Unlike some bustling airports with hundreds of gates and dozens of terminals, Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport is usually much quieter, with just 12 gates and one terminal. In fact, travelers can see from one end of the airport to the other.
While the small airport, 12 miles south of Knoxville in Alcoa, has served East Tennessee well for years, Knoxville's population boom has led to a record number of people flying in and out of McGhee Tyson. The airport has even seen security lines extend past the designated area. That's "something we historically haven’t needed," the airport said in June.
More airlines have been adding routes to McGhee Tyson, and airlines that already serve Knoxville have expanded their schedules, leading to increased wait times.
Luckily, with $10 million from the federal government, McGhee Tyson will add more security lines to mitigate wait times, but that could take years.
In the meantime, travelers were told to expect longer-than-average waits, and those waits have again been increased because of temporary mechanical issues that shut down one of McGhee Tyson's security checkpoints.
Here's what travelers flying out of McGhee Tyson Airport in the upcoming days should know.
What has TYS said about long wait times
On Sept. 13, McGhee Tyson Airport warned flyers of longer wait times. The airport said it was dealing with a "temporary mechanical issue", and travelers should be prepared to wait while machine repairs were being made.
The following day, Sept. 14, the airport updated travelers, announcing that one of its four security checkpoints was down for repairs. It warned travelers to expect long lines and arrive at the airport three hours early, a slight increase from the typically recommended arrival time of two and a half hours.
McGhee Tyson did not immediately respond when Knox News asked when the security checkpoint would be back up.
Peak times when travel is the highest and lines are the longest are 5 to 7 a.m., 11 a.m to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.
How to check TSA wait times at TYS
McGhee Tyson Airport does not display TSA wait times on its website, but there are other places flyers can check ahead of their flight. Despite the airport's recommendation that travelers arrive three hours early, most wait-time websites estimated security waits at only a fraction of that time.
As of noon on Sept. 14, TSAWaitTimes estimated security lines at McGhee Tyson would take slightly under 10 minutes. It predicted that wait times would be no longer than 15 minutes at any point in the day.
On Air Parkingestimated wait times at McGhee Tyson at noon on Sept. 14 would be just seven minutes.
Flyers are also able to check wait times by downloading the My TSA app.
While the airport itself does not track security wait times, people flying out of TYS can check parking capacity and flight arrivals and departures on theMcGhee Tyson Airport website.
Afton Pratt covers trending and breaking news for Knox News and Tennessee. She can be reached at ampratt@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: McGhee Tyson Airport warns of long waits after checkpoint goes down
