The busiest day in the nearly 100-year history of McGhee Tyson Airport could come Sunday, Sept. 27, as fall breaks begin and football fans head home the day after No. 13 Tennessee hosts No. 1 Texas.
McGhee Tyson officials are tracking 10,000 passengers expected Sunday, airport spokesperson Becky Huckaby told Knox News, and travelers should prepare to arrive extra early for their flights. While heavy traffic days typically have lulls, she said, McGhee Tyson should be a packed house all Sunday long.
Texans traveling in for the game should make sure they've reserved a rental car before leaving the Lone Star State, Huckaby said. Thursday is expected to be especially busy at the airport's rental car counters.
September has already been a historic month
for McGhee Tyson. If airport officials' expectations hold, Sept. 27 will surpass the current single-day record of 8,679 travelers, set just a week earlier on Sept. 20.
The surge is partly driven by school calendars, with fall breaks beginning across the region. While Knox County Schools students won't get their break until Oct. 5, public schools in nearby Alcoa (where the airport is located) are out Sept. 28-Oct. 9.
Airport planners expect to see multiple days of 9,000-plus travelers moving through McGhee Tyson as fall vacations get underway.
Soaring travel numbers and broken records have been part of a hectic few years for the East Tennessee travel hub. In 2024, the federal government rated the airport the fastest growing of all large U.S. airports. The summer of 2026 also broke records at McGhee Tyson.
With ever-increasing traffic, the airport is working on Flight Plan, a decade-long initiative to renovate, replace and create new amenities at McGhee Tyson.
The airport's 3,500-spot parking structure replacing the current garage, slated to wrap in 2027, is the most expensive construction project in its history. McGhee Tyson also is expanding its security checkpoint, upgrading airport furniture, adding a 13th gate and renumbering the rest.
Rising travel numbers also coincide with post-pandemic growth in Knoxville. While the city has added residents steadily since the 1970s, its population increase has outpaced the national average since 2020 and, at times, surpassed Nashville as a moving destination.
Mariah Franklin reports on technology and energy for Knox News. Email: mariah.franklin@knoxnews.com. Signal: mariahfranklin.01
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee-Texas football fans expected to break Knoxville airport records
