Peter Greenberg: Alternate Atlanta Airports

Thanks.

 

Unlike Greater New York, Los Angeles, and many other major metropolitan areas, Atlanta is dominated by a single major airport, Hartsfield-Jackson, and there isn't an obvious alternative.

 

The closest alternate airports to Atlanta include Chattanooga, Nashville, or Knoxville, Tenn., Birmingham, Ala., and Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., but none of those are particularly close. The closest, Chattanooga, Tenn., is about a two-hour drive from Atlanta, while Birmingham, Ala., and Greenville, S.C., are about two and a half hours away. Nashville, Tenn., which is among the busiest of the Atlanta alternatives, is about four hours away.

 

However, one of the biggest problems with Atlanta's alternative airports is that they tend to be expensive. In fact, over the past year, Greenville-Spartanburg and Knoxville had the largest fare increases of any of the 100 airports measured by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

 

So if you're looking for a cheaper alternative, you're not going to find it close to Atlanta. The only one of the airports listed where fares are significantly lower than Atlanta is Nashville, according to the BTS.

 

But if you're looking for a less busy alternative, any of the airports listed above would fit the bill.