A plane towing a banner urging the renaming of Nashville International Airport after Dolly Parton buzzed over the Tennessee State Capitol just after 8 a.m. Friday, Aug. 28, three days after the country music icon's death.
The aircraft, paid for by online petition platform Change.org, circled around Music City for more than two hours, directing thousands of onlookers below tosign the Change.org petition to support the name change.
"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."
How Donald Trump airport renaming push shifted to Dolly Parton
Dion started the online petition in January 2025 with comedian Lydia Popovich around the same time a proposed bill to rebrand BNA as Donald Trump International Airport was making its way through the state legislature.
"It wasn’t an explicitly anti-Trump thing," Dion said. "It was always pro-Dolly, and still continues to be."
Before they knew it, the movement grew so large that it reached Parton's ears, and she couldn't believe thousands of people actually wanted to put her name on the airport. Popovich had plans to meet Parton at one of her December 2026 Las Vegas shows and tell her just how serious Tennesseans were about their renaming campaign, but she never got the chance. Parton canceled the residency earlier this year due to her ongoing health issues.
Now, Dion said he and Popovich want the flyover to underscore widespread commitment to the campaign.
Following Parton's death on Aug. 25, Dion said they weren't at all surprised by renewed interest in their position. After about a year of garnering signatures, momentum plateaued around 50,000. Within 72 hours after the Parton family announced that she had died, that number shot up to nearly 150,000.
"It shows how much of a groundswell there is around this," Dion said.
Moreover, lawmakers have begun to get involved. State Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, committed on Aug. 26 to introducing a bill as soon as he can.
Dolly Parton International Airport renaming push hits snag
Still, Parton may not qualify to have her name put on the terminal, according to Nashville International Airport policy. Current policy parameters require that roads and buildings only be named for "individuals who have been deceased at least two years by the time of the proposed naming and who have made a substantial personal contribution to the MNAA and/or the field of aviation in Middle Tennessee."
But an airport governing policy is not a good enough answer for a lot of the supporters of this campaign. Shortly after The Tennessean published the airport statement, dozens of online Instagram comments urged the airport to simply change its policy.
But if Warner introduces the bill and it succeeds, state law would take precedence over airport policy.
"Yes I will definitely introduce legislation to rename the BNA airport Dolly Parton International Airport," Warner said in a statement.
Metro Nashville Councilmember Russ Bradford also released plans for his own local resolution urging the Metro Nashville Airport Authority to consider the name change.
"From her philanthropic work through the Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library, to putting Nashville on the map for millions of visitors around the world, few people have done more to define what this city means to the rest of the world," Bradford said. "Renaming BNA in her honor would be a fitting tribute to someone whose generosity and hometown pride have never wavered."
To sign the petition,visit Change.org.
Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work,subscribe to The Tennessean.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: A bird? A plane? Dolly Parton Airport banner takes to Nashville skies
