Nashville's Airport Is Going to Officially Bear Dolly Parton's Name

Less than three weeks after Dolly Parton died, Nashville International Airport is on its way to becoming Dolly Parton International Airport.

The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority board voted 6-0 on September 11 to begin the formal process of renaming the airport in her honor — a unanimous decision that reflects both the city's grief and its determination to do something lasting with it.

"Today, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority voted unanimously, 6-0, to begin the process of modifying the airport's name in honor of Dolly Parton," the board said in a statement. "While a final name has not yet been determined, we are working closely with the appropriate parties to thoughtfully determine how Dolly Parton's name and legacy will be incorporated."

The vote is, as the board put it, "the first step in a multifaceted process." The exact wording of the new name, the cost of the change, and the implementation timeline will all be worked out in the coming months. More definitive plans are expected before the end of the year.

Parton, who died August 25 at 80 after a brief battle with cancer, will become the first woman whose name adorns one of America's 50 busiest airports.

The Push Started Before She Died

The idea of renaming Nashville's airport for Dolly Parton predates her death by more than a year. A petition launched in January 2025 — while Parton was still alive — had already gathered over 175,000 signatures by the time the board voted. The petition's rallying cry was impossible to resist: "We could all be Departin' from Parton!"

When Parton herself was asked about the possibility in a January 2025 interview with The Tennessean, she treated it lightly. "I think that's probably more of a joke than anything," she said. "I mean, it does sound like a lot of fun to say: 'Your flight is departin' from Parton!'"

After her death, the proposal gathered support from across the political spectrum — something genuinely rare for any initiative in Tennessee. Republican Governor Bill Lee announced just days after her passing that he had already spoken with Parton's team and was partnering with the airport authority to pursue the renaming. "Dolly Parton's extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state," Lee said. "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."

Nashville's Democratic Mayor Freddie O'Connell was equally enthusiastic. "Dolly was in the process of working with us on a remarkable hotel and museum — SongTeller — that she called her love letter to Nashville," he said. "Now it's our turn to share a love letter to Dolly."

The One Complication

There's a small procedural wrinkle the airport authority will need to address. Its current naming policy generally requires that airport properties be named after people who have been dead for at least two years. Since Parton died just weeks ago, the board will need to either grant an exception or formally revise the policy before the new name can be finalized.

Nobody seems particularly troubled by this. The 6-0 vote and the 175,000-signature petition suggest the community has already made its feelings clear — this isn't a close call.

The Competition Nashville Defeated

The bipartisan unity around renaming the airport for Dolly Parton is especially striking given what came before it. In March, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted down — on a bipartisan basis — a bill that would have renamed Nashville's airport after President Donald Trump. That proposal failed to advance. The Dolly Parton proposal cleared its first major hurdle without a single dissenting vote.

Parton's sister Stella, appearing on CBS Mornings earlier this week, said she thinks the renaming is "a great idea" — then added a joke that summarized what a lot of Tennesseans are probably feeling. Given that someone else keeps naming things after themselves, she said, why not rename "the whole country the United States of Dolly Parton?"

Departin' from Parton. It's going to happen.

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