Terry Hart
photo by Jessica Kramer
Terry Hart, President and CEO of the Chattanooga Airport, said, after four years of dialogue, United Airlines is ready to join the Chattanooga Airport. Starting in September, United Airline will provide daily flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
Mr. Hart spoke to members of the Chattanooga Civitan Club on Friday about changes the Chattanooga Airport has recently seen.
“We’ve had tremendous growth over the last two or three years,” he said. “I attribute that to the economic development that’s happening in this region.”
United Airlines, he said, recognized what was happening. While previously the Chattanooga Airport has stayed around 280,000-300,000 enplanements per year, in 2015 the facility was only a couple thousand shy of reaching 400,000.
“I think that we’re going to continue to grow,” said Mr. Hart, very confident that this year the airport would pass the 400,000 mark.
He spoke very positively about the other airlines serving the Chattanooga Airport, praising Delta Airlines, which is still the primary carrier in Chattanooga, for its excellent service. He also mentioned the American Airlines consolidation with US Airways, and said they were now up-gauging their aircraft to larger airplanes.
Mr. Hart also discussed the recent addition of West Star Aviation to the Chattanooga Airport. Previously, West Star had only two primary hubs of operation, one in Grand Junction, Colo., and one in East Alton, Ill. When searching for a place to expand on the East Coast, the firm found Chattanooga not only to be a viable location, but a welcoming community.
Now, West Star has a new MRO facility at the Chattanooga Airport inside a 20,000-square-foot hanger, where they employee approximately 50 people. Mr. Hart said West Star hopes to emulate in Chattanooga what they have done at their other locations, which each utilize approximately 250,000 square feet of hanger space and house about 250 jobs.
“We’re excited about this,” Mr. Hart said. “The first phase is just starting.”
Mr. Hart also described major renovations made to the airport during recent years, which include expanding the number of available parking spaces, and the efforts for sustainability. He said the airport has a 2.1 megawatt solar farm. An agreement with TVA concerning the farm provides revenue which covers about 95 percent of the airport’s electric bill.
People are more frequently choosing to originate from the Chattanooga Airport, even traveling from Knoxville or Northern Atlanta to catch a flight, Mr. Hart said. He told Civitan members that this is most likely because of low fares and convenience.
He said going through the TSA checkpoint at the Chattanooga airport “is a breeze,” and that screeners are not only efficient, but friendly.
“I like being in Chattanooga. I like seeing what’s happening in this community,” Mr. Hart said. “It’s nice to be able to be at an airport and see growth occur.”