The military presence ended in December 1973 as part of a nationwide defense cut back after the Vietnam War.

Texas International was then able to upgrade their service from Convair 600 prop aircraft to Douglas DC-9 jets.

[6] At the entrance to the airport is the statue Among Friends There Are No Borders, designed by Armando Hinojosa of Laredo, which depicts a South Texas vaquero and a Mexican charro sharing a campfire.

It has three runways:[2] In the year ending September 30, 2018 the airport had 97,189 aircraft operations, an average of 266 per day: 41% military, 38% general aviation, 13% air taxi and 8% airline.

The bottom floor has the check-in counters, a gift shop, a restaurant, baggage carousel, rental car desks, and US customs.