Nashville’s airport authority broke ground Tuesday morning on the redevelopment of John C. Tune airport.
The airport sustained more than $90 million in damages during the March 2020 tornadoes that swept across Middle Tennessee. The National Weather Service classified the tornado that affected the airport as an EF-2, reaching 130 miles per hour.
No people were hurt, but 90 airplanes and 17 hangars were torn to pieces, and the facility’s infrastructure sustained major damage.
Amanda Farnsworth, the vice chair of the airport authority’s Board of Commissioners, says she views the redevelopment as an expansion on previous development.
“It’s a complete reimagining of the site and what we want to accomplish here,” she said at the groundbreaking. “Already the best and busiest of all of Tennessee’s [general aviation] airports, we are poised to take John C. Tune to the next level and beyond.”
Phase 1 of the redevelopment will include replacing storm-damaged buildings and adding new aviation facilities. These initial improvements will cost more than $34 million to complete. Metro officials hope to finish this first project by next summer.
As a general aviation airport, Tune doesn’t serve commercial passenger flights, but it does serve corporate and private aircrafts.
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