Fly to BNA

LAX is Los Angeles International airport, sure. JFK is John F. Kennedy airport in New York, obviously. DFW is Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, of course. But how, exactly, do the letters BNA represent the Nashville International Airport? It goes back more than 75 years, when commercial air transportation was new in many cities.

Although there were a few smaller airports in the Nashville area in the 1920s and 1930s, the first major Nashville airport was built on former farm land along Dixie Parkway, now known as Murfreesboro Road. Construction began in 1936 as one of the first major Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects in the area. It officially opened in the summer of 1937 with a parade, an air show and lots of fanfare. Two airlines – American and Eastern – operated DC-3s from three asphalt runways. The Tennessee administrator for the WPA who oversaw this $1.2 million project was Col. Harry Berry and this new airport was named Berry Field in his honor. In its first year, Berry Field served nearly 190,000 passengers.

A number of additions and updates took place, but it wasn't until the 1980s that a major renovation project was completed. That's when the current airport terminal was constructed and the main entrance was moved from Briley Parkway to I-40 at Donelson Pike. Again, the grand re-opening in 1987 was heralded with lots of hoopla and fanfare with American Airlines naming BNA as one of its hubs.

Today, (BNA's 75th Anniversary) there are 12 airlines servicing Nashville International Airport with Southwest Airlines boasting the largest presence. More than 380 flights come and go daily, transporting some 9.4 million passengers annually to nearly 70 locations throughout North America. There are also areas for live music performances, local restaurant locations and museum-like displays of fine art throughout all the terminals.

But what about those BNA letters? The International Air Transport Association assigns those three-letter codes and since the airport was originally named Berry Field, it was decided that BNA would be used as the moniker for Berry NAshville.