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 AirlinesDC-2. On November 5, 1937, McKellar Field, now known as Tri-Cities Airport TN/VA, was dedicated by Senator Kenneth McKellar.[6]
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
Tri-Cities Airport covers 1,250 acres (506 ha) at an elevation of 1,519 feet (463 m). It has two asphaltrunways: 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]
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.
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