Nashville Airport Voted 6-0 to Put Dolly Parton's Name on It

Caption: Dolly Parton in a 1970 RCA publicity photo. Credit: RCA Records, Public Domain.

Nashville’s airport authority voted 6-0 Friday to begin changing the airport’s name in honor of Dolly Parton. The final name has not been chosen yet, but the decision puts her name on a path toward one of Tennessee’s most visible public gateways just weeks after her death.

The unusual part is not just the tribute. Nashville currently has two competing airport authorities because the city and state have been fighting over who controls the airport, yet officials on both sides support honoring Parton.

The Vote Was Unanimous

The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority voted unanimously on Sept. 11 to begin the renaming process.

The airport said the 6-0 vote is only the first step. Officials are working with other parties to decide exactly how Parton’s name will be incorporated, and more detailed plans are expected in the coming months.

Parton had resisted similar honors while she was alive. In 2021, when Tennessee lawmakers proposed putting a statue of her on the state Capitol grounds, she asked them to withdraw the idea and suggested it might be more appropriate someday after she was gone.

The Airport Fight Stopped at Dolly

The airport itself has been caught in a political dispute since 2023.

Tennessee’s Republican-led state government and Nashville’s Democratic-controlled city government each have competing airport boards, with courts repeatedly weighing which one has authority.

On the Dolly Parton question, however, they agree.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell supports the change, and a spokesman for the city-controlled authority told the Associated Press that both boards are expected to back putting Parton’s name on the airport.

More Than 175,000 People Had Already Asked for It

The idea was already circulating before Parton’s death.

A petition started by fan Lydia Popovich gained new momentum after Parton died on Aug. 25 and climbed past 175,000 signatures, according to the Associated Press.

That public push was followed by support from Tennessee officials and then Friday’s unanimous airport-board vote.

The Name Still Is Not Final

What travelers will eventually see on the airport has not been decided.

Airport officials said the renaming could take a year or longer. They are also working with Parton’s estate on details surrounding the change, including how merchandise connected with the new name could be handled.

The airport’s current code, BNA, is expected to remain in place even as the name changes.

For now, the important action is the vote itself: Nashville’s airport has formally started the process of putting Dolly Parton’s name on the place millions of travelers use to enter Music City.

References: GOP and Democratic officials in Nashville unite over renaming airport for Dolly Parton | MNAA Statement Following Sept. 11, 2026 Board Meeting