FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, December 18 2025

Statement Regarding City of McKinney Announcement of "Avelo Airlines Agreement."

There has been a serious erosion of trust between the citizens of McKinney and their city government. The erosion of trust stems largely from the McKinney City Council’s disregard for the will of the people and a general lack of transparency on significant matters. This is particularly true for matters concerning the planned expansion of McKinney National Airport. 

The citizens of McKinney deserve better from their elected officials.

Avelo Airlines Agreement:

NTCA, along with members of the public, were surprised to learn yesterday that the City of McKinney has already entered into an Airline Use and Lease Agreement with Avelo Airlines. NTCA is not aware of any item on McKinney City Council’s meeting agendas to indicate it was about to sign a formal agreement with Avelo. 

When WFAA broke the news back in June 2025 that the city had a letter of intent with Avelo, members of the public voiced concerns about Avelo’s financial condition and its role in deporting immigrants from the United States. In view of this widespread sentiment, the City of McKinney should have been completely transparent about its dealings with Avelo. The city, however, chose to keep those dealings quiet and to make the final Avelo agreement public only after it had been signed. 

The citizens of McKinney have a right to know the terms of the Avelo agreement, particularly the financial terms. Is the City of McKinney paying money or offering other incentives for Avelo to begin commercial service to the McKinney airport? At the very least, the citizens of McKinney should have been permitted to have their voices heard before the City Council authorized the agreement with Avelo.

Lack of transparency from the McKinney city government has become far too common. The citizens of McKinney deserve better.

April 2025 Environmental Assessment:

NTCA’s petition asking a court to review the April 2025 Environmental Assessment (EA) on the airport expansion was recently dismissed because the City of McKinney took a position in court that contradicted what the city (and TxDOT) told the public when the EA was issued in April 2025. 

When the EA was issued, the City of McKinney and TxDOT told the public the EA was being issued on behalf of the FAA and that it could be judicially reviewed as an FAA decision “in the appropriate US Court of Appeals no later than 60 days after the order is issued in accordance with the provisions of 49 USC § 46110.” See the attached FONSI_ROD at pp. 1 and 9. 

NTCA did exactly that. We filed our petition under 49 USC § 46110 in the D.C. Court of Appeals within the 60-day deadline.

The FAA, TxDOT and the City immediately moved to dismiss NTCA’s petition, arguing – contrary to what the city and TxDOT told the public – that the EA and the accompanying FONSI_ROD were not actually an FAA order at all and that 49 USC § 46110 was not the proper way to seek judicial review. Faced with the FAA’s disavowal of the EA and FONSI_ROD, the court held that it did not have jurisdiction under 49 USC § 46110 and dismissed NTCA’s petition. Seethe attached October 29, 2025, Per Curiam Order. This dismissal was on procedural grounds. The court did not address the merits of the case.

The City of McKinney has never explained why it told the public that the April 2025 EA was an FAA order and later, in July 2025, told the court the EA was not actually an FAA order. 

The City of McKinney has never explained why it has broken ground and begun construction on the airport expansion when it knows it does not have a proper EA approved by the FAA.

NTCA will not appeal the recent dismissal of its petition. Various other options are available to challenge the airport expansion under environmental laws and otherwise, and NTCA is actively evaluating those options.

For further information, please visit the NTCA website at www.ntconservation.org
 

NTCA’s initial investigation indicated that the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the McKinney National Airport expansion is fundamentally flawed. After further investigation and litigation developments, NTCA can now confirm that the EA is so flawed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declined to sign off on it.

The City of McKinney and the Texas Department of Transportation – Aviation Division (TxDOT) signed the final EA in April 2025. The accompanying Finding of No Significant Impact and Record of Decision (FONSI/ROD), issued by TxDOT, stated that it was being issued “on behalf” of the FAA. It also included the following notice:

“This FONSI/ROD constitutes a final order of the [FAA] under 49 U.S.C. 46110. Any party having substantial interest in this order may apply for review of the decision by filing a petition for review in the appropriate US Court of Appeals no later than 60 days after the order is issued in accordance with the provisions of 49 USC § 46110.”

After NTCA filed its petition for judicial review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the FAA, TxDOT, and the City moved to dismiss the case. Surprisingly – despite what was told to the public – the FAA, TxDOT and the City told the court the EA is “not an FAA decision.” Based on that admission, the court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.

While the case was pending, NTCA learned the FAA advised TxDOT and the City in June 2024 that the FAA declined to sign off on the EA because it had not been prepared in accordance with FAA requirements.

All this raises the following burning questions:

1. Why did the City and TxDOT tell the public in April 2025 the EA was a final order of the FAA and later, in July 2025, tell the court the EA was actually not an FAA decision?
2. Why did the City pay over $600,000 for an EA that does not meet FAA requirements?
3. Why did the City and TxDOT solicit comments on the draft EA in November 2024 and present the final EA to the public in April 2025 as if it were a decision of the FAA, when they already knew as early as June 2024 the FAA had declined to sign off on the EA?
4. Why has the City broken ground and begun construction on the airport expansion when it knows it does not have a proper environmental assessment or final FAA approval?

This is far from a done deal. NTCA is continuing to investigate this matter to obtain answers to these questions and evaluate potential further actions.

NTCA continues to believe the North Texas Regional Airport in Grayson County offers the most economical and environmentally friendly location for future, additional passenger service in North Texas.

For further information, please visit the NTCA website at www.ntconservation.org
 

McKinney’s controversial airport expansion seems mired in ethics violations, secret meetings, and developer influence – despite voters twice rejecting taxpayer funding for the project. Evidence points to a troubling pattern of deception and disregard for public trust.

• Texas Ethics Commission fined the campaign treasurer of 'McKinney Above the Rest’ – a pro-airport PAC – $2,500 for failing to timely disclose over $70,000 in contributions and expenditures for the airport bond election in 2023.
• Political insiders and developers were behind the PAC, such as former Mayor George Fuller, former Mayor Brian Loughmiller, former Councilman David Brooks, and developer David Craig.
• Voters twice rejected airport bond measures, in 2015 (52% - 48%) and in 2023 (59% - 41%), but city leaders refused to listen and, instead, pushed the project forward.
•  In 2025, city leaders proceeded to fund the airport expansion by issuing revenue bonds backed by city sales taxes.
• On July 18, 2025, city leaders held a secret groundbreaking on the airport expansion project and asked the media not to report on the groundbreaking until it was over.

Citizens call the groundbreaking a betrayal– describing city hall as 'throwing dirt in the faces of taxpayers while hiding behind fences.' Social media comments and local groups reveal overwhelming opposition to the expansion and mounting distrust in city leadership. North Texas Conservation Association has filed a federal lawsuit, challenging the April 2025 Environmental Assessment on the airport project.

McKinney deserves leadership that listens to its citizens, and that prioritizes transparency over secrecy and accountability over political gain. It’s time for truth, not deception.

1. Conduct a proper environmental study on the entire airport project, not just the terminal area.

2. Publicly release all PAC and city records tied to the airport project immediately.

3. Conduct an independent investigation into potential city/developer coordination.
 

McKinney, TX — May 27th, 2025. Yesterday, the North Texas Conservation Association (NTCA) filed a petition with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (North Texas Conservation Ass’n v. Texas Dep’t of Transp., Case No. 25-1135) challenging the Environmental Assessment (EA) related to the planned expansion of McKinney National Airport.

The petition contends that the EA—approved by the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), McKinney Mayor George Fuller, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—fails to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NTCA is asking the Court to vacate the FAA’s Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and the accompanying Record of Decision (ROD), and to remand the EA back to TXDOT for a thorough and legally compliant environmental review.

NTCA’s President, Dr. Paul Chabot, stated, “We believe the environmental assessment done on the McKinney airport expansion is seriously flawed. It fails to fully and adequately consider environmental impacts in the vicinity of the airport, such as the Heard Museum and residential areas in McKinney and Fairview. The people of North Texas deserve better.” 

NTCA’s General Counsel, Steven E. Ross, says, “The McKinney City Council seems to have been more interested in meeting the timeline set by some unnamed commercial airlines than listening to voters.”

NTCA, a nonprofit corporation that has applied for 501(c)(3) status, is dedicated to protecting the region’s environment, wildlife habitats, and rural character.

To engage with the community and provide further information, NTCA will host two upcoming town hall meetings:

• June      11, 2025 – Fairview, TX
• June      19, 2025 – McKinney, TX

Registration and additional details are available at: ntconservation.org. A copy of the filed petition can also be found on this website. 

Media Contact: Email: info@ntconservation.org

 

In response to NTCA’s request for federal court review of the deeply flawed Environmental Assessment (EA) conducted for the McKinney airport expansion, the city, led by outgoing Mayor George Fuller, immediately responded with mudslinging and personal attacks. That is unfortunate and not helpful. The people of North Texas deserve better.

- Some have claimed that NCTA’s request for judicial review is a political stunt. That is incorrect. NTCA does not support or oppose any of the candidates in the current McKinney runoff election. The voters of McKinney should make their own choices in the runoff. NTCA’s case will likely remain pending long after McKinney’s runoff election is over.

- The timing of NTCA’s petition for review was based entirely on the timing of the issuance of the final environmental assessment regarding the airport expansion. TxDot issued a first “final” EA on March 27, 2025, and a corrected final EA on April 21, 2025. Federal law gives interested parties up to 60 days to file a petition seeking judicial review of an EA. NTCA timely filed its petition for review on May 26, 2025, within the 60-day window. If the city and TxDOT had finalized the EA sooner, NTCA would have filed sooner.

- The City of McKinney’s irresponsible comments, through its Mayor George Fuller, try to paint the request for judicial review as a political stunt driven by Dr. Paul Chabot.  That is also incorrect. Actually, it was NTCA’s General Counsel, Steven Ross, who posed the idea for NTCA to leading figures from McKinney and Fairview.  These leaders joined together to form NTCA. NTCA has broad support from North Texas.