Chattanooga Airport

Of all the small regional airports I’ve frequented, CHA is clean, quick and easy to get to, and has some of the most friendly and helpful personnel I’ve encountered in my travels. One of my Doctor Who pins came off my backpack while my other was being searched, and a security officer tracked me down at my gate to return it.
It’s very rare that I’ve had to wait more than 15 min to get through security, even on a busy day — they keep the lines moving and still manage to have a pleasant conversation with you.
I do wish the airport had more eating options there’s really just one restaurant that serves coffee, alcohol, smoothies, burgers, burritos, etc. It’s passable, but definitely nothing worth writing home about. And the service at the restaurant is nothing in the rest of the airport. So if you’re looking for something appetizing served with a smile, I recommend you eat before heading out to the airport.

I love Chattanooga Airport. Easy to get to and in and out of. The newly remodeled area is very nice. Free WiFi is even nicer. Wish they had a few more food options but otherwise, it’s great.
Looking forward to more flights heading out West hopefully.

Nice little airport with all the amenities. The free WiFi is awesome. Folks are friendly. Security lines you can only dream about compared to the major airports.

Candy at the counters. Easy parking. Ok so in airport restaurant selection is limited but as convenient as it is that is no big deal. I live here and fly out of here frequently. It is literally 5 minutes from work. It has some direct flights. The TSA here are friendlier than anywhere else I have been. Add more direct flights to Chicago and it is a 5 for me.

The tragedy of the Chattanooga airport is that it was completely renovated and expanded in the early 90’s to support anticipated demand, not real demand. «Never expand to support anticipated demand» is an additional life lesson the Sicilian should have mentioned before being poisoned. The overbuilding led to many years of vacant gates and essentially one regular destination — Atlanta. (Which was always delayed because a 20-​minute flight like this one is going to be pretty low priority at Hartsfield.) And I’m still irritated that they announced regular service direct to DC as soon as I STOPPED needing to get there all the time after four years of delays.*
But having said all that, I was very impressed on my last pass through at the latest round of updates. The place has really come a long way! It’s a solid welcome to town, the staff are indeed pretty friendly, and flights were only a half hour late each way. Which is early for KCHA.
Flight announcements during our visit were made via the tried-​and-​true method of cupping your hands and shouting at the passengers. It’s nice to see that some things never change.
* The jokes were endless back in «the day.» My favorite was that ASA stands for «Always Stuck in Atlanta,» as well as a dirty version I won’t relate here.

It is sad sad that this airport in no way, shape or form is competent. Every flight is either delayed or cancelled. Don’t even try to fly to a connector because you will miss it every time. This airport has cost me so much time and money. Please stay away and fly through ATL. One day, hopefully, they’ll become a real airport.

This was our first visit to the area and the airport was lovely — small, friendly staff, and quick time through security. I’m in the habit of asking TSA staff for advice on how long to plan for security for return flights, as they would know how busy the airport usually is. Bless the kind woman who didn’t tell me I was completely bonkers when I asked about if there were multiple security stations. She patiently informed me that they only had one set of gates and security — which I was standing next to — and that the usual hour before the flight should be fine. Hee!

It’s a small airport, with a short security line and only 4 gates. It’s impossible to miss a flight from this airport. There are not a ton of food options; therefore, I’d recommend eating before getting to the airport.

Small airport with just a few gates, but very nice and easy to navigate. Limited food selection so eat before you get there!

5-​star airport with super friendly employees, but suffering from their parking situation. While the parking accessibility will improve (under construction), the in-​airport payment system is one of the worst in the USA: make sure to never pay for parking in the airport until you are ready to go DIRECTLY to your car and leave. Twice I’ve spent over 15 minutes chatting with travel companions prior to getting in my car and leaving and both times I was greeted by rude parking attendants who refused to let me out without paying a surcharge, as a new bill (with only a 15 window) is created as soon as you satisfy your current bill inside the airport. To their defense, they state «pay parking after picking up baggage» at the inner-​airport parking stations; however, a fair statement would address the 15 minute payment penalty time window.
As stated, it is a wonderful airport with friendly employees. A refreshing change from the Atlanta experience. Just don’t let their airport parking payment situation fool you-​that 15 minute payment penalty window can put a damper on a positive experience. Another parking tip: you can avoid the airport parking experience and save money by parking at the Dollar Rent A Car facility just prior to arriving at the airport.

I travel in and out of the Chattanooga Airport quite often and it is always a pleasure. The recent changes make it one of the nicest small airports I have been in and trust me I have been in many! For those of you who are not familiar with it, it is easy on and off Highway 153, which is just 2 exits off I-​75. They have short, intermediate and long term parking. When you first arrive, Long term will be on your left, followed by short term. If you want to pay a few extra dollars per day, Intermediate parking puts you closer to the airport and will be on your right, right before you get to the terminal. I park there but quite honestly, none is far away.
When you enter the terminal, they have check-​in to your right and baggage claim, taxis and rental cars to your left. Ticket counters all have Self Service Kiosk and check in normally does not take long. Security does not have a separate Pre Check line, but when you get to the TSA Agent and you qualify as Pre-​Check, they give you a yellow card which you give to the agent when you go through the monitors. You get to keep your shoes on but still have to remove liquids and computers from your bag.
The terminal itself has five gates, a great little restaurant, full bar and seating area while you wait for your flight to leave. They have plenty of charging stations, great seating area, TVs and most important, FREE WIFI. It almost makes you want to get to the airport real early.
When you arrive, you will go right off the escalator and your bags will normally arrive within 10 minutes. .Yes, I am a fan of Chattanooga and the improvements made to the airport over the years are of the highest quality. I give it a 5!

Sure. No friging parking. Half of it taped off. Constant delays and cancelled flights. Not reliable. Expensive food and drinks. Almost 3 $ for a coke? What family can afford that? No wonder VW and others shuttle to Atlanta. I usually drive to Nashville but thought I’d try again. No parking and delayed flight. What was I thinking? Was I thinking?

Small, compact airport. Easy in and out with rental cars close by (Walking) can get quite crowded when flights get delayed. Not much on food or souvenirs. Gas stations are bout a mile away on Lee Hwy.

Love flying in and out of this airport. Very nice and clean. Very small. Not far to walk to your gate at all. The gate agents are very nice also.
Parking is just across the front door. Although, I use Dollar rental car just before you get to the airport on the right hand side to park my vehicle ALOT cheaper then at the airport.
Allegiant flys to Florida out of here and of course Delta :) to ATL or DTW

Small regional airport. Very convenient to those who live in Chattanooga and surrounding areas. Wish more variety of airlines and options were possible. Glad it’s here. Very Clean, no long waiting.

This is a nice airport. It has the small town feel and benefits (like rental cars right outside the door vs. having to wait for shuttles) and short lines for check in and security, but due to the number of large companies in the area they have very convenient schedules.

This is by far the best decorated airport I have been to. Right away when you get off the airlines and walk into the building, all you see are holiday decorations. It was adorable and the best I have seen. There were decorated Christmas trees everywhere. Fake snowmen and stuff animals, polar bears and penguins, all over the place. Snowflakes and flashy decorations everywhere. It was the most festive airport ever.
It’s a small airport and does not take long at all to go through security. The TSA staff is really sweet and kind. They’re not rude or talk down to you, not like NEWARK airport. Chattanooga people are really nice.
One of the best airports to fly into so far.

Parking is horrible, they need another 500‑1000 spots.
Check in here — leave extra time they love screening here like it was in a combat zone.
Cancellations– WAY TOO FREQUENT

This is a small airport so you don’t need to be here that early to check in and go through security. But wince you never know what going to happen I would give yourself at least 60mins.
One time, I did get there super early, figured I would just read while waiting, but there was something wrong with the flights, and since I was there early enough, they had time to bus me to Atlanta for my connecting flight… so you never know.
The airport is pretty straight forward so you can’t really get lost. There are not a lot of food options, so I would suggest either getting before you hit the airport or cope with the limited selection. Its not bad, just limited.

Best little airport is getting better. I fly Delta most of the times and it’s so much better than a couple years ago with the larger planes flying in.
The airport has been going through some renovation although I don’t know why. Nothing wrong with what we had and not much difference since they started. The biggest change was moving the store to another location.
Still so easy to park, checking and to your gate in less that 15 minutes. Only slow point is TSA. You just never know if you line up with another big flight and all show up at same time.

Car rental closest to terminal are Hertz and then Avis. There’s no gas station close to the airport — plan ahead. As of May 14 TN gas is cheaper than GA by more than a few pennies — use a site like GasBuddy to get details.
So those were my tips. Here’s another: don’t rent from Alamo. I had one HORRIBLE experience where I waited 45 minutes (both in line and waiting for an actual car to be there, even though we had a reservation). The airport itself is clean, bright, and spacious. Just remember to gas up before bringing the car back, since there is no easy access to a gas station around, at least not driving from Georgia. So, do your homework before hand and find out where you want to gas up and not pay $ 6 a gallon. Happy travels!
Oh the airport! The airport is fine — lovely building, renovated to further improve. Easy to get in and out of. Can’t go wrong if you’re coming to this neck of the woods or even others close by.

Pros:
— average check-​in time of 14 seconds
— there’s bathrooms
— friendly pat-​downs
— fully stocked beverage machines at every corner
— getting lost is impossible
— you can hang with your compadres… even if you’re not on the same flight!!!
— they’ll totally allow you to bring a razor blade on board. As long as it’s covered with tape.
— clearly lit gate number identifiers
— new carpet
— clean
— quiet
— lovely red art decoish trash receptacles
— free water available at nearby drinking fountain
— plenty of room for seating
Cons:
Please see above

I simply have to give this airport ALL 5 stars!
It was one of the newest, cleanest and smallest airports I have ever been to! They didn’t need any club because the place was amazing for an airport. For only having 5 gates — I expected a LOT less!
The place was as clean as a whistle everywhere — even in the ticketing area where there was substantial remodeling of some type taking place.
Every person I talked to from the ticket folks (though US and American were not helpful getting me home) to the security, bar and restaurant folks to those working the gate — all amazing!
It was the first time I ever saw the gate agent walking up and down looking and shouting for people — it was like they were all family.
Did I mention clean? Even the bathrooms were clean and smelling good even without a bunch of chemical fresheners to mask the smell. There was plenty of placed to charge up your «stuff» — sit comfortably — eat — talk — do work — I was impressed!
This really is as good as it gets. I wouldn’t want to be stranded here for hours and hours, but if I had work to do — I guess even that wouldn’t bother me too much because there were so many comfortable places to sit — plug the lap top into and work away!

I am smitten with this little airport!
First, it’s small and extremely easy to get around. And, maybe it’s because I’m from the snooty uptight Northeast, but people are so friendly! I rode the escalator down (all bleary eyed from my 6am flight from CT) and there was literally someone (volunteer? employee) posted at the bottom, saying «Welcome to Chattanooga!»
Thank you, I feel very welcome!
Anyway, good experience all around. Easy & pleasant.

This review is not about the airlines that fly in (or don’t.like Southwest). This review is about the terminal. I love it.
It is so small! And you can get through security easily, no waiting and with TSA people that smile. And you can park your car RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DOOR while waiting to pick someone up and nobody cares as it is not that busy.
Inside is clean and modern. They just opened a new restaurant. Bathrooms are very clean. I wish all my airport experiences were this positive.
(and yes… please… SOUTHWEST… please come to Chattanooga).

What is there not to love about this airport? They remind you of what air travel use to be:
Short security lines
Basics on the concourse
Cheap airport parking
While the concourse is small & you hear many complain that the airport needs Southwest, the airport serves its purpose & the airlines know what they are doing in CHA to serve customers & maximize profits. Heck, Delta even added a mainline jet for 1 of its evening flights from ATL & morning flight to ATL.
Setbacks:
too many regional jets requiring gate valet of bags
Taking stairs down to apron to board (mainly Delta & Allegiant Air)