McKinney National Airport’s leap into commercial air service now has a new second-in-command. Teresa Lyons has been promoted to airport maintenance and operations manager, a role that puts her in charge of day-to-day airfield operations, safety protocols and construction oversight as the city races toward opening a passenger terminal and launching scheduled flights. The move comes as city leaders continue to target late 2026 for the terminal’s debut, a timeline that gives Lyons a lot to do in not a lot of time.
On Monday’s news release, the City of McKinney confirmed the promotion and pointed to Lyons’ credentials, including her Accredited Airport Executive designation. The city says she will help ready the field for federal certification and passenger service as McKinney National transitions from a general-aviation reliever to a commercial service airport.
Lyons joined TKI in 2023 as an airport operations analyst and moved up to airport operations supervisor in 2024, according to Community Impact. Local coverage notes she previously served as airport director at Hereford Municipal Airport and worked on flight-operations safety at Southwest Airlines, an experience city officials say set her up well for this high-pressure role.
What Lyons Will Oversee
On paper, Lyons’ portfolio reads like a checklist of everything an airport needs before it can sell a single ticket. She is responsible for FAA Part 139 certification readiness, development of the TSA Part 1542 security and credentialing program, construction and airfield safety oversight, and aircraft incident response. Airport officials list those tasks as prerequisites for welcoming paying passengers…