Departure
100%
vs 95% ▲ 5
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
McAllen Miller International Airport (KMFE) is a Class D controlled field serving McAllen and the wider Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, close to the US-Mexico border. It combines a busy mixed airline, cargo, military and general-aviation operation on a compact V-shaped runway layout, making it a useful and instructive destination for simulator pilots flying in the region.
McAllen Miller International Airport lies in the city of McAllen, Hidalgo County, Texas, and is owned by the City of McAllen. It is the busiest airport in the Rio Grande Valley, ahead of Valley International Airport at Harlingen and Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport, and is served by major carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines and Allegiant Air alongside a substantial general-aviation, cargo and military presence. For a simulator pilot the field offers a compact but busy Class D environment with two non-intersecting runways forming a distinctive V shape, close to the Mexican border.
KMFE sits within Class D controlled airspace with an operating control tower, located in the city of McAllen in Hidalgo County, Texas, close to the US-Mexico border and the Rio Grande. The nearest comparable fields in the region are Valley International Airport at Harlingen and Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport, both to the east along the Rio Grande Valley. Two airports across the border, in Reynosa and Matamoros in Mexico, also handle scheduled traffic.
McAllen Miller has two hard-surfaced, lit physical runways arranged in a V, neither intersecting the other. Runway 14/32 is the primary and longer runway, around 7,000 to 7,100 ft depending on direction (6,976 ft from runway 14, 7,118 ft from runway 32), and is equipped with an ILS; it is used by all airline and most business traffic. Runway 18/36 is the shorter secondary runway, around 2,637 to 2,691 ft depending on direction. Because runway 18/36 does not intersect runway 14/32, the two can be operated simultaneously, though the departure end of runway 18 lies roughly a third of the way down runway 14/32, so aircraft on final for runway 36 need to remain alert to traffic using the main runway.
McAllen Miller is served by a control tower on 118.5 MHz, which also functions as the CTAF. Ground control operates on 121.8 MHz, with ATIS and ASOS both broadcast on 128.5 MHz. Approach and departure control is provided by Valley Approach/Departure on 121.0 MHz, and UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz. A remote communications outlet, RDO San Angelo Radio, is listed on 122.2 MHz. The field's primary runway, 14/32, is equipped with an ILS approach.
KMFE is a Class D airport with an operating control tower, so all traffic should expect to work with the tower for arrival, departure and any circuit work. The airport's simple layout, with taxiways running the full length of each runway, allows the tower to use both runways independently since 14/32 and 18/36 do not intersect. Pilots planning circuits or approaches to runway 36 should be aware that the departure end of runway 18 lies close to runway 14/32, requiring extra vigilance for traffic using the main runway during final approach.
The terminal, tower, cargo facility, border patrol and US Customs apron are all centrally located on the airfield and are easily identifiable from either runway on approach. The fixed-base operator, multiple hangars and the fire station are situated on the west side of runway 18/36, providing a useful visual reference for general-aviation arrivals routing to parking away from the main terminal.
Runway 13/31 was redesignated as runway 14/32 in November 2015, at which point an engineered materials arrestor system (EMAS) was installed at the runway 14 approach end to provide additional overrun protection. The airport has since been the subject of a 20-year master plan envisaging an extension of runway 14/32 to 10,000 ft, the addition of a parallel runway, and an expanded cargo apron on the airfield's south side. The airport lost its only scheduled international service, a daily flight to Mexico City, in September 2007.
McAllen Miller remains a mixed-use Class D airport, with runway 14/32 handling all airline and most business flights and runway 18/36 available for simultaneous independent operations. In the year ending October 2018 the airport recorded 56,613 aircraft operations, an average of 155 per day, comprising 62 percent general aviation, 17 percent military, 15 percent commercial airline and 6 percent air taxi movements. As of December 2019, 105 aircraft were based at the field, including 49 single-engine and 21 multi-engine piston aircraft, 17 jets, 11 helicopters and 7 military aircraft. A fixed-base operator, hangars and fire station are located on the west side of runway 18/36.
