BNA Traffic Statement | Updated Sept. 30, 2025

On September 15, Nashville International Airport® (BNA®) experienced an unprecedented traffic event that caused significant congestion and inconvenience for our passengers. We want to take this opportunity to share our commitment to addressing this matter directly and transparently. Our goal is to prevent an event of this magnitude from occurring again. The attached initial report is the first step in improving this process.

UPDATE Sept. 16, 2025: The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) is continuing to conduct a comprehensive review of the unprecedented traffic congestion that occurred yesterday, Sept. 15, at Nashville International Airport® (BNA®). Preliminary findings indicate that the delays were the result of several concurrent factors.

We extend our sincere appreciation to our passengers, partners, and the Nashville community for their patience and understanding. MNAA remains fully committed to ensuring the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of BNA and will continue to take proactive measures to safeguard the travel experience for all who rely on our airport.

UPDATE 11:16 p.m., Sept. 15: Traffic volume and flow have returned to normal based on 70,000 departing and arriving passengers (average day at BNA). We’d like to thank our BNA passengers, employees and partners for their patience and understanding during today’s unexpected traffic event. Our Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority leadership team will conduct an after-action review to identify root causes, lessons learned and develop a corrective action plan to prevent this from occurring again. Thanks for your understanding.

Thank you to our Department of Public Safety, Airport Operations, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and Tennessee Highway Patrol for supporting us during this unexpected event.

UPDATE 7:55 p.m. Sept. 15: Thank you for your patience and understanding as our team continues to assess and monitor the ongoing traffic event at BNA. While we have seen improvements, we know the high passenger volume is continuing to impact traffic. Our team is working diligently, and we are continuing to monitor and respond to the situation.
UPDATE 5:47 p.m. Sept. 15: The Department of Public Safety and Airport Operations are seeing a significant improvement in traffic volume, and we are continuing to assist with navigating the area. The Metro Police Department and Tennessee Highway Patrol responded and are assisting our Team with traffic management. We are working diligently through this situation. Again, thank you for your patience and understanding.
Sept. 15: Due to high passenger volume, the roadways at BNA are experiencing considerable heavy traffic for a reason that has yet to be determined. We have reached out to the Metro Nashville Police Department and Tennessee State Highway Patrol to assist with traffic management, and we are waiting for them to respond. Staff are onsite working diligently to alleviate congestion during this time by deploying additional officers and Airport Operations staff to direct traffic on our roadways. Thank you for your patience and understanding.