Nashville International Airport

Nashville International Airport
IATA: BNA ICAO: KBNA FAA LID: BNA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Operator	Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA)
Serves	Nashville, Tennessee
Focus city for	Southwest Airlines
Elevation AMSL	599 ft / 183 m
Coordinates	36°07′36″N 086°40′55″W
Website	www.flynashville.com
Map
BNA BNA
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 2L/20R 7,704 2,348 Concrete 2C/20C 8,001 2,439 Concrete 2R/20L 8,001 2,439 Concrete 13/31 11,030 3,362 Concrete
Statistics (2018)
Total passengers 15,996,194 Aircraft operations 218,546 Economic impact $7.1 billion
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Nashville International Airport (IATA: BNA, ICAO: KBNA, FAA LID: BNA) is a public/military airport in the southeastern section of Nashville, Tennessee. Established in 1937, its original name was Berry Field, from which its ICAO and IATA identifiers are derived. The current terminal was built in 1987, and the airport took its current name in 1988. Nashville International Airport has four runways and covers 3,900 acres (1,600 ha).

The airport is served by 20 airlines and has 585 daily arriving and departing flights with nonstop flights to more than 72 cities in North America and Europe. Berry Field Air National Guard Base is located at Nashville International Airport. The base is home to the 118th Airlift Wing and is the headquarters of the Tennessee Air National Guard.

History

Origins

File:Berry Field Administration.jpg

Eastward view of Berry Field's original administration building

Nashville's first airport was Hampton Field, which operated until 1921. It was replaced by Blackwood Field in the Hermitage community, which operated between 1921 and 1928. The first airlines to serve Nashville, American Airlines and Eastern Air Lines, flew out of Sky Harbor Airport in nearby Rutherford County.

By 1935 the need for an airport larger and closer to the city than Sky Harbor Airport was realized and a citizens' committee was organized by mayor Hilary Howse to choose a location. A 340-acre (1.4 km²) plot along Dixie Parkway (now Murfreesboro Road) composed of four farms was selected, and construction began in 1936 as one of the first major Works Progress Administration projects in the area. The airport was dedicated on November 1, 1936, as Berry Field, named after Col. Harry S. Berry, the Tennessee administrator for the Works Progress Administration. It opened in June 1937 with much fanfare, including parades, an air show, and an aerial bombardment display by the 105th Aero Squadron, which was based at the field. Passenger service began in mid-July through American Airlines and Eastern Airlines, both of which operated Douglas DC-3s. The new airport had three asphalt runways, a three-story passenger terminal, a control tower, two hangars and a beacon, and was built at a cost of $1.2 million. In its first year Berry Field served 189,000 passengers.

Bob Hoover, one of the greatest pilots ever, learned to fly at Berry Field.

Tennessee National Guard facilities at Berry Field during World War 2.

During World War II, the airfield was requisitioned by the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command as the headquarters for the 4th Ferrying Command for movement of new aircraft overseas. During this time, the Federal government expanded the airport to 1,500 acres (6.1 km²). At the end of the war, the airport was returned to the control of the city, with a number of facilities remaining for support of the tenant unit of the Tennessee National Guard.

The airport had been enlarged by the military during World War II, but in 1958 the City Aviation Department started planning to expand and modernize the airport. The first scheduled jets were American 720/720Bs in 1961, the same year a new 145,000 square feet (13,500 m²) terminal opened off of Briley Parkway, west of runway 2L. For the first time more than half a million people passed through the airport when the six airlines that served Nashville carried 532,790 passengers. These renovations also included expansion of an existing runway, with 2L/20R being extended by 600 feet (180 m), and the construction of a new crosswind runway, 13/31. In 1962 Nashville became the first municipal airport in the United States with a public reading room when the Nashville Public Library opened a branch inside the terminal.

Hub years

By the 1970s the airport was again in need of expansion and modernization. In 1973 the newly created Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) finalized a plan for the long-term growth of the airport; the plan included a new terminal and a new parallel runway across Donelson Pike to increase capacity by reducing time between takeoffs and landings.

In the early 1980s the MNAA commissioned Robert Lamb Hart, in association with the firm of Gresham, Smith and Partners, to design a modern terminal; construction began in 1984 and was completed in 1987. It had three main concourses and a smaller commuter concourse radiating from a distinctive three-story atrium. An international wing was built in Concourse A; the airport was renamed Nashville International Airport/Berry Field. It is now rare to see the "Berry Field" portion used, but the airport's IATA code (BNA) is short for Berry Field Nashville, and the military facilities at the airport are still commonly known by this name. In 1989 a new parallel runway (2R/20L) was opened for use.

American Airlines announced in 1985 that it would establish a hub at Nashville, and it officially opened in 1986. The hub was intended to compete with Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines and Piedmont Airlines for north–south traffic in the eastern United States. Besides providing nonstop flights to many cities in the U.S. and Canada, American also operated a transatlantic flight from Nashville to London. The American hub was touted as a selling point in bringing companies such as Nissan and Saturn Corporation to the Nashville area. Nonetheless, the hub operated at a loss even during its heyday in the early 1990s, like the similarly sized hub American had at Raleigh/Durham.

American's service peaked in 1993 with 265 daily departures to 79 cities, after which flights were gradually scaled back until the hub closed in December 1995. American cited the aftermath of the early 1990s recession and the lack of local passengers as reasons for the closure.

Recent history

In the aftermath of the hub closure, Southwest Airlines gradually filled the void by subleasing American's gates and seizing a majority of the Nashville market. Southwest continues to dominate the airport to this day.

In 2002 Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services (EAMS) selected Nashville as the location for its Regional Airline Support Facility, which was built on the site of the demolished 1961 terminal building.

In October 2006 the Nashville Metropolitan Airport Authority started an extensive renovation of the terminal building, designed by Architectural Alliance of Minneapolis and Thomas, Miller & Partners, PLLC of Nashville, the first since the terminal opened 19 years prior. Phase one of the project involved updating and expanding food and vending services, improving flight information systems, and construction of a new consolidated security checkpoint for all terminals. Phase one was completed in 2009. Phase two of the project involved the expansion of the ticketing and check-in areas, the construction and renovation of bathrooms, and the renovation of the baggage claim areas. Completion of the second phase of the renovation project was completed in 2011. These renovations bring the total size of the terminal building to over 1,000,000-square-foot (93,000 m²). In addition to the terminal renovation and expansion, the renovations included expanding parking and a new rental car facility. The renovated terminal was named the Robert C. H. Mathews Jr. Terminal in honor of a MNAA board chair in 2011.

In addition to passenger amenities in the terminal and parking areas, the renovations included improvements to the airport's infrastructure. The largest project was the complete demolition and rebuilding of Runway 2L/20R, which was completed in August 2010. In addition to the rebuilding of Runway 2L/20R, Runway 2C/20C was closed from September through December 2010 for pavement and concrete rehabilitation. BNA's 91 acres (0.37 km²) of tarmac were also rehabilitated during this project after being funded entirely by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allotments.

Since 2011, Nashville has been experiencing major growth in both passenger numbers and new service. Total passengers reached a record 10.3 million in 2013, which surpassed the record set during the peak of the American Airlines hub in the early 1990s. On June 13, 2017, Nashville International Airport was named the fastest growing airport of its size and awarded the Airport Traffic Growth Award from anna.aero, an industry news and analysis organization. The award recognizes BNA's 11.2 percent growth in passenger traffic in 2016 in the mid-sized airport category (5 million – 20 million annual passengers).

In August 2017, British Airways announced nonstop service between Nashville and London, which began on May 4, 2018. This marked the return of transatlantic service at BNA for the first time since 1995, when American ended their London flight.

Future

As the number of passengers using BNA continues to rise, MNAA leadership has a stated goal of adding more nonstop destinations, increasing cargo service, and adding more international flights. To accommodate the projected growth, the Metro Nashville Airport Authority has commenced a $1.2 billion renovation of the airport dubbed as BNA Vision. Major projects in the vision include expanding and reopening Concourse D, constructing a new international arrivals facility, expanding/renovating the central lobby/ticketing hall and building new parking garages. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2023.

Additionally, the airport is updating its master plan to accommodate further growth beyond BNA Vision. Future projects proposed in the master plan update include expanding Concourses A and D, lengthening runway 2L/20R to better accommodate long haul flights and the construction of a second terminal.

Facilities

Terminal

Interior of the terminal

Concourse C

The Robert C. H. Mathews Jr. Terminal is the airport's main commercial terminal. It consists of three floors with ground transportation on the first, baggage claim services on the second; and ticketing, passenger drop off, and concourse access on the third. There are 42 gates in the three concourses in use. These concourses are connected by a large hub that contains a unified security checkpoint located in the main section of the terminal. International flights are currently processed in Concourse A, which contains the airport's customs facility.

• Concourse A contains 7 gates
• Concourse B contains 13 gates
• Concourse C contains 22 gates
• Concourse D is undergoing an expansion that will add six new gates, and is set to reopen in 2020.

American operates a Admirals Club in Concourse C, while Delta operates a Sky Club in Concourse B.

Runways

Nashville International Airport has four runways, three of which are parallel with one crosswind. The crosswind runway, 13/31, is the longest of the four at 11,030 feet (3,360 m). The most recent improvement was to runway 2L/20R, the primary outbound runway under the airport's Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System. It was completely rebuilt with concrete recycling techniques that prevented having to bring in large amounts of fresh concrete to the site, with construction ending in early 2011.

Runway	Length (ft)	Length (m)	Width (ft)	Width (m)	Notes
2L/20R	7,704	2,348	150	46	Instrument landing system (ILS) equipped
2C/20C	8,001	2,439	150	46	Instrument landing system (ILS) equipped
2R/20L	8,001	2,439	150	46	Instrument landing system (ILS) equipped
13/31	11,030	3,360	150	46	Instrument landing system (ILS) equipped on Runway 31

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines serve the following destinations at Nashville International Airport.

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations	Refs
Air Canada	Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson
Air Canada Express	Toronto–Pearson
Alaska Airlines	Seattle/Tacoma Seasonal: San Francisco
Allegiant Air	Grand Rapids, Punta Gorda (FL), Richmond, Sarasota, St. Petersburg/Clearwater Seasonal: Allentown, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Cleveland, Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Fayetteville/Bentonville, Harrisburg, Myrtle Beach, Orlando/Sanford, Savannah, Syracuse
American Airlines	Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington–National Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare
American Eagle	Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York–JFK, New York–LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Washington–National
British Airways	London–Heathrow
Contour Airlines	Tupelo (MS)
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta, Boston (begins May 1, 2020), Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma Seasonal: Cancún
Delta Connection	Boston, New York–JFK, New York–LaGuardia, Raleigh/Durham Seasonal: Orlando
Frontier Airlines	Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Philadelphia Seasonal: Fort Myers, Trenton
JetBlue	Boston, Fort Lauderdale
Southern Airways Express	Memphis
Southwest Airlines	Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo (begins October 5, 2019), Charleston (SC), Charlotte, Chicago–Midway, Cleveland, Columbus–Glenn, Dallas–Love, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston–Hobby, Jacksonville (FL), Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Orleans, New York–LaGuardia, Newark (ends November 3, 2019), Oakland, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Panama City (FL), Pensacola, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham, San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose (CA), St. Louis, Tampa, Washington–National Seasonal: Burbank, Cancún, Fort Myers, Norfolk, Omaha, Seattle/Tacoma
Spirit Airlines	Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando (all begin October 10, 2019), Tampa (begins November 5, 2019)
Sun Country Airlines	Minneapolis/St. Paul Seasonal: Los Angeles, Portland (OR), Providence (ends October 28, 2019)
United Airlines	Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, Newark, San Francisco, Washington–Dulles
United Express	Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, Newark, Washington–Dulles
WestJet	Seasonal: Calgary
WestJet Encore	Toronto–Pearson

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations	Refs
DHL Aviation	Cincinnati, Memphis, Miami
FedEx Express	Greensboro, Indianapolis, Memphis, Newark

Statistics

Annual traffic

Annual passenger traffic at BNA
2002-Present

Year	Passengers		Year	Passengers
2002	8,041,020		2012	9,834,627
2003	7,981,178		2013	10,351,709
2004	8,666,724		2014	11,039,634
2005	9,232,541		2015	11,673,633
2006	9,663,386		2016	12,979,803
2007	9,876,524		2017	14,134,448
2008	9,396,043		2018	15,996,194
2009	8,936,860		2019	5,648,437 (YTD)
2010	8,338,980		2020
2011	8,836,633		2021

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from BNA (April 2018 – March 2019)

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Atlanta, Georgia	568,450	Delta, Southwest
2	Denver, Colorado	345,680	Frontier, Southwest, United
3	Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas	334,470	American
4	Charlotte, North Carolina	324,990	American, Southwest
5	Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois	309,090	American, Frontier, United
6	New York–LaGuardia, New York	302,870	American, Delta, Southwest
7	Los Angeles, California	292,710	American, Delta, Southwest, Sun Country
8	Detroit, Michigan	266,770	Delta, Southwest
9	Orlando, Florida	260,690	Delta, Frontier, Southwest
10	Boston, Massachusetts	260,380	Delta, JetBlue, Southwest

Airline market share

Largest Airlines at BNA (April 2018 – March 2019)

Rank	Airline	Passengers	Share
1	Southwest Airlines	8,554,000	53.98%
2	Delta Air Lines	1,762,000	11.12%
3	American Airlines	1,568,000	9.90%
4	SkyWest Airlines	882,000	5.57%
5	United Airlines	697,000	4.40%
6	Other	2,385,000	15.05%

Military facilities

Berry Field Air National Guard Base (ANGB) is located on the premises of Nashville International Airport. Since 1937 it has hosted the 118th Airlift Wing (AW). Berry Field faced the removal of its flying mission with the BRAC 2005 recommendation to realign its assets to other units. It initially averted this fate by taking on a new role as the C-130 International Training Center. The C-130s assigned to the unit were eventually transferred and the 118th AW became the 118th Wing, supporting unmanned aircraft operations.

Approximately 1,500 personnel are assigned to both HQ, Tennessee Air National Guard and to the 118 AW at Berry ANGB. Approximately 400 are full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technician (ART) personnel, augmented by approximately 1100 traditional part-time air guardsmen.

Accidents and incidents

• On October 15, 1943, American Airlines Flight 63, a Douglas DC-3, crashed near Centerville en route to Memphis after departing Nashville due to atmospheric icing on the aircraft's carburetors and wings. All 11 passengers and crew were killed. This accident remains to this day the deadliest accident related to BNA.
• On September 28, 1963, an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-7 crashed on landing after the aircraft's nose gear collapsed. All 45 passengers and crew survived.
• On May 31, 1985, a Gulfstream I crashed immediately after takeoff due to failure of the left engine. Both people on board were killed.
• On January 29, 1996, a United States Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter crashed shortly after takeoff. The jet struck a housing development and erupted into a fireball, killing the pilot and four individuals on the ground.
• On September 9, 1999, a TWA McDonnell Douglas DC-9 suffered a landing gear collapse after a hard touchdown. All 46 passengers and crew survived.
• On October 29, 2013, a Cessna 172R departing from Windsor International Airport in Windsor, Ontario, Canada deviated from its declared destination of Pelee Island Airport, flew south to Nashville, and circled the airport for two hours before crashing on Runway 2C and bursting into flames, killing the sole occupant. The burned wreckage went unnoticed for nearly six hours, as it had been obscured by dense fog, before being spotted by another general aviation aircraft. The NTSB investigation of the crash determined that the pilot, Michael Callin, was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Additionally, he falsely listed singer Taylor Swift as his next of kin, and had written letters with signs of stalking to her, leading investigators to believe that he flew to Nashville to stalk her.
• On September 19, 2014, NetJets Flight 322, an Embraer Phenom 300 arriving from Nashville International Airport, slid off the runway at Lone Star Executive Airport (IATA: CXO) in Conroe, Texas. The area had recently been inundated by the remains of Hurricane Odile. Neither the pilot nor co-pilot were hurt.
• On December 15, 2015, Southwest Airlines Flight 31, a Boeing 737-300, from Houston, Texas, exited the taxiway and rolled into a ditch shortly after arriving into Nashville as the airplane was entering the terminal ramp. All 138 passengers and crew were safely evacuated from the plane and bussed into the airport.

See also

• Tennessee World War II Army Airfields

External links

• Nashville International Airport, official site
• Nashville International (BNA) at Tennessee DOT airport directory
• Aerial image as of March 1997 from USGS The National Map
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective November 28, 2024
• FAA Terminal Procedures for BNA, effective November 28, 2024
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KBNA
  • ASN accident history for BNA
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KBNA
  • FAA current BNA delay information