Busier Than Ever: Nashville’s Airport Sets Another Record in 2014

Nashville Airport’s new flight to Oakland, starting June 7, will depart around 2 p.m. daily. Credit: Emily Siner / WPLN

More travelers than ever passed through Nashville International Airport last year. The jump in traffic comes as the airport’s largest carrier continues to add flights.

Southwest Airlines already controls 55 percent of the market in Nashville and last October, direct Southwest flights between here and Dallas finally became a reality. The Metro Nashville Airport Authority says those flights, along with expanded service to Washington D.C. and vacation spots in Mexico, contributed to the record-setting year.

Over 11 million people flew into or out of BNA last year, breaking the record established just a year before. The third highest total dates back to 1993 when the airport was an American Airlines hub.

The airport set a single-day passenger record in June at the conclusion of the CMA Music Festival when more than 20,000 people made their way through the airport.

Nashville is one of several airports across the country noting an increase in passengers in 2014. Globally, air travelers spent $30 billion more than the year before.