The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport posted its worst year for passenger traffic in nearly four decades in 2020 as the pandemic hit air travel, but officials are eyeing bluer skies in 2021 and readying for a rebound.
Passenger boardings plunged 59.3% in 2020 over the prior year to 225,289, airport officials said. Not since 1983 in the aftermath of airline deregulation have passenger levels stalled to such a low when boardings that year were 212,955, figures show.
Also in 2020, for the first time Chattanooga officials can recall, American Airlines was the top carrier of passengers at Lovell Field, flying past perennial frontrunner Delta Air Lines.
“It’s the first time that has ever happened,” said Terry Hart, the airport’s chief executive, during a meeting of the Airport Authority on Monday.
American recorded boardings of 97,501 passengers last year in Chattanooga, while Delta came in slightly under at 96,620, figures show. Still, American’s boardings in 2020 were down 50.6% over 2019. Delta’s boardings fell 63.8%, airport figures show.