The state of Tennessee has announced plans to rename the Nashville International Airport after Dolly Parton following the death of the country legend earlier this week.
Both Governor Bill Lee and the Metro Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) are aligned on a proposal to rebrand the Music City hub (airport code BNA) in honor of Parton, with a September 17 meeting scheduled to plan the next steps.
“Dolly Parton’s extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,” Gov. Lee said in a statement. “From her rural mountain home in East Tennessee to global stages, Dolly carried the Volunteer Spirit with her. At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our state’s favorite daughter and greet travelers with the enduring legacy of Dolly’s music, generosity, faith, and kindness.”
“BNA is the front door to Music City, and with that comes a responsibility to reflect the very best of who we are as a community,” said Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority president and CEO Doug Kreulen added.
“Dolly’s remarkable legacy reminds us that what makes Nashville special is our ability to welcome people from every walk of life. She understood that dignity, kindness and opportunity should never be defined by where you come from or your socioeconomic status… That spirit is what defines BNA and it is a fitting reflection of the values Dolly shared with Tennessee and the world.”
If the name change happens, Parton would be only the second American musician — after Louis Armstrong in New Orleans — to have an airport named after them; the airport in Liverpool, England is named after John Lennon, while composers like Liszt, Mozart, and Chopin have airports in Budapest, Hungary, Salzburg, Austria, and Warsaw, Poland, respectively.
Parton would also become the first woman to have an American airport named after them. It’s unclear if Nashville’s airport code — BNA, a nod to the airport’s original name Berry Field plus Nashville Airport — will also change if its renamed to honor Parton.
