Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Nashville International Airport (KBNA) is a major Class C civil and military field in southeastern Nashville, Tennessee, home to a large commercial hub, general aviation traffic, cargo operations and the Tennessee Air National Guard's Joint Base Berry Field. For the visiting simulator pilot it offers four substantial hard-surfaced runways, a full ATC service and an interesting mix of airline, cargo and military movements.
Nashville International Airport, known by its historic name Berry Field and still carrying the IATA code BNA in reference to it, is the principal airport serving Nashville, Tennessee, and the busiest in the state. It combines a large commercial passenger operation with general aviation, cargo traffic and a resident Air National Guard wing, making it a busy and varied destination for a simulator pilot flying into the southeastern United States.
KBNA lies in the southeastern part of the city of Nashville, Tennessee, and sits within Class C controlled airspace reflecting its status as a major air carrier airport. It is served by its own approach and departure control, tower and ground frequencies, and shares its site with Joint Base Berry Field, home to the 118th Wing and the 1/230th Air Cavalry Squadron of the Tennessee Army National Guard.
Nashville International has four physical runways, all hard-surfaced and lit. The longest, 13/31, runs to roughly 10,220-10,280 feet, with an ILS on runway 31. Three parallel north-south runways complete the layout: 02R/20L at 7,994 feet with ILS on both 02R and 20L, 02C/20C at 7,993 feet with ILS on 02C, and 02L/20R at 7,696 feet. The airfield sits at an elevation of 568 feet.
Pilots can expect a full suite of ATC services at KBNA. Approach control operates on 120.6 MHz and departure on 118.4 MHz, with the tower on 118.6 MHz and ground on 121.9 MHz. Clearance delivery is available, and ATIS broadcasts on 135.1 MHz. A UNICOM frequency of 122.95 MHz and a miscellaneous frequency of 138.1 MHz are also listed, along with an Air National Guard operations frequency of 32.29 MHz and an associated radio frequency of 122.2 MHz. Instrument approaches are available, with ILS equipment fitted to runways 31, 02R, 20L and 02C.
As a Class C, air-traffic-controlled airport with three parallel runways and one crossing runway, arriving and departing traffic at KBNA is sequenced by approach, tower and ground control rather than by a traditional visual circuit. The airport's tower and approach control provide standard separation between VFR aircraft flying practice instrument approaches and other traffic under their control, and pilots should expect to be worked into a complex flow across the parallel runway system and the associated taxiway network serving the terminals, FBOs and cargo ramps on all sides of the field.
Nashville's aviation history began at Hampton Field, followed by Blackwood Field in the Hermitage community, before early airline service moved to Sky Harbor Airport in nearby Rutherford County. As the city outgrew that site, a citizens' committee organised by mayor Hilary Ewing Howse selected a 340-acre plot along what is now Murfreesboro Pike, and construction began in 1936 as one of the area's first major Works Progress Administration projects. The airport was dedicated on 1 November 1936 as Berry Field, named after Col. Harry S. Berry, and opened in June 1937 with an air show and an aerial bombardment display by the resident 105th Aero Squadron. Passenger services began that July with American Airlines and Eastern Air Lines flying Douglas DC-3s, and the new field had three asphalt runways, a three-storey terminal, a control tower, two hangars and a beacon. During the Second World War the airfield was requisitioned by the US Army Air Forces Air Transport Command as headquarters for the 4th Ferrying Command, and the government expanded the site to 1,500 acres before returning it to city control after the war, with facilities retained for the Tennessee National Guard. A new terminal opened in 1961 alongside the first jet services, and runway 2L/20R was extended while a new crosswind runway, 13/31, was built. In 1962 Nashville became the first municipal airport in the United States to house a public library reading room. Long-term growth plans from the newly formed Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority led to a new terminal, designed by Robert Lamb Hart with Gresham, Smith and Partners, built between 1984 and 1987 on the opposite side of the crossing runways; an international wing followed in Concourse A and the airport was renamed Nashville International Airport/Berry Field, though the Berry Field name persists in the BNA code and in reference to the airport's military facilities.
Nashville International today handles a substantial mix of air carrier, general aviation, cargo and military traffic, with three parallel runways and one intersecting runway served by a complex taxiway system linking terminals, FBOs and cargo ramps on all sides of the airport. It remains home to Joint Base Berry Field and the Tennessee Air National Guard's 118th Wing alongside its civil operations, and continues to be the busiest airport in Tennessee by a wide margin.
