Tennessee airport CEOs seek continued state support; present passenger growth and economic impact figures

CEOs from Tennessee’s five commercial airports briefed the House Transportation Committee Feb. 18 and asked lawmakers to continue the state’s recent financial support for airport capital programs.

Doug Crillon, representing Nashville International Airport, and colleagues from Memphis, Tri-Cities, Knoxville and Chattanooga presented a five-year plan and said the five commercial airports together generate roughly $24 billion in economic impact and about $868 million in state tax revenue, figures the group provided to illustrate the return on state investment. "These five commercial airports... will generate a little over $24 billion in economic impact to the state of Tennessee," Doug Crillon said during the briefing.

The CEOs provided year-over-year passenger figures and recent growth rates: Memphis reported about 5 million annual passengers in 2024 (a 2% increase year-over-year); Tri-Cities reported just under 500,000 passengers (about a 12% increase in 2024); Nashville said roughly 25.2 million passengers (earlier multi-year averages and recent growth of 7–10% were cited); Knoxville reported topping about 3.3 million passengers with multi-year record growth (14% in 2023, 18% in 2024 and January 2025 up 20%); Chattanooga reported about 1.1 million passengers in 2024 (up about 14% year-over-year and January 2025 up roughly 20%).

The group said state support has increased gradually; on one slide they described the total state participation as "around $109,000,000" for the current year and noted a stated goal to increase a funding benchmark (the group mentioned a goal figure of $125,000,000 in the context of return-on-investment analysis). The airports said state contributions help them leverage bond financing and private capital for large capital projects, citing examples of projects the state support helps unlock.

Committee members asked about operational concerns: parking price sensitivity and the role of ride services, airport staffing and infrastructure modernization, and public messaging in response to recent national incidents. The CEOs said parking is a major revenue source (Nashville described parking as about a third of airport revenues), that airports benchmark parking rates against peer markets, and that federal grant assurances require airports to reinvest revenues into airport operations and capital. Airport leaders also described coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration on air-traffic and navigation equipment; they said FAA systems are tested routinely and that the FAA and airports plan upgrades as needed.

Why it matters: The airports argued that modest state investment in airports yields outsized economic returns and helps the airports leverage additional financing for projects that support passenger growth. Committee members and airport leaders discussed workforce concerns for FAA air-traffic personnel and the airports’ capital and operational priorities.

Attribution: Statements in this article are taken from the hearing and attributed to the airport representatives who spoke on the record.