08/28/2026
❤️
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Nashville International Airport just announced their intent to name BNA in honor of Dolly Parton, in partnership with the Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library.
The governor’s office said Lee spoke with Dolly’s team about the proposal this week. Her team said they are touched by the idea, grateful for the extraordinary outpouring of support, and open to continuing the conversation. The office added that her team believes she still has a special way of bringing people together for good.
Lee’s 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.”
What happens next: the airport authority’s naming policy and the proposal are expected to be addressed at the MNAA board meeting on September 17. The name has not changed yet, and the authority has not detailed cost or timing. When a rebrand was studied last year, the figure came to 10.34 million dollars.
And remember where this started. In January 2025, two Nashville residents, a comedian and a photographer, posted a petition because they believed Dolly better represented Tennessee to the world. In 19 months it gathered around 50,000 signatures. By Thursday it had reached about 140,000, roughly 90,000 of them added since her death on Tuesday. And now, the Governor of Tennessee and the airport itself have put their names behind the idea.
Dolly used to joke about it herself, imagining the announcement: your flight is departin’ from Nashville’s D. Parton.
