Air carriers at Chattanooga Airport are enforcing a deadline of requiring passengers to check their luggage at least 45 minutes before a flight’s scheduled departure, an official said Wednesday.
Terry Hart, the airport’s chief executive, said as traffic increases at Lovell Field, the airlines won’t check bags under the 45-minute mark.
“That process stops,” said Hart in a phone interview, adding that strictly adhering to the checked bags policy will support the carriers operating efficiently and departing on schedule. “If you’re checking a bag, get there early.”
He said the airlines have always recommended arriving at least two hours before a flight is scheduled to leave.
Also, Hart said that because of new scanning technology at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, some large suitcases that were making it through in the past now won’t do so.