A bright yellow plane landed on the tarmac at Chattanooga Airport on Wednesday, and after it taxied beneath a ceremonial water cannon salute, a welcoming committee was at the gate to greet it.
“I’m full of Spirit today,” declared Jim Hall, the chair of the airport authority board of directors.
Spirit Airlines is the first new airline to enter the Chattanooga market since 2016, and local leaders heralded the company’s first direct flights to Newark, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida, this week with a ribbon cutting. An archway of yellow and black balloons festooned the gate to the airplane.
Spirit Airlines begins direct flights from Chattanooga with fanfare
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The company will also run nonstop flights three times per week to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which will begin Thursday. Trips to Newark and Orlando, meanwhile, will occur four times per week. The service will also offer travelers easy, one-stop connections to Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the airline.
“Today marks another milestone in the Chattanooga Airport’s mission to grow air service for our community,” airport CEO April Cameron said during the event. “These three new flights are not only exciting for leisure travelers but a game changer for the business connectivity in and out of the Scenic City.”
Chattanooga will be Spirit’s third destination in Tennessee, after Memphis and Nashville. Cameron said the airline’s investment shows confidence in the city’s momentum and the airport’s infrastructure improvements, including its recent terminal expansion. The airport also plans to build another parking garage that will create capacity for an extra 1,600 cars, she said. Cameron expects construction will begin in the fall.
“We just want to get ahead of the curve,” she said.
In 2024, the Chattanooga Airport posted a new record for boardings, drawing almost 557,000 passengers that year. That was up from a pre-pandemic high of 554,000 passengers in 2019. The airport has continued to post monthly records in 2025.
The airport is able to offer incentives to airlines by waiving certain fees or providing marketing dollars, which is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport gives all of its carriers the same incentives, Cameron said.
“Having another low-cost carrier here is going to be a huge benefit to Chattanooga,” said Mayor Tim Kelly, noting it will also open up connections for passengers beyond the three direct travel destinations.
Michael Mathis, a member of the Chattanooga Tourism Co.’s board of directors, said more frequent and direct flights make it easier for travelers to visit Chattanooga over other destinations.
“As we like to say in the tourism industry, it starts with one visit,” said Mathis, who is also the Chattanooga president for Pinnacle Bank. “The first visit is the catalyst that fuels business growth, elevates our quality of life, attracts new residents, supports jobs and ultimately builds a more vibrant Chattanooga community.”
In 2023, visitors spent an estimated $1.7 billion in the Chattanooga area.
“Today’s announcement represents more than just new flight routes,” Mathis said. “It’s an investment in Chattanooga’s future and our continued growth as a premier destination.”
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Duncan Dee, senior vice president for corporate communications at Spirit Airlines, said that when the company enters a market, it intends to stay for the long-term, continuing to invest and grow. WalletHub recently ranked Spirit Airlines its No. 1 airline in 2025.
Maria Nieto, one of the passengers on the first flight to Newark on Wednesday, said her daughter, who lives in New Jersey, bought her a ticket as a surprise. In the past, she frequently flew out of the busy Atlanta airport.
Another passenger waiting to board on Wednesday, Vicki Love, was similarly visiting family. She has relatives in Fort Lauderdale, so she intends to fly on Spirit Airlines a lot, Love said. Previously, these trips could involve a four-hour layover in Atlanta. Love tries to fly out of Chattanooga, but oftentimes it simply doesn’t work out and she ends up going elsewhere.
“I’m glad to have this option here,” she said in an interview.
The Newark Liberty International Airport has been plagued with cancellations and delays this spring because of a shortage of air traffic controllers, according to The Associated Press. This came after the FAA had technical problems that twice briefly knocked out radar and communications at a facility in Philadelphia, which directs planes in and out of the airport.
A construction project at the airport’s three main runways recently wrapped up nearly two weeks early, AP reported, which the FAA expects will help ease flight limits.
Responding to a question about issues at Newark, Nicole Aguiar, a spokesperson for Spirit Airlines, said the company plans to operate the route from Chattanooga as scheduled.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.