McKinney airport expansion faces lawsuit as passenger flights near launch

McKinney National Airport is set to welcome Avelo Airlines on Nov. 11, 2026, but the city’s push to make the airport Collin County’s first commercial passenger hub is now facing a lawsuit over how the expansion has been financed. The airline’s first service from DTX is scheduled to connect McKinney with five destinations, including Las Vegas and four Florida cities: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa.

The City of McKinney announced the nonstop routes in a June 30 news release, saying the flights will operate from a new 46,000-square-foot passenger terminal. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth said the first flight from McKinney National will be to Fort Myers, while WFAA listed the full initial route map as Las Vegas and the four Florida markets. For McKinney, about 30 miles north of Dallas, the launch would mark a major shift from a general aviation airport to a commercial one with direct passenger service.

The legal fight centers on the North Texas Conservation Association’s challenge to the airport expansion and the city’s financing plan. The Dallas Morning News has reported that the lawsuit alleges McKinney ignored voters and violated the law in supporting the airport buildout, while city officials have defended the plan as legal and beneficial to taxpayers. Search results tied to the dispute describe the airport work as a roughly $72 million project, with a separate $30 million bond dispute linked to sales-tax funding.

The Texas attorney general’s office has also become involved in the bond process dispute, adding another layer of scrutiny to a project already carrying political and financial risk. That matters because the city’s ability to keep financing moving could affect the timing of the terminal, the rest of the airport improvements and whether Avelo’s launch stays on schedule. Any delay would ripple beyond the airport fence, touching taxpayers who could be exposed to the debt, drivers who may see more traffic around the site and nearby residents weighing added noise and development.

Supporters say a commercial airport can broaden North Texas travel options, draw business activity and give McKinney a larger regional role. Critics see the same project as a test of voter intent and public finance discipline, with the fight over airport bonds now running alongside the countdown to the first passenger flights.