Tennessee officials are pushing to rename Nashville International Airport for Dolly Parton, with the proposal headed to the airport's governing board as commissioners consider whether to revise a naming rule that currently requires a two-year waiting period.
Gov. Bill Lee and Nashville International Airport announced the effort Friday, three days after Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80. The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority is expected to address the proposal and its naming policy at a Sept. 17 meeting.
Under the authority's current rules, an airport facility may be named for an individual who has been dead for at least two years and made a substantial personal contribution to the airport authority or aviation in Middle Tennessee. The policy means the board would need to change its requirements if it wants to move forward with a Parton naming before August 2028.
The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority operates Nashville International Airport, known by its BNA airport code, and its Board of Commissioners controls the formal naming process. Commissioners can amend the policy by resolution, giving the board a way to change the waiting period or other requirements as it considers the proposal.
That process is the key step in determining whether the push becomes an official airport name change. Lee's support gives the effort backing from Tennessee's governor, while final action rests with the authority responsible for operating the airport and setting its naming rules.
Lee said he discussed the idea with Parton's team before the announcement. Her representatives expressed appreciation for the support and were open to continuing the conversation, according to the governor's office.
“Dolly Parton's extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,” Lee said, citing her impact on Tennessee through music, business and philanthropy.
Airport President and CEO Doug Kreulen also endorsed the proposal, describing BNA as the “front door to Music City” and pointing to Parton's connection to Nashville and Tennessee.
Public support for a Dolly Parton airport began before her death. A petition launched in January 2025 calling for the airport to become Dolly Parton International Airport gained new attention this week and had collected more than 150,000 signatures by Friday. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has also backed the effort.
Parton was born in Sevier County, Tennessee, and built a career that made her one of the best-known figures in country music. Her ties to the state also include Dollywood and the Imagination Library, the children's literacy program she founded in Tennessee in 1995 that later expanded internationally.
Renaming BNA would put Parton among a small group of major American cultural figures honored through airport names, including Louis Armstrong in New Orleans and Muhammad Ali in Louisville.
If the proposal is approved, Parton would also become the first woman whose name is attached to one of the 50 busiest airports in the United States.
The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority's Sept. 17 meeting is expected to clarify whether commissioners will change the existing naming policy and how the proposal to rename Nashville International Airport for Dolly Parton will proceed.
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