Uber / Lyft · About 30 minutes to downtown Knoxville in official copy
Where they are
One map, pinned from each airport’s published coordinates.
Category scores
Overall is the published weighted sum. A highlighted score is ahead; a tie stays plain.
Ease of use
25% · Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
AVL8.4+0.1
TYS8.3
Comfort & amenities
20% · Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
AVL7.4+0.2
TYS7.2
Food & retail
15% · Food and retail quality and variety.
AVL7.2+0.2
TYS7.0
Ground access
15% · Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
AVL7.6+1.2
TYS6.4
Reliability
15% · Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
AVL7.0+0.6
TYS6.4
Lounges
10% · Worth-it density and access quality.
AVL2.0
TYS2.0
Best for
AVL
Western North Carolina trips that can skip CLT and GSPOvernight parkers who will take the $12 shuttle lotDomestic departures that can follow the official 2-hour / 4:00 a.m. TSA clock
TYS
Smokies / East Tennessee trips that want one TSA and a short walkSouthwest and Allegiant leisure nonstopsDrivers who will use Economy $13 or the free Phone & Wait lot
Watch out for
AVL
No passenger lounge — do not buy a third-party Escape AVL passSome gates still ground-board during AVL ForwardRide-app pickup is in Shuttle Lot A, not at the bags door2019 Blue Ridge Tavern / Gates 1–7 photos are historicAllegiant AUS / HOU / PHX rows still carry 2025 suspension leftovers
TYS
Morning and late-afternoon TSA queues that spill outside the checkpointNo passenger lounge and no public bus to KnoxvilleGarage / roadway construction through summer 2027FAQ still says Southwest “starts March 2026” and Economy $11 — both leftover
Amenities and tips
AVL
One temporary TSA from 4:00 a.m.; official clock is 2 hoursNo passenger loungeFive named airside kitchens; vending landsideWi-Fi SSID I Fly AVL!; fillers in bags and airsideMother’s room and family restrooms on the North ConcourseShuttle lot $12; ART S3 $1; Apple Country free through June 2027
Arrive 2 hours — TSA opens at 4:00 a.m.
Homepage travel alert: two hours before scheduled boarding. Security FAQ: two hours before the original departure; checkpoint closes 15 minutes before the last scheduled departure.
New North Concourse; some gates still ground-board
Ticket lobby, temporary TSA, and North Concourse opened in 2025. Partial bags and rental counters opened in 2026. Phase 2 is still building the rest of the terminal.
Eat after TSA: five named concepts
Official in-the-terminal card: Jimmy John’s, Tropical Smoothie Café, Aletitude, The Goods@AVL, and Costa Coffee — all post-security. Hours follow the first and last boarding times.
TYS
One-terminal walkAirside food courtFree Wi-Fi and chair chargingMamava and family restroomsNo passenger lounge
One checkpoint, and it now overflows
Official pages describe one TSA, not two. Arrive 2.5 hours on the 5–7 a.m. bank until the Flight Plan checkpoint expansion is actually open.
One building, 12 gates, Gate 13 not open yet
After the single checkpoint you can walk the whole sterile concourse. Wrong gate is a walk, not a reclear.
Eat after TSA — landside is a gift shop
Official pages put every kitchen past security. If you have not cleared TSA, Travelmart is the only named landside shop.
AVL · Asheville put 2,240,877 people through a civil field mid-rebuild in 2025: easy when you use the two-hour clock, eat after TSA, and accept there is still no lounge while AVL Forward finishes.
TYS · A one-terminal East Tennessee field that just ran 3.63 million passengers through a building sized for 2.6 million: easy to learn, no lounge, no bus, and a checkpoint that now overflows on the 5 a.m. bank.
