City and airport officials unveiled a 2025 update to McAllen International Airport’s economic impact study, which the city presented as showing roughly $1.2 billion in total economic output for 2024 and more than 8,400 direct jobs supported by airport activity.

“McAllen International Airport directly created 8,419 jobs in 2024,” Aviation Director Jeremy Santoscoi said at the event, adding the airport supported a $356,000,000 payroll economic impact in 2024. City officials also cited a total economic output figure of $1,200,000,000 in 2024.

In his presentation, Jeremy Santoscoi described passenger‑level and multiplier effects that officials said underlie the study’s totals. He said passenger volumes have grown substantially since 2017 and that “each new flight can generate as much as $10,000,000 in direct economic impact per year.” Santoscoi linked higher passenger volumes and larger aircraft to larger local economic effects.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey, invited to speak at the event, connected university workforce development to the airport’s growth. “For students in McAllen, Reynosa, and across the globe, this development represents more than infrastructure. It’s a gateway to the future,” Bailey said, framing the airport’s expansion as an opportunity for education‑to‑workforce pathways.

City officials framed the airport figures as part of a broader narrative that includes the announced Buoy Reservoir development and other local investments. Officials did not present the underlying impact study report in full during the event; they provided summary figures and percentage changes over prior study years. Some percentage figures were presented verbally as comparisons to earlier studies.

No formal policy action or funding decisions were made at the press event; the airport study update was presented as informational and as context for local development discussions.