Nashville International Airport Smashes Record With 16 Million Passengers in 2018

Like a sonic boom, Nashville International Airport (BNA) smashed through its previous passenger record and today announced a new calendar year figure with nearly 16 million passengers served in 2018.

In 2018, 15,996,194 passengers traveled to and from BNA, an increase of more than 1.86 million passengers over the 2017 calendar year, representing a 13.2 percent increase, and setting a new, all-time passenger record for the sixth consecutive calendar year. 2018 was also the third calendar year in a row to add more than 1 million additional total passengers, and the first calendar year to exceed 1 million passengers in every month.

The airport is well into a dynamic, multi-year growth and expansion plan called BNA Vision, which will significantly build capacity to accommodate increasing passenger volumes. Upon its completion in 2023, BNA Vision will include additional parking, a new Concourse D, an expanded and renovated central terminal, an expanded security checkpoint, a state-of-the-art International Arrivals Facility, an airport administration building, an on-site hotel and possible future transit connection. Take a virtual 360-degree tour, view renderings and watch the BNA Vision video at BNAvision.com.

Watch our year-end video here.

BNA launched a number of new initiatives and services in 2018, including:

• Opening an expanded and upgraded interim International Arrivals Building (IAB);
• Breaking ground on the airport’s Concourse D and Terminal Wings expansion project;
• Opening a new terminal garage and dedicated ground transportation center;
• Kicking off a massive fill project to accommodate construction of a new International Arrivals Facility (IAF);
• Awarding design-build contracts for a new terminal garage and airport administrative building, and for the terminal lobby renovation and International Arrivals Facility (IAF) project;
• Expanding the security screening checkpoint to 14 screening lanes;
• British Airways’ inaugural nonstop flight from BNA to London’s Heathrow Airport (increasing to daily service beginning March 31, 2019);
• Frontier Airlines began new nonstop service to Trenton, N.J.;
• Southwest Airlines began nonstop service to Atlanta.; announced four new destinations for BNA — Oklahoma City, Okla.; San Jose, Calif.; Burbank, Calif.; Omaha, Neb. — and announced increased service to Boston, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, San Diego and St. Louis;
• The addition of Allegiant, which launched nonstop service to seven new destinations for BNA: Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Richmond, Va.; Savannah, Ga.; Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, Fla.; Tampa/St. Pete, Fla.; and Syracuse, N.Y.;
• The addition of Sun Country Airlines, which launched service to six new destinations for BNA: Fort Myers, Fla.; Miami, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; New Orleans, La.; and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.;
• Awarding a 10-year concessions contract to Fraport USA, initiating a transformation of BNA’s concessions program;
• And opening new concessions including Fat Bottom Brewing, 8^th & Roast Coffee Co. and Tennessee Whiskey House, and expanding the location for Yazoo Brewing.

Additional highlights in 2018 included:

• The appointment of Dr. A. Dexter Samuels as chair of the BNA Board of Commissioners;
• Breaking BNA’s monthly record for total number of passengers twice, with the current record of 1,538,312 passengers set in October 2018;
• Breaking single-day records for departing passengers screened through the security checkpoint six times with the current record of 28,550 screened passengers set on Nov. 12, 2018;
• Being ranked #4 among Large Airports in J.D. Power’s 2018 North America Airport Satisfaction Study
• And being named to Cheapism.com’s list of “The 16 Most Passenger-Friendly Airports in the WORLD” (one of only four U.S. airports to make the list).

BNA is currently served by 15 airlines and offers 460 daily flights. Nashville International Airport provides nonstop air service to more than 65 destinations.