Economy Lot C

Half the price of the garage, 1 mile from the terminal

Economy Lot C at TYS is the on-airport budget move when you’d rather pay around half of what the Main Terminal garage costs and don’t mind a 1-mile shuttle ride. Airport rates list this remote, uncovered surface lot at $11 per day, with $1 charged for every 20 minutes until you hit the daily max, so it starts to win hard once you’re gone more than a day or two.

The lot sits off the main airport loop, about 1 mile from the Main Terminal, and uses a 24/7 shuttle that’s advertised every 15 minutes. One reviewer said the bus “runs pretty regularly and got us to the terminal in just a few minutes,” which lines up with the posted timing. The shuttle is listed as ADA-compliant, so chair users and anyone with mobility issues can board without drama.

Figure an extra 15 minutes on the front end for the shuttle and you’re fine; a regular who parks here early in the morning says they just bake that into their routine and call the lot “basic but fine.” Multiple parking guides that roll up user scores put the TYS economy option north of 4★ out of 5 and flag it as the clear value play versus the terminal lots and garage.

Watch out for slightly longer waits on very early departures; a few reviewers mention the “every 15 minutes” shuttle feels more like a soft promise around 4–5 a.m., so don’t cut it close for a 6:00 a.m. Main Terminal departure. Frequent TYS flyers usually switch to Economy Lot C for trips longer than “a couple of days,” then eat the extra cost of the closer options only on same-day or overnight turns. Practical move: for a morning flight, aim to enter the lot a full 45–60 minutes before you want to be at the Main Terminal check-in line.