Category Archives: Transportation & Travel

McAllen International Airport Awarded $1.98 Million

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McAllen International Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded McAllen International Airport $1.98 million for HVAC and lighting improvement. The funds come via  the $5-billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, providing grants for airport terminal development projects for improvements aimed at addressing the aging infrastructure of the nation’s airports. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants fund safe, sustainable, and accessible airport terminals, on-airport rail access projects, and airport-owned airport traffic control towers. “The federal funding we received…

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Aeromar Ceases Operations

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Aeromar

McAllen International Airport partner carrier Aeromar has ceased its operations after 35 years of uninterrupted flights in Mexico, the United States and Cuba. Aeromar’s partnership with McAllen International Airport served 199,358 passengers and operated 6,982 flights to and from McAllen from 2009 to 2023. Their partnership was mutually beneficial as McAllen International Airport’s commercial airline traffic grew into one of the ten busiest airports in Texas. In 2022, McAllen International…

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McAllen Airport Sees Record Passengers

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(photo McAllen International Airport)

In 2022, McAllen International Airport welcomed 875,899 passengers, exceeding the prior year’s all-time high. As one of the top ten busiest airports in Texas, McAllen International Airport’s commercial airline traffic has steadily grown. In 2022, McAllen International Airport led the region with 45 percent of the RGV’s commercial air service market share. The airport’s leading market share fostered new opportunities for travelers in 2022, starting with becoming the South Texas…

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Shuttle Company Meeting Demand To SPI

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South Padre Island officials say there is a need to improve shuttle services to transport tourists from area airports to the Island. (courtesy)

Being a kiteboarder, Jason Norwood got a frequent question as a sporting event loomed at South Padre Island in 2021. “How do we get from the airport to the Island?” he recalled being asked.  Getting from the Valley International Airport in Harlingen to South Padre can be problematic. Finding reliable ground transportation for the hour-long trip from the airport to SPI is often a challenge. This is especially true during…

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Delta Announces New Non-Stop Flights From Harlingen

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Valley International Airport is now offering a new Delta Air Lines non-stop route to Minneapolis – Saint Paul International Airport. The seasonal flight will begin service on Feb. 17 and run through May 8. “We would like to take this opportunity to welcome back a long time airline partner to Valley International Airport,” said Valley International Airport’s Aviation Director Marv Esterly. “We are very excited by Delta’s decision to service…

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SpaceX’s Reach Goes Beyond Rocket Launches

News Transportation & Travel Comments

Elon Musk and SpaceX recently declared they were “one step closer to the first orbital flight test of Starship.” The reference was to the nearly 400-foot-tall rocket that’s perched at Starbase on Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville. The Federal Aviation Administration announced in June after a two year-study that SpaceX could expand its footprint on Boca Chica. The FAA, however, did not grant a rocket launch license. It cited 75…

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STC and McAllen Partner For City Bus Training

Education Featured News Transportation & Travel Comments

The City of McAllen Transit Department and South Texas College has begun a new transit academy. STC will now offer training for prospective drivers of the city’s Metro Bus System, as an effort to address a severe driver shortage affecting the industry locally as well as nationwide. The interlocal agreement between the city and the college came with approval by city commissioners. The city is donating a 2011 Gillig 35’…

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McAllen Selects Local Firm For Bridge Construction

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The Anzalduas Bridge (photo U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

The McAllen City Commission approved an award of contract to Wilson Construction Company of McAllen on Monday for the construction of new inbound and outbound commercial facilities and related paving improvements at the Anzalduas International Bridge. The contract is for $81.8 million, with a contract time of 320 days, approximately 11 months. The funding source for the project is a $63 million loan from the North American Development Bank and…

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Professor Finds New Opportunities In Business

News Professional Services Transportation & Travel Comments
UTRGV professor Hanseng Lei has found opportunities and growth in Brownsville.

Hansheng Lei came to the United States from China in 2001 with no idea the endless frontier would lead him to Brownsville. Lei is a professor in the computer science department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His academic office on University Boulevard in Brownsville is a handful of blocks away from his business office at a warehouse that’s adjacent to the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates.…

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STC And Rio Grande City Grulla ISD Partner For CDL Courses

Education Featured News Transportation & Travel Comments
South Texas College announced in May that they will bring a new CDL program to Starr County. Following that announcement, board members with Rio Grande City Grulla ISD announced that it will start a CDL program for school district parents beginning in July. (photo STC)

With three ports of entry, trucking is the lifeblood of international commerce and the economy in Starr County, according to Rose Benavidez, chairwoman of South Texas College Board of Trustees and president of Starr County Industrial Foundation. That’s why Rio Grande City Grulla ISD board members have approved a new partnership with STC to provide CDL training in Starr County this summer. “There is little doubt that in these uncertain…

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