Nominate a service member by Nov. 29 for one of five free round-trip tickets to Savannah from Savannah/Hilton Head International. Rules, eligibility and dates.

Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport will give five active-duty service members a free round-trip flight home for the holidays. Nominations for its Home for the Holidays program opened Sunday and close at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29.

Family and friends can nominate a service member, and service members can nominate themselves. Each nomination is a letter of at least 300 words explaining why the service member should be picked. The details are from the airport’s official 2026 contest rules.

The airport runs the program with the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, WTOC and iHeart Radio Savannah. The airport called last year’s contest its 11th annual.

Who can be nominated

The rules set these conditions:

  • active duty or a full-time guard member
  • rank E6 or below
  • eligible for leave
  • able to travel between Dec. 4, 2026, and Feb. 17, 2027

A service member who cannot travel in that window loses eligibility. Only one entry per service member per household is allowed.

Employees of the Savannah Airport Commission and people who work at the airport cannot enter. Neither can their immediate families.

Where entrants must live

The program is open to residents of the airport’s service area, which the rules define as 26 counties:

  • Georgia: Appling, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham, Effingham, Emanuel, Glynn, Jenkins, Jeff Davis, Liberty, McIntosh, Montgomery, Pierce, Screven, Telfair, Treutlen, Wayne and Wheeler
  • South Carolina: Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper

What the winners get

Each winner receives one round-trip economy ticket to Savannah from wherever they are stationed. A service member stationed in the Savannah area gets a round trip from Savannah instead. The trips can be domestic or international.

A committee reads every letter. It picks winners on emotional appeal, the family’s story and the service member’s ability to travel in the window. The airport said winners will be chosen by Thursday, Dec. 3, and announced at the airport and on WTOC.

Tickets cannot be transferred or exchanged for cash. Winners must show military identification before they accept the prize.

What it means for you

If someone in your family is serving away from home and fits the rules, you have until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29, to write the letter. Submit it through the online form on the airport’s Home for the Holidays page.

Write at least 300 words. The rules say the committee weighs the family story, so say why this trip matters this year. Check the travel dates with the service member before you send it.

Planning more of the season? See our guides to the Veterans Day parade and holiday lights and Christmas events.