{"id":261865,"date":"2026-04-22T23:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/261865\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T23:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:15:11","slug":"meg-lonero-honored-in-texas-aviation-hall-of-fame-for-airport-modernization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/261865\/","title":{"rendered":"Meg Lonero honored in Texas Aviation Hall of Fame for airport modernization"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMeg Lonero was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, posthumously joining the Class of 2026<\/a> during a ceremony held April 10 at the Lone Star Flight Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Her induction recognizes more than 20 years as an airport executive and pilot with the Houston Airport System, including her role in modernizing William P. Hobby Airport and other facilities.<\/p>\n

Her son, retired Southwest Airlines pilot Larry Loreno, accepted the Class of 2026 medal and a letter of commendation on her behalf.<\/p>\n

Career history<\/p>\n

Meg Lonero began her aviation career in the 1970s as a founding partner of Clear Lake Aviation before joining the Houston Airport System, where she worked for more than two decades across Hobby Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Ellington Airport, according to the museum\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Her entry into airport operations came through a chance conversation with an employee at Hobby Airport, Larry Lonero said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were standing together at the gate when she struck up a conversation with a guy covered in badges, carrying a radio … and he told her they had openings and would love someone with her background,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The context<\/p>\n

Meg Lonero became manager at Hobby Airport in 1998, where she led a $227 million modernization program focused on infrastructure and capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knew Hobby was an underutilized and underappreciated asset,\u201d Larry Lonero said. \u201cRunways, lighting, instrument approaches\u2014all of it needed to be modernized.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project included runway and taxiway upgrades, improved landing systems and a new central concourse, according to the museum\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to all that being done, if it got foggy, nobody could get in or out of Houston,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meg Lonero worked to preserve the airport\u2019s 1940 Art Deco terminal <\/a>during the facility’s expansion in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you walk through the front doors, the original 1940s building is still there inside the new terminal,\u201d he said. \u201cShe wanted to maintain that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meg Lonero also served as manager at Ellington Field and assistant manager at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, including during Ellington\u2019s transition from military to civilian use.<\/p>\n

The big picture<\/p>\n

Meg Lonero retired in 2005 and received the Bessie Coleman Woman of the Year Award in 2006 for mentorship of aviation students, according to the museum\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe would have been proud, but very humble. She would have given credit to everybody but herself,\u201d Larry Lonero said.<\/p>\n

Larry Lonero said her impact remains visible across the system, particularly at Hobby Airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom was one of the main people in a generation to transform Houston\u2019s airport system to the next generation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s really meaningful to our family to have a place where her accomplishments and in her memory will be enshrined.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meg Lonero was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, posthumously joining the Class of 2026 during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[52316,56,58,57,98035,98036,98034],"class_list":{"0":"post-261865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-class-of-2026","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-headlines","11":"tag-houston-news","12":"tag-inductee","13":"tag-meg-lonero","14":"tag-texas-aviation-hall-of-fame"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}