McGhee Tyson Airport is a public/military airport 12 miles south of Knoxville, in Alcoa, Tennessee. It is named for United States Navy pilot Charles McGhee Tyson, who was killed in World War I. Owned by the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, it is served by several major airlines and employs about 2,700 people. It is a 30-minute drive to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.