Texas Border Business
December 2025- Growth in aviation infrastructure at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport was highlighted with the recent groundbreaking of the Hunt PanAm Hangar at 414 Amelia Earhart Drive. City officials and aviation leaders described the project as an important investment that supports the expansion of services and long-term development at the airport.
City leaders stated that aviation has played a long-standing role in Brownsville’s economy and that the new hangar builds on that foundation. “Aviation has long been a cornerstone of Brownsville’s economic development, and projects like the Hunt PanAm Hangar reinforce our position as a growing center for aviation and aerospace activity,” said Commissioner At-Large “A” Tino Villarreal Jr. He added, “These new aircraft services continue to confirm that Brownsville is open for business and ready for collaboration.”
Mayor John Cowen also commented on the milestone, saying, “We celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Hunt PanAm Hangar, a key investment that strengthens our aviation infrastructure and expands services at the airport. Brownsville remains open for business and ready for continued growth and collaboration.” He concluded by saying, “Congratulations to the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport.”
The project is the result of cooperation between the City of Brownsville and Hunt PanAm owner Pat Kornegay. Kornegay said the partnership influenced the company’s decision to continue investing at the airport. “It inspired us to continue our investment. We invested quite heavily in our fuel and infrastructure and our aviation and maintenance business, and now we are going to build a new hangar,” he said.
Kornegay explained that expansion opportunities were limited at Hunt PanAm’s existing Harlingen facility. “Due to space constraints and the inability to expand in Harlingen to this date, being afforded the ability to invest in Brownsville and the opportunity to build more facilities here, we have really embraced this opportunity and look forward to continuing for many years,” he said.
City Manager Helen Ramirez, ICMA-CM, AICP, said the project reflects confidence in the airport’s economic direction. “Having PanAm invest in a new hangar at the airport is extremely important. It simply demonstrates our current state of economic development as an airport. We have approximately 60 warehouses as tenants here, which indicates that the industry has confidence in Brownsville,” Ramirez said.
The Hunt PanAm Hangar is expected to strengthen airport infrastructure, support general aviation services, and help meet increasing demand. Construction is expected to begin soon and will take approximately four to six months to complete.
City officials stated that projects like this align with ongoing efforts to attract investment, support local economic activity, and reinforce Brownsville’s role in the aviation and aerospace sectors.
