Dolly Parton Is Getting Her Own Airport
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
Nashville International Airport is to be renamed in honour of Dolly Parton, after the city's Airport Authority board voted unanimously to approve the change, News Channel 5 reports. The decision, confirmed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, completes a renaming campaign that had already begun before Parton's recent death at the age of 80, underlining her enduring importance to Nashville and country music.
A new name for the airport has not yet been announced, though it will retain its existing three-letter code, BNA, taken from original builder Col. Harry S. Berry. To permit the renaming, the Airport Authority reportedly had to amend a policy requiring a person to have been dead for two years before an airport could be named after them. Parton is also due to receive a posthumous honour from the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce next week.
- Nashville's airport to be renamed after Dolly Parton
- Board vote was unanimous; new name still unannounced
- Airport keeps BNA code; further honour due next week
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Nashville International Airport, one of the busiest in the American South, has been approved for renaming in tribute to Dolly Parton, the singer, actor and businesswoman who died recently aged 80. Parton was born and built much of her career in Tennessee, and is closely associated with Nashville as the heart of the country music industry.
The renaming was agreed unanimously by the city's Airport Authority board and confirmed by Tennessee's governor. It extends a campaign to honour Parton that was already under way before her death, and required officials to waive a rule normally requiring someone to have been dead for two years before an airport could bear their name. The airport's official three-letter code, BNA, will stay the same, and a new full name has yet to be announced.
Full account
Nashville International Airport is to be renamed in tribute to Dolly Parton, following a unanimous vote by the board of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA). All six board members backed the move, which the authority has described as the first step in a longer rebranding process rather than a finished decision. A precise new name has not yet been settled, with officials saying they are still working out how best to weave Parton's name and legacy into the airport's identity, and that firmer plans should emerge over the coming months.
The vote followed an announcement by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in late August, shortly after Parton's death at the age of 80, that the state intended to honour her by renaming the airport. Lee said at the time that her life was deeply bound up with Tennessee's identity, and that it was fitting for the airport welcoming visitors to the state to carry the name of a figure so closely associated with its music and character. Doug Kreulen, the MNAA's president and chief executive, echoed this, framing the renaming as a recognition of the openness and generosity of spirit he said Parton embodied. Notably, the board's decision came earlier than expected: the matter had not been due for consideration until 17 September.
The renaming brings to fruition a campaign that predates Parton's death. A Change.org petition calling for the airport to be named after her was launched more than a year earlier by two Tennessee residents, and had already been gathering signatures before receiving a fresh surge of support in the past fortnight. Its organisers argued that her charitable work, her standing in music and the affection she inspired made her a fitting namesake, and suggested the change would let travellers be, as they put it, "departing from Parton."
Practical details of the switch remain to be finalised, though the airport's three-letter identifier, BNA — a nod to Colonel Harry S. Berry, one of its original builders — is expected to stay in place regardless of the new name. One report also noted that the airport authority had to revise an existing rule requiring a person to have been dead for two years before a facility could be named after them, in order to allow the tribute to proceed so soon after Parton's passing. Parton is also due to receive a separate posthumous honour from the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce in the coming days.
Where outlets differ
One outlet (News Channel 5, via the aggregator report) highlights a procedural detail — that the airport authority had to amend a policy requiring a two-year waiting period after death before naming a facility for someone — which the other report omits entirely.
That same report also mentions the retained BNA airport code and its origin (Colonel Harry S. Berry), and a forthcoming separate honour from the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce; neither appears in the fuller wire-style account.
The second, more detailed report gives far more context: it quotes Governor Lee's and Doug Kreulen's statements directly, notes the vote was 6-0 and came earlier than the scheduled 17 September hearing, and traces the renaming push back to a Change.org petition started over a year before Parton's death, including its original wording.
The first report frames the story briefly around the announcement and vote outcome, while the second frames it as an ongoing, multi-stage process with no final name yet agreed, emphasising that the MNAA statement stressed this is only 'the first step.'
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