McKinney National Airport Expansion Grounded After Voters Oppose $200M Bond Package

McKinney residents showed up to the polls to vote down a $200 million bond package that would have expanded McKinney National Airport, hopefully leading to commercial use. 

Of the 22,252 votes cast Saturday, 58.69 percent opposed the measure with 41.31 percent voting for the bond. 

Despise the result, McKinney Mayor George Fuller said he “actually expected the bond to fail” due to a “mountain of misinformation” that was deployed in the run-up to the election. 

“That said, I respect the fact that voters declined to support the issuance of $200 million in bonds to fund the terminal,” Fuller said. 

He added the city will move forward and look at options to achieve what the city determines is “the highest and best use of the airport now knowing utilizing bonds is “not the will of our community.” 

Fuller noted in an interview last month with CandysDirt.com that there has been “overwhelming” interest in the city’s airport.

The McKinney City Council approved putting the May 6 bond election on the ballot back in February, a referendum on investing $200 million toward the expansion of McKinney National Airport for commercial service. 

During a February meeting, Fuller said the city has spent years working with the Federal Aviation Administration and consultants on this plan. One of the biggest pieces, the mayor said, is the FAA’s environmental analysis. Assistant City Manager Barry Shelton noted the results of the assessment will be made public before the May 6 election. 

A story from WFAA previously reported that McKinney National Airport was looking to begin commercial operations by 2026. According to the report, city leaders estimated about 500,000 passengers would take off from McKinney National Airport annually. 

The project would have cost about $200 million and have four gates with the ability to expand to 16.