McAllen International Airport receives $5.4 million in federal funding

MCALLEN, Texas - The director of McAllen Aviation Airport says her airport is “doing phenomenally well” following the downturn in flights caused by the coronavirus pandemic.Elizabeth Suarez gave her analysis to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service at a news conference held to announce a $5.4 million grant from the federal government. The money is being used to cover maintenance and operations costs.“We are doing phenomenally well. We are very excited. In April we announced a new service to Monterrey and to Nashville. Right after April and May we announced a new service to Guadalajara, connecting to Vallarta and it is going very well,” Suarez said, when asked how McAllen International Airport is recovering from the pandemic.“We have seen a 70 percent increase from last year and we are trending from April thru June higher than 2019, which was our highest year on record. It is good story to tell.”Suarez said she will have a better idea on long term projections come the Fall.“There were industry projections that this was going to take a lot longer. Leisure travel, like you said, the demand was there and that is what we are seeing now. The true test will be come Fall. Do we see business travel come back? If that comes back we are very optimistic about that will look like.”Suarez thanked U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez for helping to secure $5.4 million via the Airport Relief Funding process. Previously, McAllen International Airport received $4 million and $3 million in response to COVID-19.“Airports are a key component of not only infrastructure and economic development but just overall quality of life. We were hit so drastically during COVID. We were one of the first industries to feel a really heavy burden as we worked through this last year,” Suarez explained.Suarez said the new money is being used for operations and maintenance costs. “Even though we did not have many passengers, we still had to ramp up our maintenance costs and sanitation costs… to ensure we were compliant with CDC recommendations.”CDC stands for the Centers for Disease Control.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.