Updated
Updated · WPLN · Aug 28
Dolly Parton Airport Push Tops 100,000 New Signatures as Nashville Rename Faces 2028 Earliest
Updated
Updated · WPLN · Aug 28

Dolly Parton Airport Push Tops 100,000 New Signatures as Nashville Rename Faces 2028 Earliest

3 articles · Updated · WPLN · Aug 28

Summary

  • More than 100,000 signatures were added in under 48 hours after Dolly Parton’s death to a petition to rename Nashville’s BNA as Dolly Parton International.
  • 2028 is the earliest any official renaming could happen because Metro Nashville Airport Authority policy bars naming property for someone until two years after death.
  • Todd Warner, the Tennessee lawmaker whose Trump airport renaming proposal failed, said he would introduce legislation for Parton, while a Metro council member plans a city resolution backing the idea.
  • Roughly $10 million was the estimated cost when lawmakers last examined a BNA renaming, a hurdle for an airport already spending heavily to expand runway capacity for international service.
  • Airport policy still requires honorees to have made a substantial contribution to the authority or Middle Tennessee aviation, leaving unclear whether Parton would qualify without an exception.

Insights

Could a mandatory two-year waiting period ground the massive public push for a Dolly Parton International Airport?
How will officials justify spending over $10 million to rebrand a major airport for a legend with no aviation ties?