McKinney Air Center at McKinney National Airport is among top ranked fixed-based operators serving general aviation. Courtesy Photo

McKinney voters have twice rejected airport expansion plans, but Mayor George Fuller has continued to champion the cause.

After nobody came forward to speak at a public hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 3, the McKinney City Council voted unanimously to re-zone 280 acres on the southeast side of McKinney National Airport “generally to allow for airport-related uses.”

“I believe you will be seeing commercial flights in 2026,” the mayor said after the vote.

Fuller said the city would use $60 million in bonds secured by airport sales tax revenue to fund construction of a 45,000 square-foot passenger terminal and a parking lot for about 1,500 vehicles. The project engineer said the size would vary according to tenant needs.

A $200 million bond proposal on the May 6, 2023, ballot was rejected by 58.70% of the 21,963 ballots cast. A smaller expansion plan was rejected in 2015.

Last year’s proposal would have included a four-gate, 144,000-square-foot terminal, a new taxiway and 2,000 parking spaces, would also have required an additional $100 million, possibly in the form of a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.

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