Which Airport Serves Nashville?

February 19, 2026

Nashville is served by Nashville International Airport, code BNA, located in the southeastern corner of the city off Murfreesboro Pike. One airport, one terminal, no confusion about which one to book.

The code BNA stands for Berry Field Nashville. The airport was originally named Berry Field when it opened in 1937, named after Colonel Harry S. Berry, the Tennessee administrator for the Works Progress Administration that built it. The name changed to Nashville International Airport in 1988, but the code stayed, and so did the military presence. BNA is technically a joint civil-military facility, sharing the property with the Tennessee Air National Guard.

Size and Scale

BNA has grown faster than almost anyone anticipated. In 2013, it handled 10.6 million passengers. By fiscal year 2024-25, that number hit 24.7 million, a record. June 22, 2024 became the busiest single day in the airport’s history, with 110,000 passengers moving through the terminal. The airport now serves 114 nonstop destinations.

That growth is why you keep hearing about construction at BNA. The first major expansion, called BNA Vision, wrapped up in early 2024 after years of work. The current program, New Horizon, is a $3 billion expansion plan designed to get the airport to 40 million annual passengers. Concourse D opened July 1, 2025. Concourse A is closed for reconstruction and is expected to reopen in 2028 with 16 additional gates.

Right now, BNA has one terminal with five concourses, four of which are operational, and 53 gates. All uncleared international arrivals are processed through Concourse T.

International Flights

BNA is not a major international hub, but it is no longer limited to domestic routes either. International nonstop service exists to London Heathrow (British Airways), Canada (Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver), Mexico (Cancun), and Ireland (Dublin via Aer Lingus). Icelandair has also added service. In winter the international schedule thins considerably, so check current schedules if that matters to your trip.

The Airlines

Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier at BNA and has been for years. It accounts for a large share of total seats and opened a crew base at the airport in May 2024. American, Delta, and United fill out most of the remaining capacity. Allegiant, Avelo, Alaska, and several others also serve BNA. The airport estimates about 600 daily flight operations, meaning 300 departures and 300 arrivals on an average day.

Getting There from Downtown

BNA sits roughly 8 miles southeast of downtown Nashville. Under normal conditions, driving takes 15 to 20 minutes. During weekday rush hour, especially on I-40 eastbound in the late afternoon, that can stretch to 40 minutes. If you are catching an early morning flight on a weekday, time is on your side. If you are trying to make a 5pm departure on a Thursday, budget more.

Uber and Lyft are the most common ways to get to and from the airport for visitors. Budget $25 to $40 from downtown depending on surge pricing and time of day. There is no direct rail connection to the airport despite years of discussion. The WeGo Star commuter train that terminates downtown does not extend to BNA.

What to Know About the Terminal

The terminal is officially named the Robert C. H. Mathews Jr. Terminal. The new Grand Lobby opened in 2023 as part of BNA Vision and is the most visually impressive part of the airport, with large-scale art installations and a significantly expanded security checkpoint area with 24 TSA lanes. The pedestrian bridge connecting the garage to the terminal is covered and about 695 feet long, which matters when it is raining or 95 degrees outside.

Security wait times have improved since the Grand Lobby expansion, but BNA still gets congested on peak travel days. The airport recommends arriving two hours before your flight. On busy summer weekends or holiday travel days, that is not excessive.

The cell phone lot is located at 1415 Murfreesboro Pike and is free. If you are picking someone up, use it instead of circling the terminal loop, which gets chaotic when flights bank together.

Sources

  • Nashville International Airport (BNA) Wikipedia article
  • Nashville International Airport official site, flynashville.com
  • BNA FY2023 annual passenger record press release, flynashville.com, July 2023
  • Nashville Post, “Airport sets passenger record,” January 2025
  • Nashville Post, “BNA announces record passenger number,” August 2025
  • Air Service One, “Nashville welcomes almost 22m passengers,” August 2023
  • BNA Vision program overview, bnavisionnashville.com

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