Plane flies over Nashville to promote a petition for “Parton International Airport”
Plane flies a banner for the “Parton International Airport” petition on Friday, Aug. 28.
On your next flight to or from Nashville, you might be arriving or “D. Parton” from the Dolly Parton International Airport.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and the Nashville International Airport (BNA) announced Aug. 28 they are pushing to name airport after the country music legend.
Born and raised in Tennessee where she spent much of her life, Parton died Aug. 25 after a short battle with cancer. She was 80.
“Gov. Lee spoke with Dolly’s team about the proposal this week,” Lee’s office said in a statement sent to the USA TODAY Network. “Her team expressed their appreciation for the extraordinary outpouring of support to honor Dolly and said they are touched by the idea and open to continuing the conversation.”
Lee said Parton’s unique enduring legacy as a great musician, philanthropist and role model is one of special pride for the state.
“Dolly Parton’s extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,” Lee said. “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.”
On the morning of Aug. 28, a plane towing a banner urging the renaming the airport after Parton buzzed over the Tennessee State Capitol in downtown Nashville.
The aircraft was paid for by online petition platform Change.org and it directed onlookers to sign a petition to support the renaming. The effort to name the airport after Parton began last year and collected tens of thousands of signatures in support.
“Everybody is looking for a way to honor Dolly and her legacy,” petition organizer Dan Dion said. “Our airport is so important, and there’s symbolism in flying into Parton Airport. With Dolly’s message of love, acceptance, music, kindness, humor and all these things, people feel that she is representative of what Tennessee truly is.”
Nashville Airport Authority to discuss change next month
The Metro Nashville Airport Authority will address current policy that bars them from naming the airport after Parton at their Sept. 17 meeting.
Current policy allows airport facilities to be named only for people who have been dead at least two years and who made significant contributions to the airport authority or aviation in Middle Tennessee.
The campaign to rename Nashville International Airport after Dolly Parton began in January 2025, when Dion and comedian Lydia Popovich launched an online petition as state lawmakers considered a proposal to rename BNA for President Donald Trump. Dion said the effort was not intended as a political statement.
“It wasn’t an explicitly anti-Trump thing,” Dion said. “It was always pro-Dolly, and still continues to be.”
What started as a grassroots effort quickly gained momentum, eventually drawing national attention and reaching Parton herself.
“I think that’s probably more of a joke than anything,” Parton said, in an exclusive conversation with The Tennessean on Jan. 28, 2025, at Belmont University in Nashville. “I mean, it does sound like a lot of fun to say: ‘Your flight is departin’ from Nashville’s D. Parton.'”
Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@tennessean.com. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.