McKinney's Airport Opens Nov. 11. Thanksgiving and Christmas Get Different Route Maps.
Commercial flights at McKinney National Airport begin on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11. The airline has announced 11 nonstop destinations. On opening day, one of them flies.
For anyone in McKinney planning holiday travel from the new terminal, the timing matters more than the opening. Routes start in batches between Nov. 11 and Dec. 17. Each route runs only on certain days of the week, and the airline doesn't fly from McKinney on Tuesdays at all. A Thanksgiving trip and a Christmas trip from the same terminal have different options to work with.
On Oct. 23, the City of McKinney announced that the airport has its FAA Airport Operating Certificate. Any airport with scheduled airline service needs one. The certificate followed FAA inspections in September and a full-scale emergency exercise on Sept. 18 that simulated an air carrier accident. According to the city, the FAA presented the certificate at a Sept. 24 briefing. At the same event, Avelo Airlines announced more service from the airport, which goes by the code DTX.
The certificate is in hand, and the terminal opens on Nov. 11 alongside Avelo's first flights. The routes follow this sequence, using the dates in Avelo's announcements:
The days of the week matter just as much. The city says Avelo will operate from DTX Wednesday through Monday. Within that window, each route has its own days:
| Destination | First flight | Weekly days |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Myers, RSW | Wed., Nov. 11 | Wednesday, Saturday |
| Las Vegas, LAS | Thu., Nov. 12 | Mon., Thu., Fri., Sun., with Wed. and Sat. added for the holidays |
| Orlando, MCO | Thu., Nov. 12 | Mon., Thu., Fri., Sat., Sun. |
| Fort Lauderdale, FLL | Thu., Nov. 19 | Mon., Thu., Fri., Sat., Sun. |
| Tampa, TPA | Thu., Nov. 19 | Mon., Thu., Fri., Sun. |
| Atlanta, ATL | Wed., Dec. 16 | Mon., Wed., Fri., Sat. |
| Denver, DEN | Wed., Dec. 16 | Four weekly; reported days differ |
| Sarasota/Bradenton, SRQ | Wed., Dec. 16 | Wednesday, Saturday |
| Nashville, BNA | Thu., Dec. 17 | Thursday, Sunday |
| New Orleans, MSY | Thu., Dec. 17 | Thursday, Sunday |
| West Palm Beach, DJT | Thu., Dec. 17 | Thursday, Sunday |
None of these flights has operated yet, and Avelo says schedules can change. The airline's Oct. 15 announcement is the newest full route list, and the airline's own booking site is the place to check before you buy a ticket.
Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26. By then the first three waves will be flying, which means Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. Atlanta, Denver, Nashville, New Orleans, Sarasota and West Palm Beach don't start until about three weeks after the holiday. That rules out a nonstop from McKinney to Thanksgiving with family in Georgia, Colorado, Tennessee or Louisiana this year.
Within the week itself, the weekday pattern decides most of it:
If you're used to leaving on the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving, this schedule pushes most departures to the holiday itself or the morning after. That's what an airline gets when it bases three aircraft at a new airport and spreads them over 11 routes. The city reports that Avelo will base three 184-seat Boeing 737-800s at McKinney.
By Thursday, Dec. 17, every announced route is running, and Christmas falls on a Friday this year. The week before it lines up neatly. Atlanta and Sarasota/Bradenton fly on Wednesday, Dec. 23. Nashville, New Orleans and West Palm Beach fly on Thursday, Dec. 24, and again on Sunday, Dec. 27.
Denver is the route to double-check. The city's Sept. 24 release lists Denver on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Community Impact's report from the same announcement lists Sunday in place of Saturday. If your plans depend on a weekend return from Denver, look at the live schedule before you book.
The Christmas route map is also bigger than the one first announced. When Avelo introduced McKinney service on June 30, it listed five destinations, two based aircraft and more than 100 jobs. In September it added Atlanta, Denver, Nashville and New Orleans plus a third aircraft. In October it added Sarasota/Bradenton and West Palm Beach, increased Las Vegas to six flights a week, and put the job count at about 150. Every one of those additions came before the first flight, and most of them were scheduled for mid-December.
Once you've picked your day, the trip to the airport is short. The terminal is at 1910 FM 546, McKinney, TX 75069. Visit McKinney describes access from U.S. 380 and U.S. 75.
The details, according to Community Impact's September report:
At the Sept. 24 press conference, airport director Ken Carley described the building's intended scale this way:
"The terminal is designed to serve up to 1 million passengers annually, while providing a simple and accessible curb-to-cabin experience."
The terminal has a TSA security checkpoint. Food will be limited compared with a large hub. On Oct. 5, McKinney City Council approved a deal with Creative Hospitality Solutions to run a concession stand in the terminal seating area, Community Impact reported. It will serve coffee, tea, baked goods, packaged snacks and cold drinks. The proposal includes coffee from North Texas-based Armor Coffee Company and a "McKinney Made" shelf of local goods. At the same meeting, council approved an agreement with Enterprise, which is expected to have 24 exclusive parking spaces near the terminal entrances. Council also approved a $400,000 increase to Swinerton Builders' construction contract for an Avelo operations support building, the concessions area and a terminal office. Carley said this restores work that was always part of the plan and that no new funding was requested.
Before your first trip, check the airport's site at FlyDTX.com for current rideshare pickup locations, screening lanes and terminal hours. A coffee bar and packaged snacks will do for a short Florida flight, but plan on eating before a longer one.
For this holiday season, choose the travel day first and the destination second. From Nov. 19 through mid-December, Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and Mondays have the most routes. Wednesdays and Saturdays have fewer, and Tuesdays have none. Christmas week is the first stretch with all 11 destinations running, and the Thursday-and-Sunday routes to Nashville, New Orleans and West Palm Beach fit a Dec. 24 departure and a Dec. 27 return.
For McKinney homeowners, and for families relocating to Collin County, a nearby airport can change how a home's location fits around work trips and holidays. If you'd like to talk through how DTX affects a move, whether you're considering an east-side McKinney address or a relocation timed around a new job, Rene Burchell and the team can help you work through the details calmly and clearly. Let's Connect.
When it comes to your real estate needs, you should work with only the best. Whether it is buying, selling, renting, second homes, investing, or more, my team and I are happy to guide and advise you along the way. Contact us now!