McKinney's New Airport Runs on a Weekly Calendar. Plan Your First DTX Trip Around It.

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, McKinney National Airport opens its commercial passenger terminal. The first Avelo Airlines departure that day goes to Fort Myers. Most coverage so far has focused on what makes the terminal easier than DFW or Love Field: a short drive, parking at the door and four gates. Those details are accurate. For anyone in McKinney booking a trip, though, the terminal won't decide how the trip goes. Avelo's schedule will: which days the planes fly, how often each route runs, and when the ticket counter opens for your flight.

A terminal sized for one airline's rhythm

The building is $79 million and 46,000 square feet. It opens with four gates and has room for a fifth and sixth. According to Community Impact, it should handle 200,000 passengers in its first year, and it was designed for up to 1 million a year. Avelo, the only airline at launch, will base three 184-seat Boeing 737-800s at DTX and fly Wednesday through Monday.

The phrase "Wednesday through Monday" matters more than any amenity. Avelo doesn't fly from DTX on Tuesdays. That's easy to overlook in an ordinary week. Around the holidays, it changes your plans.

Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26 this year. The Tuesday before it, Nov. 24, is a day off in the Avelo schedule, so Wednesday, Nov. 25 is the last pre-holiday travel day from DTX. Christmas Day is a Friday, and the Tuesday before it, Dec. 22, also has no scheduled service. Ken Carley, the airport's director of aviation, has said publicly that residents are looking forward to flying "from their hometown airport during the upcoming holidays." If you plan to, start from those two dates.

Where you can go, and how often

The launch schedule is all leisure routes: four Florida cities plus Las Vegas. Four more cities start in mid-December, and they run on noticeably thinner schedules.

Nashville and New Orleans fly only on Thursdays and Sundays, so the trip length is chosen for you. A Thursday-to-Sunday long weekend lines up with the schedule. A Saturday arrival does not. That's not a flaw. A new route often starts this way, with two flights a week and one plane making the round trip. You just need to know it before you set dates with friends in New Orleans.

The Denver schedule has a discrepancy. The city's Sept. 24 release says Denver flies Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Community Impact's report from the same day says Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The weekend day is what decides whether a ski weekend works. Check Avelo's booking site before you request time off.

Community Impact reported one-way fares starting at $99 when the December routes were announced.

The counter opens for your flight, not for the day

At a large hub, the check-in hall stays open all day. At DTX, Avelo staffs its ticket counter for each scheduled departure. The counter opens about two hours before a flight and closes 40 minutes before takeoff. Avelo recommends arriving at least 90 minutes before departure.

That gives a checked-bag traveler a window of roughly 80 minutes at the counter. If you arrive three hours early out of DFW habit, the counter won't be open yet. If you pull in 35 minutes before departure with a suitcase, it will already be closed.

Here's how a departure day at DTX lines up against your flight time, using Avelo's published guidance:

1. About two hours before departure. The Avelo counter opens for flight and baggage check-in.
2. At least 90 minutes before departure. Avelo's recommended arrival time.
3. 40 minutes before departure. The counter closes.
4. After security. Food and drink concessions and open seating in the gate areas sit past the checkpoint.

Because each route flies only a few times a week, missing that 40-minute cutoff can cost more at DTX than at a hub. At DFW, a missed flight often means waiting for the next one that day. On a route that runs only Thursday and Sunday, there may not be another departure for days.

Parking at the door, at a daily rate

The terminal has 980 public parking spaces. Community Impact reported a rate of $15 a day, paid through a contactless system. According to Visit McKinney, the lot connects directly to the terminal, with no shuttles or remote lots. At the announced rate, a Thursday-to-Sunday trip to Nashville comes to about four days, or $60. A full week is about $105.

The airport's own FAQ at flytki.com may still say parking rates are "to be determined." The $15 figure Carley gave on Sept. 24 replaces that.

Enterprise will run rental cars at the terminal. If family is flying in for the holidays on one of the Florida routes, they can pick up a car steps from baggage claim.

Getting there, and which address to use

Visit McKinney lists the terminal at 1910 FM 546, McKinney, TX 75069, reached from Highway 380 and US 75. Avelo's DTX page gives the airport address as 1508 Industrial Blvd. The terminal is a new building on the airport's east side, so FM 546 is the address to put in your navigation app for a first trip.

The airport's plans call for a dedicated approach off FM 546, with a roundabout bringing traffic into the terminal site. In December 2025, Community Impact reported that the roundabout and Taxiway C were expected to be finished in October. As of Sept. 24, Carley said Taxiway C was still under construction. No one has confirmed yet whether the roundabout is open, so allow some extra time on your first drive in.

What the airport hasn't announced yet

On Sept. 24, airport and contracting partners walked Avelo leadership, community members and local media through the terminal, six weeks before opening day. The same day, the FAA's Southwest Region airports director, Ignacio Flores, gave Carley the airport's operating certificate. Carley said the building was "days away" from a temporary certificate of occupancy, which would let tenants start building out their spaces.

"Standing here today, less than seven weeks from the opening, brings into focus just how quickly this vision is becoming a reality." Ken Carley, McKinney National Airport director, Sept. 24, 2026

Several practical details were still unannounced as of early October:

• Food and drink vendors. Officials were still finalizing food, beverage and retail spaces. No operator has been named.
• TSA PreCheck. No published source has confirmed whether PreCheck lanes will be open on day one.
• Rideshare pickup. The city has said ground transportation will run from the curb but hasn't named a pickup zone.
• An opening-day public event. None has been announced for Nov. 11.

Some details are already set. Two murals by Texas-based artists will hang in the terminal, one at the curb and one in baggage claim. On boarding passes, bag tags and booking sites, the airport shows up as DTX. TKI remains the code for the corporate and private flights that have used the field for decades.

As of Oct. 4, it's 38 days until the Fort Myers flight on Nov. 11. For a Thanksgiving trip from McKinney, the last scheduled day to fly out is Wednesday, Nov. 25.

An airport this close to home changes how people think about where they live in Collin County. If you're weighing what DTX means for your home's value, or for your next move, Weidler Group can walk you through it with local, current market data. Sell a Lifestyle: Request Your Home Valuation.