Chattanooga Airport likely to set record high in passenger boardings

Staff File Photo by Dan Henry / Delta associate Sheldon Posey, left, helps Sheila Simpson and Raekwon Bunion at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport in this file photo. Airport officials say boardings are on track for another record year. Staff File Photo by Dan Henry / Delta associate Sheldon Posey, left, helps Sheila Simpson and Raekwon Bunion at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport in this file photo. Airport officials say boardings are on track for another record year.

By Mike Pare October 18, 2017 3 min read

With a new annual high expected this year for passenger boardings, Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport officials are looking at the possibility of bringing back an observation deck for non-fliers.

Boardings are up nearly 18 percent through September over last year to 353,549 passengers, airport figures show.

Terry Hart, the airport’s chief, said it’s a matter of how far 2017 boardings will surpass last year’s high mark of 419,059 passengers, which was a record over 2015.

“We see that all the carriers are up,” he told the Airport Authority during a meeting of the panel Tuesday.

By the numbers

› 419,059: 2016 passenger boarding record at Chattanooga Airport› 353,549: 2017 boardings through this September› 18 percent: Increase in boardings through September over last yearSource: Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport