Blountville, TN—Tri-Cities Regional Airport received several complaints about parking associated with the McCain political rally held Monday. Although the Airport was not the event organizer, the Airport was able to make several parking options available on short notice, including free parking in the fields and roadways surrounding the Airport. Limited parking was also made available in the public lots; however, the public lots were required to remain as paid parking in order to make sure spaces were available for passengers.

"There was a tremendous turnout for the event, and parking was definitely an issue," said Patrick Wilson, TCRA executive director. "This was a very short-notice event. Given the Airport’s staffing levels and facilities, we did our best to assist with the overwhelming crowd. Unfortunately, our facilities are not designed for so many people leaving at one time and people parked in the public lots experienced an unusual delay when exiting. We are sorry for the inconvenience some may have experienced, but we did our best to accommodate as many people as possible under the circumstances."

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