The Chattanooga Airport terminal.Strong business travel fueled higher passenger boardings at Chattanooga Airport in September over a year ago, and officials continue to look at a possible parking garage to meet demand.
Terry Hart, the airport’s chief executive, said Wednesday that the 5.5 percent hike in boardings last month to 25,728 passengers is essentially all business-related.
“We’re a business-driven market,” he said at a meeting of the Airport Authority.
Express Jet, the Delta Connection airline that’s the airport’s busiest carrier, posted a 13.4 percent jump in boardings in the month, according to the airport.
For the year, however, boardings are still down 3.5 percent in the first nine months to 225,511. Most of that drop was weather-related earlier in the year, Hart said.