The Closest Airport to Princeton, Texas

Princeton has been one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas by percentage for several years running, and almost all of that growth has happened without a nearby airport. That changes on November 11, 2026.

McKinney National Airport is about 9 miles west on US-380, roughly 16 minutes. Princeton to DFW is about 46 miles and 54 minutes; Princeton to Dallas Love Field is about 38 miles and 44 minutes. The saving is not marginal — DTX turns an hour-long airport run into a school-run-length drive.

The catch is worth stating plainly, because Princeton residents currently have no habit to break: DTX opens with five Avelo destinations — Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Myers — and adds Denver, Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans in December. That is a leisure route map, not a network. Business travel, connections, and anywhere international still mean driving to DFW.

There is a second-order benefit worth naming, because it is the one Princeton residents will actually feel. A 16-minute drive to a four-gate terminal means leaving home somewhere around an hour and three-quarters before departure. The same flight out of DFW realistically means leaving three hours ahead once you account for the drive, the parking shuttle, and DFW's two-hour arrival recommendation. For an early-morning departure that is the difference between an ordinary start and a 3 a.m. alarm.

US-380 is the entire journey and it is also Princeton's main street, which means the estimate above assumes you are not travelling through the afternoon school and commute peak. Drive times are non-rush-hour estimates, and the stretch between Princeton and the airport is the part most likely to slow you down.