McAllen celebrates $7 million in federal funding for airport

McALLEN — Huge. That’s how local officials described the impact that some $7.4 million in federal funding will have on plans to improve the airport here.

“It’s the biggest amount of any grant award that will be given in this district. That’s huge,” U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-McAllen, said after a funding announcement celebration held at the McAllen International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

“Most projects I saw were between a million and $3 million, so this project to be $7 million is huge. … It’s huge for our district, and really for the entire region,” De La Cruz added.

The funding comes as part of the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress in early March.

De La Cruz secured approximately $25 million in funding for projects throughout District 15, which stretches from the Rio Grande, north to the eastern stretches of San Antonio.

McAllen city leaders were understandably ecstatic about the grant award, which will be used to fund the planning and design of a nine-figure improvement project of the airport’s terminal.

“This money is for design only. If you think about that, that means that construction of this expansion some day will be in the neighborhood of $100 million,” McAllen City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez said after the announcement.

City leaders hope to add around five more gates to the terminal, two more baggage claim carousels, additional security screening space, and add more desk space for the ever-increasing number of airlines that are choosing to do business in McAllen.

As for the specifics of what those improvements will be, Director of Aviation Jeremy Santoscoy said the airport is currently conducting a study to determine just that.

“We’re in the midst of a terminal capacity study to help us support the growth that we’ve been having,” Santoscoy said.

A traveler arrives at McAllen International Airport at the ticket counter Thursday, April 4, 2024, in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)

“As soon as we get those improvements identified, this $7 million will help us with the design of the facility improvements,” he added.

The airport’s need for expansion cannot be understated, according to the city manager.

“This is where the need is. This airport serves the entire county, and you’re talking about a million people, (not) just McAllen,” Rodriguez said.

McAllen has been trying for years to secure federal funding as traffic at the airport has risen.

Santescoy described four out of the last five years as “record-breaking,” with nearly 1 million passengers flying in and out of McAllen last year.

“(In) 2023, we completed with over 965,000 total passengers,” Santoscoy told the crowd of local dignitaries and city leaders who had gathered for Thursday’s announcement.

“This year, we’re already off to a plus-13% year-over-year start,” he added.

Additionally, over the last year, the airport has not only added new routes to new destinations, but entirely new airlines, to its offerings, as well.

In February, Aeromexico, a Mexican airline, began flying daily routes to Mexico City.

And this month, Delta Air started offering three daily routes to Austin — a partnership and route the city had been trying to nab for nearly two decades, the city manager said.

Later this summer, Rio Grande Valley residents will find it a whole lot easier to escape to sunny climates for vacation, thanks to some budget airlines offering flights to Florida and Mexico.

Allegiant Air, a low-cost American airline company, will begin flying new non-stop flights to Tampa, Florida, the city announced in February. That’s in addition to its existing routes to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando.

And on Thursday, Rodriguez announced a new route that will be coming to the airport via the ultra-low cost Mexican airline, Volaris, which will begin flying direct routes to Cancun.

“We’re really excited about Cancun. We’ve never had it. That’s Volaris that’s coming in this summer,” Rodriguez said.

But even before the McAllen airport began offering these new flights, federal officials had already begun to see the need for expansion, the city manager said.

“The truth is that when we applied for the grant, we didn’t have these new airlines that we just got. So, we are literally full,” Rodriguez said.

McAllen expects to put the design job out for bid within the next three to four months, the city manager said. Construction will likely get underway two to three years from now.

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