Delta Air Lines Flight 516
History
The first scheduled airline flight in Tennessee took place in Chattanooga in 1928 at Marr Field, dedicated in December 1919, named for Walter L. Marr, off present-day Amnicola Highway. Chattanooga was a stopover on the Contract Air Mail route served by Interstate Airlines between Atlanta and Chicago. Charles Lindbergh, the world-famous aviator who had piloted the Spirit of St. Louis over the Atlantic Ocean in May 1927, flew into Marr Field on October 5, 1927.
In 1930, due to the interest and foresight of John Lovell, president of the local Kiwanis Club and American Red Cross, a new Chattanooga Airport opened with an unpaved runway at its present location and was named Lovell Field in his honor. In 1936, the landing area was expanded and runways paved as a part of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA). The original terminal building was built at that time.
During World War II, Lovell Field was a military training facility. Growth in aviation in the 1950s led to a transfer of airport operations to the City of Chattanooga and airport expansion with a new runway, the primary runway today. The original terminal building, dating from the 1930s, was expanded in 1950 and 1955 by the city before being replaced by a new terminal in 1964.
The airport's ownership was transferred from Chattanooga to the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA) in July 1985.
The current passenger terminal, designed by Gensler, opened in 1992.
In 2011, a 1 megawatt solar farm located on the southwest corner of the airfield was constructed. An additional 1.1 megawatts were added to the solar farm in the summer of 2013. By 2017, the farm was providing approximately 90% of the airport's electricity.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport was home to the 241st Engineering Installation Squadron (241 EIS) of the Tennessee Air National Guard until late 2010, when the squadron moved to a Bonny Oaks facility near the airport.
Facilities
Runways
Lovell Field covers 950 acres (380 ha) and has two asphalt runways: 2/20 is 7,400 x 150 ft (2,256 x 46 m) and 15/33 is 5,575 x 150 ft (1,699 x 46 m).
Terminal
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport has one concourse with eight gates. In March 2024, the airport added two additional boarding gates along with a new restaurant, gift shop and business center. This completed an expansion that saw an additional 26,000 square feet of a new terminal wing constructed and 36,000 square feet of the existing terminal renovated. Airline service is provided by United Express, Delta Air Lines, American Eagle, and Allegiant Air. The largest aircraft currently serving the airport are the Airbus A319/A320 (operated by Allegiant Air and Delta Air Lines) and even the Boeing 757 (operated by FedEx Express). The McDonnell-Douglas MD-80 series aircraft used to be one of the larger aircraft that serviced CHA, but these were retired early because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Delta had flown a mainline service from 1947 until withdrawing in 1995 after 48 years in favor of affiliates like Atlantic Southeast Airlines operating smaller regional jets, such as the CRJ-200. Delta subsequently decided to resume its mainline service flights, including DC-9s, to Chattanooga in September 2012.
Other
General aviation is serviced by Wilson Air Center FBO. The general aviation ramp is in two locations, one on the south side of the main terminal and the other on the north. The locations are referred to as "Air North" and "Air South." General aviation can find service at either location. In August 2011, Wilson Air Center opened a facility on the west side of the field.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
 | This section needs to be updated. (January 2022) |
| Destinations map |
|---|
Cargo
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| FedEx Express | Memphis |
Statistics
Top destinations
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta, Georgia | 193,990 | Delta |
| 2 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 92,320 | American |
| 3 | Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | 63,200 | American |
| 4 | Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois | 39,090 | United |
| 5 | Washington–National, D.C. | 14,960 | American |
| 6 | Orlando–Sanford, Florida | 13,580 | Allegiant |
| 7 | Detroit, Michigan | 13,120 | Delta |
| 8 | St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida | 11,850 | Allegiant |
| Rank | Airline | Passengers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSA Airlines | 177,000 | 24.18% |
| 2 | Endeavor Air | 126,000 | 17.27% |
| 3 | Delta Air Lines | 119,000 | 16.31% |
| 4 | SkyWest Airlines | 104,000 | 14.27% |
| 5 | Allegiant Air | 47,290 | 6.46% |
| 6 | Other | 157,000 | 21.51% |
Annual traffic
| Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 609,218 | 2017 | 957,064 |
| 2008 | 596,639 | 2018 | 1,002,414 |
| 2009 | 614,578 | 2019 | 1,104,662 |
| 2010 | 579,868 | 2020 | 447,864 |
| 2011 | 608,886 | 2021 | 750,896 |
| 2012 | 616,928 | 2022 | 861,097 |
| 2013 | 618,838 | 2023 | 972,235 |
| 2014 | 701,665 | 2024 | |
| 2015 | 778,183 | 2025 | |
| 2016 | 836,983 | 2026 |
2020s airport expansion
In the 2020-2021 time-frame, a multi-story car park was built. In addition, despite the COVID-19 pandemic the number of gates was expanded to eight as part of the expansion plans due to record numbers of passengers using the airport pre-COVID. The 28 million dollar expansion was opened March 2024.
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New parking garage under construction in March 2021 -
CHA airport terminal expansion in progress November 2022 -
Chattanooga airport new terminal being built December 23, 2022 -
New terminal gates at CHA May 2024
Accidents and incidents
- On November 11, 1972, Southern Airways Flight 49, a hijacked McDonnell Douglas DC-9 with 31 passengers and 3 crew members aboard, landed at Lovell Field from Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport to pick up $10 million that the three hijackers had demanded. After picking up the ransom money, which actually amounted to between $2 million and $2.5 million, the plane took off, bound for Havana, Cuba.
- On November 27, 1973, Delta Air Lines Flight 516, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, crashed short of the runway in severe weather on approach to the airport from Atlanta's Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. The airliner burst into flames that were quickly extinguished in part by torrential rains and deep standing water where the aircraft ended up. Thirty-eight passengers and four crew were injured in the incident and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
- On October 4, 2023, FedEx Express Flight 1376, a Boeing 757-200SF (N977FD), skidded off the end of Runway 20 landing with gear up after experiencing a hydraulic failure after departure for Memphis International Airport. The crew made it out uninjured.