Knoxville airport leads passenger growth in Tennessee. How it compares to Nashville, Memphis
Knoxville's airport is once again on track to serve a record number of passengers this year, building on last year's accomplishment of leading all of Tennessee's airports in passenger growth.
McGhee Tyson officials project the airport will serve 2.72 million passengers in 2023, up from its record of 2.57 million in 2019. The surge is an indication that the airport's traffic has more than recovered from the pandemic slowdown.
July was the busiest month in the airport's 85-year history, serving 276,471 passengers. That's a 14% increase over July 2022.
Data shows the growth will continue, and airport officials are planning to expand to accommodate the demand. The airport projects it will serve more than 3 million passengers in 2025, according to figures provided to Knox News by the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.
At the airport's July board meeting, Patrick Wilson, president of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, said year-to-year passenger records were broken in March, April, May and June.
“If you’ve been through the airport, or really you’ve talked to anyone who’s been through the airport, you’ll probably hear comments about how busy it’s been,” Wilson said. “We’re certainly moving forward to continue to meet that growth in the future.”
Two major infrastructure projects will make room for more travelers over the next five years. A $180 million parking garage is expected to add 3,500 parking spots by 2026 and a terminal expansion is expected to add six additional gates to the airport's existing 12 by 2028.
Here's a closer look at how Knoxville's passenger totals and growth compare to the four other main passenger airports in Tennessee. Passenger data is publicly available through each airport authority.
Knoxville airport is middle of the pack for total passengers
All five airports are on track to increase passenger traffic this year and some may have a record year, based on how many travelers they served in the first half of 2023.
Here's how Tennessee airports rank according to total passengers, a measure that includes both arrivals and departures. The busier and bigger the airport, the cheaper the domestic fares, according to a U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics report for the first quarter of 2023.
The Federal Aviation Administration publishes a ranking of the busiest commercial airports each year based on the number of passengers boarding planes.
Nashville International Airport (BNA)
2022: More than 20 million passengers
First half of 2023: 11 million passengers
Nonstop service to 96 destinations
7 international destinations
No. 29 busiest airport in U.S.
Average domestic fare: $342.43
2. Memphis International Airport (MEM)
2022: 4.35 million passengers
First half of 2023: 2.27 million passengers
Nonstop service to 34 destinations
One nonstop international flight to Mexico
Busiest cargo airport in North America and second-busiest in the world
No. 63 busiest airport in U.S.
Average domestic fare: $401.90
3. McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS)
2022: 2.5 million passengers
First half of 2023: 1.29 million passengers
Nonstop service to 26 U.S. destinations
No. 89 busiest airport in U.S.
Average domestic fare: $470.27
4. Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA)
2022: 861,097 passengers
First half of 2023: 456,271 passengers
Nonstop service to nine U.S. destinations
No. 135 busiest airport in U.S.
Average domestic fare: $519.38
5. Tri-Cities Airport (TRI) in Blountville
2022: 387,228 passengers
First half of 2023: 211,475 passengers
Nonstop service to five U.S. destinations
No. 186 busiest airport in U.S.
Average domestic fare: $580.02
Though McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport in Jackson offers passenger flights, it boards fewer than 10,000 passengers a year and is classified by the FAA as a nonprimary airport.
McGhee Tyson led by increase in passengers 2022
As in most industries, year-to-year growth has been a roller coaster for aviation over the last five years, with major dips and rises as travelers avoided and then cautiously resumed flights during the pandemic.
Though it is dwarfed in total passengers by Nashville International Airport, McGhee Tyson Airport led the pack in year-to-year passenger growth with a 31.3% increase from 2021 to 2022.
In 2020, Tennessee airports lost between 50% and 60% of their passengers.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport: -59.5%
Memphis International Airport: -56.3%
Tri-Cities Airport: -55.3%
McGhee Tyson Airport: -54.9%
Nashville International Airport: -54.7%
In 2021, Tennessee airports varied more widely in how many passengers returned, compared with 2020.
Nashville International Airport: +87.3%
Memphis International Airport: +76.9%
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport: +67.7%
McGhee Tyson Airport: +63.7%
Tri-Cities Airport: +57.9%
In 2022, each airport saw modest growth, though Knoxville grew the most from 2021 to 2022.
McGhee Tyson Airport: +31.3%
Nashville International Airport: +29.2%
Tri-Cities Airport: +22.4%
Memphis International Airport: +21.3%
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport: +14.7%
Brian Simmons, chair of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority board of commissioners, said the airport was working to improve the passenger experience to capitalize on its recent growth.
“When the passenger comes here instead of going to a Nashville or an Atlanta, they want to have it be convenient, have it be efficient, have it be comfortable,” Simmons said. “That’s really what we’re working on.”
Where Knoxville airport's growth is headed
McGhee Tyson is projected to add around 850,000 more annual passengers by 2026. This growth will likely lead to additional destinations and could make the airport more attractive to airlines that do not currently serve the airport, such as Southwest.
Know Your Knox: When will Southwest Airlines come to Knoxville's airport?
“We are constantly promoting Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport to a number of airlines and to our existing airlines to continue to grow service, but it’s totally an airline decision," Wilson said. "We can’t influence or make them come in or set the fares in any way.”
A Forbes Advisor ranking in June listed McGhee Tyson as the ninth-worst airport in the country for summer travel, based on factors like on-time flights, cancelations and airfare at the top 100 busiest airports.
Wilson said Knoxville's airport is in a difficult position, since it recently broke into the top 100 and it services several nonstop flights to Florida, where weather problems have an outsized impact on flight times.
Of the five worst airports for summer travel, Forbes said three were in Florida, including Orlando Sanford International Airport, which took the No. 1 spot. McGhee Tyson offers flights to all three Florida destinations.
Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AreenaArora.
Daniel Dassow is a reporting intern focusing on trending and business news. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Knoxville McGhee Tyson airport compares to Nashville, Memphis
