Chattanooga Airport Traffic to Near Half-Million Boardings in 2023 in Post-Pandemic Come Back, CEO Says

Jul. 17—Chattanooga Airport Chief Executive Terry Hart said Monday he expects passenger boardings to climb to nearly a half million this year at Lovell Field and hit its highest mark since the pandemic took the air out of traffic.

Hart, who is retiring from the CEO job Aug. 1 after about 12 years, told the Airport Authority he projects boardings to reach about 480,000, up from 432,000 in 2022.

"I think it will get better as time goes on," he said, adding passenger boardings through June at the airport came in at 229,830, up nearly 9% from the first half of 2022.

Hart said at a meeting of the airport panel that passengers at Lovell Field filled 92% of all available seats in May, which was the best monthly level since December 2019.

The airport experienced the last of five consecutive record years in 2019, when Lovell Field set an all-time high mark of 554,050 passenger boardings.

But traffic fell in 2020 as air travel worldwide was battered by the pandemic, plunging by 59.3% in Chattanooga over 2019.

Airlines have been slow to put more planes into the air amid a shortage of pilots and other personnel. Boardings in 2022 were up sharply compared to 2021 but still 21.9% behind the record year of 2019.

Jim Hall, the Airport Authority's chairman, on Monday lauded Hart's work over the years at Lovell Field.

"I was here at the beginning and you've done yeoman's service," he said at the meeting.

Board member Tom Snow said he learned how to be a manager by working with and watching Hart.

"You've been a mentor," he said.

April Cameron, vice president of finance for the past 20 years, was chosen in May by the Airport Authority as the new president and chief executive, effective Aug. 1.

When Cameron takes over as CEO, she'll oversee the $28 million expansion of the passenger terminal, the airport's most costly ever.

When the 22-month terminal expansion is finished in mid-2024, the project will have added 26,000 square feet and renovated 36,000 square feet, officials have said. Along with enlarging the security checkpoint area, the project will bolster amenities for travelers and add new gates, they said.

Hart said the expansion is nearing its 400th day. He said nearly all the exterior work is complete, though there's a lot of interior improvements coming up.

Hart said the security checkpoint area, which was moved several weeks ago for the expansion, is expected to shift to its permanent location within a couple of months. That work will cost about $151,000 and be paid for from the money funding the terminal expansion, he said.

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