Knoxville Airport Guide: Gateway to the Smoky Mountains
Knoxville Airport set a record of 3.6 million passengers in 2025 as Allegiant and the Smokies drive growth. See its runways, airlines, routes and plans.
By The Aviation Hub
5 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Knoxville sits on the doorstep of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and its airport has grown fast on the back of that location. Knoxville Airport, officially McGhee Tyson Airport, handled a record 3.6 million passengers in 2025. It sits in Alcoa, south of the city, with the Great Smoky Mountains on the horizon. Allegiant is the largest airline, and an Air National Guard tanker wing shares the field.
Knoxville Airport at a Glance
The codes are TYS and KTYS. The airport lies about 12 miles (19 km) south of downtown Knoxville in Blount County, at an elevation of 986 ft (301 m). It has two parallel runways and a single terminal with two concourses, on a site of around 2,250 acres.
Traffic reached 3,630,410 passengers in 2025, up 8.7 per cent on 2024. Allegiant runs an operating base at Knoxville Airport and carries more than a quarter of all passengers. Delta, American, United and Southwest follow. The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority runs the field, and flight information is on the airport’s official website.
How Knoxville’s Airport Came to Be
The first McGhee Tyson airport opened on 1 August 1930 on a 60 acre site in West Knoxville. It quickly proved too small, and in 1935 the city bought 351 acres in Blount County. The first airline flight at the new site, an American Airlines Stinson Trimotor, landed on 29 July 1937.
The airport is named after Charles McGhee Tyson, a United States Navy pilot from Knoxville who was killed in the First World War. A control tower followed in 1941, and the military presence grew during and after the war. Accidents have been rare. In 1962 an American Airlines Lockheed Electra was written off after veering off a runway in high winds, with no deaths, and in 1992 both pilots died when a USAir Express Jetstream 31 landed with its gear up.
A new terminal opened in 1974, and the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority took over a few years later. A $70 million upgrade in 2000 added two concourses and 12 gates, with a Smoky Mountain theme. That building still serves Knoxville Airport today.
Runways at Knoxville Airport
Runway 05L/23R is 3,048 m (10,000 ft) long with a concrete surface. Runway 05R/23L is 2,743 m (9,000 ft) and asphalt. Both are 46 m (150 ft) wide and run parallel, south west to north east.
The parallel layout allows flexible operations, with the longer runway favoured by heavy aircraft and the Air National Guard’s tankers. The 10,000 ft runway reopened in December 2021 after a full rebuild, part funded by a $27.9 million FAA grant. During that work, all traffic used the shorter runway.
Terrain is never far away. The foothills of the Smokies rise to the south east, and afternoon thunderstorms in summer can bring delays.
Terminals and Airlines
The terminal has two levels. Upstairs are ticketing, security, 12 gates, shops and restaurants. Downstairs are car rental counters, three baggage belts and offices. On a typical day Delta uses gates 1, 3 and 5, United gates 7, 9 and 11, American gates 8, 10 and 12, and Allegiant gates 2 and 4, with gate 6 shared.
Allegiant flies Airbus A320 family jets to a long list of leisure cities, including Las Vegas, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, St Petersburg and Phoenix. Delta and Delta Connection link Atlanta, Detroit and New York LaGuardia. American serves Dallas Fort Worth, Charlotte and Chicago, while United flies to Chicago O’Hare, Houston, Newark and Washington Dulles.
Southwest connects Baltimore, Dallas Love Field, Nashville and Orlando, and Avelo adds a seasonal New Haven route. Endeavor Air runs a maintenance base at Knoxville Airport, and Cirrus Aircraft has delivery, maintenance and training centres on the field.
Routes and Destinations
Atlanta is the busiest route, with about 280,000 passengers a year on Delta. Dallas Fort Worth follows at 199,000, then Charlotte at 156,000 and Chicago O’Hare at 154,000. Denver and Detroit each carry around 95,000.
New York LaGuardia, Fort Lauderdale, St Petersburg and Houston Intercontinental complete the top ten. Two forces drive the network. Business travellers and University of Tennessee traffic use the hub links, while tourists bound for the Smokies, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg fill the inbound leisure flights.
Summer and October, with its autumn colours, are the busiest months for visitors. Freight is significant, at almost 62 million lb in 2025, carried mainly by overnight parcel carriers.
Getting to and from Knoxville Airport
There is no rail link, and public transport is very limited. Alcoa Highway, US 129, runs north from the terminal to downtown Knoxville in around 20 to 25 minutes. Taxis and rideshare wait outside baggage claim and are the simplest sensible option for city visitors.
Most tourists hire a car. Car rental counters sit on the lower level of the terminal. The Townsend entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is around 30 minutes away. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg take around 45 minutes to an hour, longer on busy weekends.
Parking lots sit close to the terminal. A new six storey garage adding 3,500 spaces was announced in January 2024.
Spotting and Photography
Knoxville Airport mixes airline jets, tankers and business aircraft. The Tennessee Air National Guard’s 134th Air Refueling Wing flies the Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker from the field, and the Guard’s I.G. Brown Training and Education Center is also on site.
Roads around Alcoa offer views of aircraft on approach, and the mountains to the south east make a fine backdrop. Afternoon light suits shots looking south east towards the mountains, and autumn foliage in October adds colour.
The Guard base is a military installation. Do not photograph its facilities, stay on public land and keep clear of fences. Airport police patrol the perimeter roads.
What Comes Next
In July 2023 the airport announced a six gate terminal expansion, targeted for completion in 2028. Together with the new garage, it will give room for further growth from Allegiant, Southwest and the network carriers.
The Smokies and a growing regional economy give the airport a strong base. The verdict is continued growth and a bigger terminal by the end of the decade. See the south east on the Airports of the World map.
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