Tennessee lawmaker backs bill to rename Nashville airport for Dolly Parton

A campaign to rename Nashville International Airport (BNA) after Dolly Parton has picked up new momentum following the singer's death this week at age 80. A petition started by two Nashville residents earlier in 2025 had drawn only a few thousand signatures before her death. Organizers said support jumped to more than 90,000 by Wednesday.

State representative Todd Warner has said he intends to introduce legislation to rename the airport Dolly Parton International Airport, according to a comment he made through the petition platform Change.org. Petition organizers described Warner as the first local politician to publicly back the change.

The effort has a complicated backstory. According to reporting cited in coverage of the petition, organizers began their push in 2025 partly in response to earlier legislation from Warner that sought to rename the airport after President Donald Trump. That bill was withdrawn about a month after it was filed, following opposition from other Nashville-area lawmakers. Warner reportedly acknowledged it failed in a transportation committee.

The naming push echoes a similar move in Florida, where officials renamed Palm Beach International Airport after Trump earlier this year, changing its designator from KPBI to KDJT.

No formal bill to rename Nashville's airport for Parton had been filed as of the latest reporting. Any change would require action by state lawmakers. The airport, formally known as Nashville International Airport, serves the greater Nashville area under the code BNA.