Weekend travelers at McGhee Tyson Airport found themselves in a slow-motion shuffle through security, as TSA lines curled through the terminal and waits stretched to as long as 82 minutes on Sunday. The logjam hit just as East Tennessee heads into the summer travel season and left some passengers scrambling to rebook flights or make tight connections. Airport officials say they are working with the TSA to ease the pressure at the checkpoint.
The Transportation Security Administration told WBIR that an outage that took one screening lane out of service helped trigger the spike in wait times, on top of passenger volumes at McGhee Tyson that have nearly doubled over the last 10 years. The agency confirmed some travelers waited up to 82 minutes on Sunday as lines backed up past the checkpoint. TSA said it is monitoring staffing levels and operations in an effort to cut down on future delays.
Airport Expansion Already in the Works
The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority has been planning a major terminal overhaul that includes an expanded TSA checkpoint and a multi-level parking garage. The authority’s Airport Capital Improvement Program lists a TSA checkpoint expansion and a Phase 1 parking-garage project, showing the airport has budgeted for additional lanes and other terminal upgrades. Those projects are designed to relieve the four-lane choke point that can form during peak travel windows.
When to Arrive and How to Prepare
Becky Huckaby, the MKAA’s vice president of marketing, told WBIR that mornings from 5 to 7 a.m. and afternoons from 3 to 6 p.m. are typically the busiest times at McGhee Tyson, and that travelers should build in extra time if they are flying during those windows. The Transportation Security Administration advises passengers to arrive about two hours before domestic departures to allow for parking, airline check-in and screening, according to its travel tips page on TSA. Enrolling in TSA PreCheck and checking live wait-time tools can also lower the odds of a mad dash to the gate.
Why This Matters Now
Long security lines at smaller hubs are part of a bigger national story. NPR reported widespread increases in wait times this spring as staffing and funding strains stretched TSA operations at major airports. At the same time, McGhee Tyson has been growing quickly, and the airport recorded roughly 3.25 million passengers in 2024, a record that has pushed the four-lane checkpoint toward capacity, according to the airport authority’s reporting. The mix of rising demand and occasional lane outages helps explain why local leaders are moving ahead with expansion planning.
The bottom line for Knoxville-area travelers is straightforward: if you are flying out of McGhee Tyson this summer, leave yourself extra time, check live wait times before you head to the airport and consider TSA PreCheck if you are a frequent flier. Airport leaders say construction on longer-term fixes is underway, but for now the best defense against a long security line is old-fashioned planning and an early alarm clock.
