Chattanooga Airline Passengers Down 60% From Last Year

photo courtesy of CHA – Chattanooga Airport

Chattanooga, TN – Airlines have boarded 17,738 passengers through the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport as of September, which is 63.6% down from last year.

The Times Free Press reports airport traffic increasing, which is optimistic given that airline use is down more than half across the nation.

On Sunday, the Associated Press reported the highest number of flights in a single day since the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Unfortunately, this number was only 1 million compared to the 2.6 million passengers screened on the same day in 2019.

Robert Belcher, Chief Strategy Officer of the International Crisis Group, also showed optimism on Monday’s Chattanooga Airport Board Zoom meeting.

“The balance sheet of the airport authority is still strong. They are in a good financial position.”, Belcher said.

In the meeting, Chief Executive Terry Hart told the Airport Authority that boardings have increased a steady 11% for the past few months.

“They’re starting to see an increase in their bookings,” Hart said.

According to Hart, airlines are still restricted to 60% capacity as a social distancing measure.

The airport had previously planned to build a $25 million parking garage and expand its terminal, but the slow economic rebound could potentially delay these projects.