McGhee Tyson Airport could double in size over the next 20 years as staff and board members work through expansion plans to meet the future. A new outline presented during a Wednesday, Aug. 21 meeting of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority Board shows what the facility could look like in the coming decades — including potential space for international operations.
The design would bring the airport up to a 4.2 million annual passenger capacity with 23 gates.
Capacity
McGhee Tyson served 2.8 million passengers in 2023 after years of approaching its rated capacity of 2.5 million. With parking lots full to bursting, the airport has a new, $200 million and 3,500-space parking garage underway, although construction paused over the summer to open parking capacity to holiday demand.
With plans to address the parking problem in progress, airport officials are now turning to the concourse itself.
Ben Goebel of engineering firm Gresham Smith presented a potential plan outline Wednesday, saying airport officials requested graduated expansion in phases rather than a one-time jump — a move Airport President Patrick Wilson said is intended to balance need, impact and funding constraints. The plan includes building out both wings of the concourse, expanding on the terminal building and renovating interiors and equipment across the board.
“This is really going to create that ‘wow’ moment,” Goebel said, describing the sight that would greet passengers disembarking. “It’s that Disney Land effect.”
If MKAA officials choose to implement the design, the airport will expand in phases, starting with the right-hand wing of the concourse. Staff will have to demolish a hangar to make space for the new taxiway, which will allow planes to loop around the southeastern side of the building.
The first phase, which would bring the airport up to 18 gates, would cost around $255 million and get underway around 2028, with construction lasting around 30 months.
Wow factor
Expanded security checkpoint capacity is another key to building the airport’s overall capability, Goebel said. Engineers would concentrate on the airport’s front-of-house and behind-the-scenes functions in the next several phases before building out the left concourse wing.
That’s where the possibility of international space comes in. A gate at the end of the left concourse wing is earmarked for potential changes down the road, Goebel said.
Key additional upgrades could include more vendor space and greater capacity for processing baggage, as well as a new baggage claim. More elevators and escalators are also a possibility, Goebel said.
There’s also the opportunity to upgrade some of the airport’s aging utilities. Big ticket items like chillers, boilers and electrical systems can be redone while the airport is under construction.
Wilson told board members Wednesday that he felt breaking up the project would better fit the airport and allow it to expand with the least effect on operations.
“The phased approach also maximizes our flexibility of funding, so that we can pull off pieces as we perform, build those and get those in place versus trying to do a billion-dollar investment,” he said.
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