Tennessee Moves to Rename Nashville’s Airport for Dolly Parton

Tennessee governor Bill Lee has announced plans to rename Nashville International Airport in honour of Dolly Parton, days after the singer’s death at the age of 80. The proposal was made on 28 August alongside the airport authority, and the governor said he had already discussed the idea with representatives for Parton. Renaming a major commercial airport is a formal process rather than a gesture, requiring approval from the body that governs it. The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority governs the facility and would have to approve any change, which is why the proposal has been directed to its board rather than enacted by the state.

The idea did not begin this month. A petition created on Change.org in January 2025 calling for the airport to be renamed had gathered more than 155,000 signatures, and tens of thousands more have been added since Parton’s death, pushing the total past 164,000. A Tennessee state representative has separately said they intend to introduce legislation to rename the airport. What had been a long-running grassroots campaign has, within a week, acquired backing at the top of state government.

There is a procedural obstacle. The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority’s current naming policy states that airport properties should only be named for people who have been dead for at least two years, a waiting period designed to keep such decisions from being made in the immediate aftermath of a death. Honouring the proposal on any near-term timetable would require the authority to revisit that policy. The matter is due to be taken up at the authority’s meeting on 17 September.

For travellers, a renaming would change signage, announcements and eventually the airport’s public identity, though the three-letter code BNA, inherited from the old Berry Field name, would almost certainly stay. Airport renamings are common enough in the United States and rarely affect operations. What they do change is the first impression a city makes on arrival, which is precisely why Nashville, a city whose economy is bound up with its music history, is considering it. Airport codes are assigned by the International Air Transport Association and are rarely changed, since they are embedded in reservation systems, baggage tags and flight plans worldwide.

Sources: CNN, NBC News