(KNOXVILLE, Tenn.) SMOKIES.LIVE – Southwest Airlines landed in Knoxville on Thursday bringing the first official flight of passengers from Nashville to the Great Smoky Mountains.
The flight arrived with special guests on what has been decades in the making to bring more affordable options to McGee Tyson Airport.
The first departing flight for Southwest was at 1:20 p.m. bound for Orlando.
Leaders from the Great Smoky Mountain communities were on hand and say they believe this will bring a whole new market of passengers to the Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville area.
“We are very excited about the new ventures from Southwest Airlines to our area. Local tourism leaders have been working on bringing Southwest to the great Smoky Mountains area for decades,” said Chad Netherland with the Gatlinburg CVB. “It’s exciting for Gatlinburg because it’s an opportunity for more visitors to experience all the many things there are to do here as well as opportunities for first time visitors who have never been.”
Leon Downey, the Tourism Director for Pigeon Forge was on hand listening and watching as the first flight landed and Governor Bill Lee welcomed Southwest officially to Knoxville.
“WOW! It’s going to allow us to bring even more guests to our area from other areas that didn’t have an opportunity to do so on the nation’s largest carrier,” Downey said. “Definitely having Southwest in TYS will bring it more visitors from Texas and we can’t wait to have them in the Smokies!”
In Sevierville, they’ve already noticed a change in visitors looking for information As the Gateway City to the Smokies millions of visitor drive through each year, Sevierville says the millions who’ll now fly have already started requesting information about the destination.
“We are already seeing uptick in interest from these new markets and expect that will continue as these new routes become established and the residents in those markets become more familiar with our destination,” said Amanda Marr with the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. “The addition of Southwest Airlines flights into Knoxville opens up Sevierville and the Smoky Mountains to even more markets. Currently over 90% of our guests arrive by personal car and most come from a 300 mile radius. The addition of flights like these give us the opportunity to reach markets that are further away to generate more opportunities for our tourism industry to grow.”
Southwest officials said they expect to add more flights as service to Knoxville grows.
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