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Tri-Cities Regional Airport

Coordinates: 36°28′31″N 082°24′27″W / 36.47528°N 82.40750°W / 36.47528; -82.40750
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This article is about the airport of Blountville, Tennessee. For other uses, see Tri-Cities Airport.

Tri-Cities Airport
Tri-Cities Airport, TN/VA
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTri-Cities Airport Authority
ServesTri-Cities, Tennessee-Virginia
(Johnson City, Tennessee; Kingsport, Tennessee; Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia)
LocationBlountville, Tennessee, U.S.
OpenedNovember 5, 1937 (1937-11-05)
Elevation AMSL1,519 ft / 463 m
Coordinates36°28′31″N 082°24′27″W / 36.47528°N 82.40750°W / 36.47528; -82.40750
Websitewww.flytri.com
Map
TRI is located in Tennessee
TRI
TRI
Location
TRI is located in the United States
TRI
TRI
TRI (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5/23 8,000 2,438 Asphalt
9/27 4,443 1,354 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Aircraft operations44,492
Total passengers454,000
Based aircraft (2023)53
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1][2]

Tri-Cities Airport (IATA: TRI, ICAO: KTRI, FAA LID: TRI) (also known as Tri-Cities Airport, TN/VA), serves the Tri-Cities area (Johnson City, Tennessee; Kingsport, Tennessee; Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia) of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. It has a street address in the census-designated place of Blountville, Tennessee, but is adjacent to the city limits of Kingsport. The airport is governed by the Tri-Cities Airport Authority (TCAA) whose members are appointed by the cities of Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol (TN), Bristol (VA) and both Washington and Sullivan counties in Tennessee.

Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 202,730 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[3] 217,783 in 2009 and 202,114 in 2010.[4] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year).[5]

History

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In the mid-1930s Johnson City's airfield and Kingsport's airstrip were deemed impractical for expansion. Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport cooperated with Sullivan County to build an airport on 323 acres in Sullivan County, between the three cities. In September 1937, two small runways, a terminal building, and aircraft hangar had been built and the airport saw its first airliner, an American Airlines DC-2. On November 5, 1937, McKellar Field, now known as Tri-Cities Airport TN/VA, was dedicated by Senator Kenneth McKellar.[6]

American Airlines pulled out in 1952. Piedmont Airlines flew to TRI from 1948 until it merged into USAir; Capital Airlines and successor United Airlines stopped at TRI from the 1940s until 1977 when Allegheny Airlines replaced them. Southern Airways appeared in 1960. The first jets were Piedmont Boeing 727-100s and Southern Douglas DC-9-10s in 1967; in 1977 a Piedmont Boeing 737-200 was flying nonstop to New York LaGuardia Airport.

In January 2008 a quick service restaurant, Tailwind Express, was added in the post-security area of the airport along with the Tailwind Restaurant and Lounge in the pre-security area. In April 2012 the airport broke ground on a $10 million project that would lengthen a taxiway and move a road farther away from the airport, opening 140 acres for future development.[7]

Facilities

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Tri-Cities Airport covers 1,250 acres (506 ha) at an elevation of 1,519 feet (463 m). It has two asphalt runways: 5/23 is 8,000 by 150 feet (2,438 x 46 m) and 9/27 is 4,443 by 150 feet (1,354 x 46 m).[1][8]

For the year ending March 31, 2023 the airport had 49,790 aircraft operations, an average of 136 per day: 72% general aviation, 13% air taxi, 9% airline and 5% military. In March 2023, there were 53 aircraft based at this airport: 31 single-engine, 8 multi-engine, 12 jet and 2 helicopter.[1]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Allegiant Air Orlando/Sanford
Seasonal: St. Petersburg/Clearwater[9]
American Eagle Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare (begins May 21, 2026),[10] Dallas/Fort Worth
Breeze Airways Orlando,[11] Washington–Dulles[11]
Delta ConnectionAtlanta
United ExpressChicago–O'Hare (begins June 8, 2026)[12]
Destinations map
class=notpageimage|
All destinations from Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
blue = Future destination

Statistics

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Largest airlines at TRI (November 2024 – October 2025)[13]
Rank Airline Passengers Share
1 Piedmont Airlines 159,000 32.16%
2 Endeavor Air 133,000 26.95%
3 Delta Air Lines 65,210 13.18%
4 Envoy Air 62,400 12.61%
5 Allegiant Air 49,810 10.07%
Other 24,900 5.03%

Top destinations

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Busiest domestic routes from TRI (November 2024 – October 2025)[13]
Rank Airport Passengers Airline
1 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, Georgia 108,820 Delta
2 North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina 80,030 American
3 Texas Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas 35,750 American
4 Florida Orlando/Sanford, Florida 18,010 Allegiant
5 Florida St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida 6,920 Allegiant

Accidents and incidents

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  • On April 1, 1993, NASCAR driver Alan Kulwicki and three others were killed when a Fairchild Merlin crashed on approach to the airport. The cause of the crash was pilot error in operating the aircraft's engine anti-ice system.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for TRI PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective Mar 2, 2017.
  2. ^ https://aspm.faa.gov/opsnet/sys/Airport.asp
  3. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  4. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  5. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  6. ^ [1], triflight.com accessed on September 15, 2012
  7. ^ Airport breaks ground on largest project ever, tricities.com dated April 5, 2012
  8. ^ "TRI airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  9. ^ "Find cheap flights to and from your city | Allegiant Interactive Route Map".
  10. ^ WCYB (2025-12-18). "Direct flights from Tri-Cities Airport to Chicago to begin in May 2026". WCYB. Retrieved 2025-12-19.
  11. ^ a b "Breeze Airways Announces More New Cities, New Ancillary Product in Continued Trajectory of Unprecedented Growth". FOX4. July 29, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  12. ^ WCYB (2025-12-19). "United to offer direct flights from Tri-Cities Airport to Chicago beginning in June 2026". WCYB. Retrieved 2025-12-20.
  13. ^ a b "Bristol/Johnson City/Kingsport, TN: Tri-Cities TN/VA (TRI)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. April 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
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