Getting from McGhee Tyson Airport to the city

The bus that is not there

• This is the fact to fix before anything else. Knoxville Area Transit does not serve McGhee Tyson Airport, and KAT says so itself. Its own FAQ carries the question "Does KAT provide service to the airport?" and the answer "Not at this time." That is the operator speaking, not an inference.
• The reason is geography. KAT's 20 fixed routes run inside the City of Knoxville. The airport is at 2055 Alcoa Highway, Alcoa, about 12 miles south of downtown, in Blount County, outside KAT's territory altogether.
• katConnect, KAT's new on-demand micro transit, is not a loophole. Its entire service area is three apartment complexes in north-west Knoxville, Holston Ridge, Cassell Ridge and Elk Hill Way, and it exists only to feed routes 12 and 20.
• The airport agrees, in its own words: "There is no off-property shuttle service offered at McGhee Tyson Airport." Its transport pages cover taxis, charters, rideshare, hire cars and hotel shuttles, and no bus, because there is none to cover.
• Guides that describe an airport bus at Knoxville are describing something that does not exist. Budget for a car.

The two booked services, and why neither rescues an arriving traveller

• ETHRA Public Transit is the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency's rural demand-response service, and Blount County is one of its counties. It is genuinely open to the general public, but it is door to door by reservation, not a route you can turn up for.
• It operates Monday to Friday 08:00 to 16:30 and not at all on Saturday or Sunday, and is closed on New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and Day.
• It asks for three business days' notice, considers later requests only if space allows, and gives priority to medical trips. The driver waits five minutes and then records a no-show, and cancellations are due two hours ahead.
• Fares: 3.00 USD in county, 3.00 USD where a county line is crossed, 1.00 USD per extra stop, 1.50 USD for children under six. Bookings on 1-800-232-1565.
• CAC Transit is the one to strike off your list. The airport's accessibility page lists it alongside ETHRA, but Knox County CAC's own ride guide restricts the service to residents of Knox County living outside the KAT service area. A visitor arriving at TYS is not eligible. The airport also shows its hours as 08:00 to 16:45 weekdays, which is CAC's reservations window; the vehicles themselves run 05:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 05:00 to 18:00 on Saturday.
• Gold Star Transportation, the third name on that page, is a private lift-equipped operator on 865-828-6450, weekdays 06:00 to 17:00, by reservation.

Rideshare: which door, and the hours it thins out

• Uber and Lyft both serve TYS. Each confirms it on its own McGhee Tyson page, and both let you lock a ride in up to 90 days ahead, which is worth doing here.
• Pick-up is on the lower level. The airport's instruction is to leave the terminal on the lower level and the rideshare area is directly to your right. Uber's own instruction matches: exit on the arrivals level and follow the signs from baggage claim to the rideshare pick-up area.
• The airport warns in writing that Ubers and Lyfts may not be available during off-peak hours and recommends arranging transport in advance. On a 05:00 departure or a late-evening arrival, take that seriously.

Taxis exist, but no price does

• Ten firms are licensed to work the airport and are listed with telephone numbers: 1-N-Only Airport Taxi (865-740-8026), AAA Taxi (865-970-0016), America Cab (865-771-8088), Benchmark Taxi (865-310-7047), Lightning Taxi (865-719-4330), OB's Taxi (865-388-1582), Omega Taxi (865-210-1490), Royal Taxi (865-936-3356), Sunday Taxi (865-518-1223) and Tennessee Transportation (865-242-9719).
• The rank is outside, on the north side of the terminal, reached from baggage claim, which is also where the hotel shuttles wait.
• No fare is published. The airport gives names and numbers and nothing else: no flag drop, no per-mile rate, no worked example to the city. Ask for the price to your destination before the boot is loaded, and the airport itself advises reserving in advance rather than hoping for a waiting cab.

Hotel shuttles, including one you can walk to

• Several Alcoa hotels beside the field run shuttles from the same north-side kerb, and the airport asks you to arrange it with the hotel in advance rather than assume.
• Hilton Knoxville Airport, 2001 Alcoa Highway, is on airport property and within walking distance of the terminal.
• Watch the hours on the rest: Hampton Inn Knoxville Airport runs 04:30 to midnight, Tru by Hilton 04:30 to 22:00, La Quinta 07:00 to 23:00. Best Western Knoxville Airport/Alcoa also provides a shuttle. The Tennessean Hotel is downtown, not at the airport.

The kerb is narrower than it was

• From 24 August 2026 until spring 2027 the left lane of the lower-level roadway, the one nearest the parking garage, is closed while a canopy is built between the new garage and the terminal.
• Kerbside parking on that level is not available during the works. It is a designated pick-up location only, and staff keep the traffic moving. The airport says the lane will reopen temporarily during peak holiday travel periods.
• Use the free Phone and Wait Lot behind the Airport Hilton, wait in the vehicle, and drive to the lower level only once your passenger has the bags. The lot is open 24 hours and unattended vehicles are not allowed.

Parking, where the airport contradicts itself

• Parking garage: 22 USD a day, closest to the terminal, covered, clearance 7 feet 2 inches.
• Terminal lots A and B: 16 USD a day, a short walk with no shuttle, clearance 7 feet 10 inches, and Lot B was showing as full.
• Economy Lot C: 13 USD a day since 1 July 2026, with a shuttle to the terminal every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. Economy Lot G is the overflow lot and was closed.
• Short stays are charged 1 USD per 20 minutes until the daily maximum is reached, and parking is paid on the way out, by cash or card.
• The airport's FAQ still says economy parking is 11 USD a day. Its parking map and its own June 2026 announcement both say 13 USD from 1 July 2026. The two pages disagree and 13 USD is the newer figure.
• Taller vehicles, buses and stays over 30 days must be arranged in advance with Republic Parking on 865-970-2749.

Allow more time than the size of the airport suggests

• TYS carries more than 3.3 million passengers a year, was the fastest-growing airport in the United States in 2024, and Southwest added five daily round trips from 5 March 2026. The terminal has not grown as fast as the traffic.
• The airport asks passengers to arrive at least 2.5 hours before departure, and says queues now regularly extend outside the checkpoint, which it states had not historically been necessary at TYS.
• The pressure points are 05:00 to 07:00, 11:00 to 13:00 and 16:00 to 18:00. A checkpoint expansion is designed but not built.
• Practicalities: customer service staff for wheelchair and additional assistance are on duty 05:00 to 19:00, the information booth in baggage claim is staffed 09:00 to 17:00, and hire car counters are on the lower level by baggage claim with returns on the first floor of the garage.
• The operator is the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, which also runs Downtown Island Airport; the airport opened in October 1937 and its administration line is 865-342-3000.