The Tennessean
Hadley Hitson
29 June 2026
The small group of businesspeople and pilots that govern Nashville International Airport aren't planning for tomorrow. They're planning for Nashville in 2050.
The imminent projects at BNA include: replacing an outdated air traffic control tower, much needed runway renovations and a heavily desired runway expansion to make any Asia nonstop flights possible, all while leaving room for the incoming Terminal II and working with the Federal Aviation Administration to follow proper guidelines.
Nashville airport currently has four operational runways, and three of them require upgrades in the near future.
The most urgent is runway 2C/20C. It is 31 years old, and according to FAA data, the expected life of runways at large hub airports is 20 years.
The next is runway 2L/20R, which is designated in airport plans as the runway MNAA wants to extend by about 3,500 feet and utilize for longer distance nonstop flights...
Then comes runway 13/31... that the FAA currently has designated for BNA's new air traffic control tower... if the FAA decides BNA is next, 13/31 would be shut down.
In a worst-case scenario, Kreulen said all three of these projects could intersect and leave BNA with just one operable runway...
