A campaign to rename Tennessee’s Nashville International Airport after country music icon Dolly Parton is quickly gaining momentum following her death at age 80 on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
A Change.org petition entitled “Rename Nashville International Airport to Dolly Parton International Airport” has gained over 100,000 additional signatures within 24 hours after Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death to the public.
The campaign was first started by Tennessee residents Lydia Popovich and Dan Dion on Jan. 21, 2025. At the time, the petitioners requested the facility be renamed Dolly Parton International Airport “to honor an icon who has given so much to our state and to the world.”
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Following the star’s death after a “brief battle with cancer,” the campaign was “reinvigorated.” As of the evening of Aug. 26, the petition has reached over 100,000 signatures.
“Since her passing, tens of thousands of additional supporters have visited and signed this petition. The outpouring of support has reinvigorated our mission,” Popovich and Dion wrote in a joint statement on Tuesday. “Dolly deserves to be remembered and celebrated. What a wonderful way to share her light and magic across Tennessee and the world.”
The campaign even caught the attention of one of the “Jolene” singer’s collaborators.
“People are talking about trying to get the Nashville airport, which I think is called BNA — I don’t even know what it stands for — to change to the Dolly Parton airport. Which I’m like, ‘Yes! I think we should,’ ” Nashville resident Sheryl Crow said in an interview with Katie Couric, published on Change.org’s official Instagram Tuesday. Crow, 64, and Emmylou Harris collaborated with Parton for her 2023 song “You’re No Good.”
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The petition also garnered support from Republican Tennessee State Rep. Todd Warner, who wrote in the comments, “Yes, I will definitely introduce legislation to rename the BNA airport Dolly Parton International Airport!”
In conversation with PEOPLE, Warner explains he filed legislation to rename Nashville’s airport after President Donald Trump last year. However, he had “so many people reach out” and suggested the facility be renamed after a Tennessean. After his initial bill failed to pass in committee, Warner set his sights on another public figure.
“Dolly was so good to this state. She cared about people,” Warner says. “What she has done for this state economically, what she’s done for country music— and she cared about children … Just a great person. We need more Dollys in the world.”
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While it would cost the state to rebrand and update signage, Warner says Tennessee has the money to do it. He pointed to its $1.2 billion revenue surplus from the end of the last fiscal year, which was reported on by local outlet WKRN.
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“I think it would pay a great tribute to Dolly and what she’s done for the state and the country itself,” Warner adds.
Russ Bradford, a Metropolitan Nashville Councilman, also supports the change, telling Axios Nashville that he has already reached out to Airport Authority board members to pursue the rebranding. However, he noted that the final decision must come from the board and would need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Nashville International Airport currently uses the airport code BNA, which stands for Berry Field Nashville Airport. The facility takes its name after World War I and World War II U.S. Army veteran Col. Harry Smith Berry, a Tennessee native who helped establish the airfield.

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