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Chattanooga Airport needs to be ‘good enough’ to attract business, mayor says

Staff file photo / Holiday decorations are displayed at the Chattanooga Airport. Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said the airport doesn't need to be as big as counterparts in Nashville or Atlanta but needs to make enough strides so that it is not a hindrance to economic growth. Staff file photo / Holiday decorations are displayed at the Chattanooga Airport. Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said the airport doesn't need to be as big as counterparts in Nashville or Atlanta but needs to make enough strides so that it is not a hindrance to economic growth.

By David Floyd December 13, 2025 3 min read

Rather than ballooning into a major hub, the Chattanooga Airport needs to be “good enough” to avoid being a hindrance to economic development, Mayor Tim Kelly told a roomful of local leaders. It’s on its way there, he said.

“We’re not going to catch Nashville or Atlanta, but what we need is good enough air service so that it’s not an obstacle,” Kelly said during a Rotary Club meeting Thursday. “Many of you know people who have looked at relocating businesses here.

“The fact of the matter is, they’re too polite to tell you, ‘Hold up. I’m not going to waste a day waiting on a connection or losing my bags,'” Kelly said. “They’re not going to do it. It just needs to be a little bit better, and we’re getting there.”

Previously, local leaders didn’t fully acknowledge the airport was an important key for unlocking economic growth, Kelly said. When the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce produced a 40- to 50-page strategic report in the early 1990s, Kelly said, the document didn’t mention air service.