Santoscoy gives update on McAllen International Airport’s terminal capacity study

MCALLEN, Texas – Jeremy Santoscoy, the City of McAllen’s aviation director, has given an update on his airport’s Terminal Capacity Study.

“So, we started our Terminal Capacity Study. And so, with that study, what that’s going to entail is looking at the existing conditions, look at what’s upcoming, so we can know where we need to expand or make spaces more efficient,” Santoscoy said.

Santoscoy spoke about the study in an interview with Rio Grande Guardian International News Service during a recent press conference the City of McAllen held to announce Delta Air Lines is now flying nonstop from McAllen to Austin.

The expected popularity of Delta’s McAllen-to-Austin flights ties into the need for the new study, Santoscoy explained.

“Four out of the last five years have been record breaking years of activity, and this year we’re up 13 percent year-over-year, and that’s before Delta started,” Santoscoy said.

“So, we’re looking at some growth and we’re going to have some growing pains for a little while. In fact, we feel the pinch already. But we’re going to work through that. We’re going to keep moving forward to make sure that what we find through the study will eventually go through the design stage and then the construction stage. Whatever it is that is necessitated through the study.”

Asked who is conducting the Terminal Capacity Study, Santoscoy said: “We work with a group of specialty consultants that do these kind of studies. Their services are very specific to commercial airport terminals.”

Asked what the timeline is for getting the study done, Santoscoy said: “We’re looking to speed it up, but hopefully by the end of the year we’ll be finishing it up.”

Asked if the consultants working on the study will be looking into the question of whether McAllen International Airport needs a longer runway, Santoscoy said: “Well, right now, what we’re looking at is the terminal itself, gates, the land side, and the air side. So, we’re not really looking at runway. What we have right now works for us really well. It’s in excellent condition and we continue to maintain what we have.”

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