{"id":583582,"date":"2026-08-29T02:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T02:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/583582\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T02:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T02:24:11","slug":"push-to-rename-us-airport-for-dolly-parton-gets-boost-from-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/583582\/","title":{"rendered":"Push to rename US airport for Dolly Parton gets boost from governor"},"content":{"rendered":"

A push by fans to rename Nashville’s airport for Dolly Parton appears to be taking flight just days after the country music icon’s death.<\/p>\n

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority both came out in favour of the name change Friday. It’s expected to come up at the authority’s meeting next month.<\/p>\n

Long before 80-year-old Parton died this week<\/a>, fans in January 2025 started an online petition calling for officials to rename Nashville International Airport in her honour. It got renewed attention following Parton’s death, jumping to more than 155,000 signatures Friday.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A plane flies over Nashville, Tenn., towing a banner reading \u201cchange.org\/DollyPartonAirport\u201d as part of an effort to rename the airport after Dolly Parton, Friday, August 28, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The change would make Parton the first woman whose name adorns one of America’s 50 busiest airports.<\/p>\n

The governor said he\u2019s already discussed the idea with representatives for Parton.<\/p>\n

“At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our state\u2019s favourite daughter and greet travellers with the enduring legacy of Dolly\u2019s music, generosity, faith, and kindness,” Lee said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Born in poverty in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Parton became an icon whose popularity crossed generational, geographic and political boundaries. In addition to writing and recording hit songs<\/a> such as Jolene and I Will Always Love You, she starred in Hollywood films including 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias.<\/p>\n

\"Flowers,<\/p>\n

Flowers, cards and balloons are seen at a memorial outside the home of the late Dolly Parton, Thursday, August 27, 2026, in Brentwood, Tennessee. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

A number of American airports bear the names of beloved celebrities, from Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. New Orleans’ airport was renamed for jazz icon Louis Armstrong in 2001.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of US airports named for a person honour men. Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, is one exception. Another is Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport in Atchison, Kansas.<\/p>\n

Putting Parton’s name on the Nashville airport could require its governing authority to revisit its policy for such honours, which states that airport properties should only be named for people who have been dead for at least two years.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s office said his proposal and the naming policy will be discussed by the airport authority at its meeting September 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A push by fans to rename Nashville’s airport for Dolly Parton appears to be taking flight just days…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583583,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[156,157,111,139,64,69],"class_list":["post-583582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-north-america","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}