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Airport and ETAC awarded $500,000 Grant

February, 2010

AIRPORT and ETAC AWARDED $500,000 DOT GRANT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—  The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (MKAA) and East Tennesseans for Airfare Competition received notification on February 18, 2010 from the Department of Transportation (DOT) that a Small Community Air Service Development Grant had been awarded to the airport in the amount of $500,000.  The MKAA and ETAC applied for the grant in 2009.

Out of the 84 communities that submitted grant proposals, the DOT awarded just nineteen grants.  The total amount awarded across the nineteen communities was $6,445,450.  The grant received by ETAC and MKAA will aid in the community’s efforts in trying to bring additional low-fare service to the region’s most demanded markets from McGhee Tyson Airport.

“The Small Community Air Service Development Grant Program is highly competitive, with many worthy communities submitting proposals,” said Kirk Huddleston, Chairman of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority Board of Commissioners.  “Without the support of our leaders in Washington, the State of Tennessee and our regional leaders and partners, this grant award would not have been possible.”

“We would like to thank Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Bob Corker, Representative John J. Duncan, Jr., Representative Zach Wamp and Representative Lincoln Davis, Governor Phil Bredesen, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Susan Whitaker, Knoxville City Mayor Bill Haslam, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, the Knoxville City Council and the Knox County Commission, Chambers of Commerce, and the business community.”