KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Starting Monday, McGhee Tyson Airport is closing 672 spots in its long-term parking are. It's the first step in a parking garage expansion project.
This expansion is expected to take a year and a half and add 3,500 new parking spaces. Since a portion of the long-term parking will be closed, the airport will open more than 1,000 new spots in Economy Lot C, making this a gain of more than 300 spots.
Those who are parked in the long-term lot will be able to leave, but no new cars will be let in.
Airport spokesperson Becky Huckaby said people should head to the airport's website before they get there to plan ahead on where to park.
"We have added to that site a parking capacity area so that you can see which lots are actually at, or near, capacity. So you can make the decision before you come out here of where you might want to park," said Huckaby. "Once you get onto the site, we also encourage you to give yourself at least two hours ahead of your scheduled departure to give plenty of time to park and get to your flight."
Huckaby says last October was the busiest month in airport history, and she expects it to get even busier.
"We are continuing to see us returning to air travel people continuing to fly and in making that investment," said Huckaby. "And so, we have to stay ahead of that we have to be planning and looking at what we can do to provide a facility that is a passenger experience that you want to look forward to, that you want to come out to the airport."
Kim Bumpas, the President of Visit Knoxville, said tourism is the top industry in Tennessee. She said improvements at the airport are good for the economy.
"We're having record numbers in visitation," said Bumpas. "So, that affects our airport because we have a lot of inbound travel to come visit Knoxville. And of course, having more parking, more amenities, and more everything just equals more business. Because that means they had a great experience. If you see any entity, building and expanding and enhancing amenities, that right there is kind of what you do when you're expecting more business and you're reaping the benefits of the current business."
Huckaby said other possible projects are planned for the future, including gate expansion and additional work on the existing parking garage.