1. "The City of Mesquite is looking to expand the Mesquite Metro Airport along with adding a new warehouse and industrial district in your neighborhood." – Thomas Latham

The City has created a master plan for Mesquite Metro Airport and the surrounding area that is designed to attract quality economic development that will bring high-paying jobs, quality of life improvements and tax relief to our citizens.

These plans are conceptual only. They are intended to show how development of the area should occur to maximize economic opportunities and protect and improve neighborhood aesthetics.

The plans call for expansion of the airport’s runway to create a safer flight environment and development of modern hanger facilities and aviation offices.

The plans also envision the development of a business park – not an industrial warehouse district – designed to attract high-tech and aviation industry businesses.

The plans anticipate the impact of future increases in air and road traffic and outline strategies to ensure that nearby residential neighbors are not impacted by the development. The integrity of residential neighborhoods will be protected by:

• Traffic flow plans that route all heavy commercial traffic away from residential neighborhoods – not through them.


• Broad green spaces that distance and buffer residential neighborhoods from any development.


• High berms with trees, grass and other vegetation that eliminate noise and hide the view of commercial development from residential neighborhoods. The City envisions a park-like setting along the berms with hike and bike trails that connect parks in the area.

2. "The ultimate goal of the 230-page expansion plan of the Mesquite Metro Airport will include the use of Boeing 737 aircraft, which is similar to the aircraft used by Southwest Airlines." – Thomas Latham

The airport development plans are designed to accommodate executive corporate jets and private aircraft – not Southwest Airlines-style 737s. Mesquite Metro Airport will NEVER become another Love Field or Alliance Airport.

Air cargo operations are centered at DFW and Alliance Airports where there are handling facilities designed to accommodate that type of traffic. Even with an extended runway, Mesquite Metro could not support an economically viable cargo operation. It does not have the infrastructure now, and plans do not call for any such development.

3. "With the expansion, the airport in your neighborhood will have 384 flight operations per day – that amount to 140,000 flights per year." – Thomas Latham

Mesquite Metro Airport already accommodates more than 315 flights per day. Under the proposed airport development plan, traffic would increase to 384 flights. This moderate increase would not have any significant impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

The airport plan anticipates this increase in air traffic and provides for numerous noise, pollution and safety protections that eliminate problems for neighborhoods.

4. "Many of the flights into and out of the airport could be cargo flights, which usually take off and land early in the morning and late in the evening." – Thomas Latham

The vision for Mesquite Metro Airport is to maintain a safe and competitive facility for corporate air travel, in line with its current use and original purpose and design. Future plans do not include support facilities, or hangar space, for large cargo aircraft. Because of this, heavy-lift operations would not be economical or sustainable for any cargo operations.

5. "The airport’s warehouse district will place large, 18-wheelers driving through your neighbor every day." – Thomas Latham

Business park plans clearly outline how traffic from the development will be routed away from – not through – residential neighborhoods. The plan specifically restricts any road access from the business park to residential neighborhoods and calls for numerous noise elimination devices such as high berms, trees and wide green spaces that protect neighborhoods from traffic.

6. "The expansion of the airport is not for the small, single-propeller planes. The expansion is planned to attract larger, louder planes and thousands of new flights." – Thomas Latham

Airport plans are designed to attract business, corporate and private aircraft – not heavy-lift cargo planes. The airport has never handle routine cargo aircraft traffic and under this plan it never will.

7. "The Boeing 737, when very near many homes in your neighborhood, will be as loud as the noise produced from a motorcycle at a distance of only 25 ft." – Thomas Latham

The airport is actually going to be quieter than it is today under the new plan.

The plan shows that all noise from air traffic will fall within the airport perimeter and the noise footprint will decrease within that perimeter.

Aircraft will not have to throttle up engines as high to take-off or brake as hard on landing, eliminating a major source of noise. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also has imposed strict guidelines that reduce the amount of noise that aircraft make.

8. "A Cornell University study found that ‘the constant roar from jet aircraft can seriously affect the health and psychological well-being of children’ and that children near an airport 'tended to be poor listeners and did not read as well as matched children in quiet schools.'" – Thomas Latham

There are no schools located near enough to Mesquite Metro Airport to be impacted by aircraft noise.

Horn High School is more than a mile from the airport and not in any flight path for aircraft.

9. "The massive increase in air traffic could threaten your safety. Just 2 ½ months ago a plane crashed at the Mesquite airport, killing one person and injuring two." – Thomas Latham

The airport plan envisions only a moderate increase in air traffic and provides for an increase in air traffic safety. A longer runway will make is safer for planes to take off and land.

The crash that occurred Friday, November 23 is still under investigation, but it was not due to heavy air traffic. At the time, that plane was the only aircraft in the flight pattern.

10. "Increased air traffic and sound could have a negative impact on your property values." – Thomas Latham

The plans envisions a quieter, cleaner and safer airport with quality economic development that will improve property values not only for nearby homeowners but for all of Mesquite.

The plan also provides for aesthetic improvements such as broad green space with park-like settings and ponds, and hike and bike trails connecting parks facilities.

11. "The warehouse district will bring thousands of large trucks to your neighborhood, damaging your roads, increasing traffic and air pollution and posing serious safety hazards." – Thomas Latham

Development plans call for a Business Park not a “warehouse district.” The plan clearly outlines how traffic from the development will be routed away from – not through – residential neighborhoods. The plan specifically restricts any road access from the business park to residential neighborhoods and call for numerous noise elimination devices such as high berms, trees and broad green spaces that protect neighborhoods from traffic nuisances.