazingly cheap rates.
Avelo will announce a launch date and the nonstop destinations it will serve from TKI a few months prior to the opening of the commercial terminal. The current plan is to introduce commercial air service in late 2026.
