Everything Inside BNA: A Music City Airport Guide

Nashville International Airport (BNA) is the busiest in Tennessee, and it has grown fast. It moved a record 24.8 million passengers in 2025, with more than 300 departures a day. Everything runs from one terminal and a single security checkpoint, so each gate is a walk away. No trains or shuttles are needed once you are past security.

The airport is also mid-makeover. The New Horizon program is reshaping it, with Concourse A under reconstruction and the central core reopening in December 2027. Here is what waits inside, from the gates to the hot chicken to a place to rest.

One Terminal, All on Foot

The Nashville Airport terminal is simpler than most big hubs. One building holds a single central security point, and the concourses branch off from there. Concourses B, C, and D cover most domestic gates. The Satellite Concourse holds many low-cost carriers, and the T-Gates serve international flights. Concourse A is closed for a full rebuild and is due back around 2028.

Just past security sits the BNA Marketplace, a central hub of shops, food, and live music. The TSA checkpoint opens daily at 3:30 a.m., which matters for the earliest departures. A terminal map and the flight boards point you to the right concourse.

The Airline Lineup, Concourse by Concourse

Close to twenty carriers fly from here, with nonstop flights to more than 90 cities. The airlines at Nashville International Airport are split across set concourses, so where you board depends on who you fly with.

• Southwest is the largest here, flying from Concourses C and D.
• American uses Concourse C and the T-Gates, while Delta and United fly from Concourse B.
• Low-cost carriers like Allegiant, Avelo, Contour, JetBlue, and Sun Country use the Satellite Concourse.
• International and select carriers fly from the T-Gates, including Aer Lingus, Air Canada, British Airways, Icelandair, and WestJet.

Check-in counters are divided into North and South ticketing, so confirm your airline’s hall ahead of arrival. Spirit Airlines has ceased operations and no longer flies here.

Eat Your Way Through Music City

Dining is where the terminal shows off, leaning hard on local names over chains. The Nashville International Airport restaurants lineup runs deep, and nearly all of it sits past security.

Concourse C is the largest food hall and the most regionally sourced. Hattie B’s and 400 Degrees cover hot chicken, Slim & Husky’s serves pizza, and Swett’s brings classic barbecue. Ole Red and Tootsies Orchid Lounge add honky-tonk food with live music.

Concourse B leans Nashville-focused too, with Pig Star by Peg Leg Porker barbecue, Little Harpeth Brewing, and Half Moon Empanadas. Concourse D adds Party Fowl, Puckett’s, New Heights Cantina, and The Southern Steak & Oyster. The A/B Rotunda holds Tennessee Brew Works and The Pharmacy Burger Parlor. Prince’s Hot Chicken, the dish’s birthplace, sits in the C/D Connector.

One note on hours: most kitchens follow the flight bank, opening around 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. and closing by mid-evening. Few run late, so red-eye and dawn flyers find fewer choices.

Souvenirs Worth Packing

Retail skews local and music-themed, which makes it a real souvenir stop. The BNA Airport stores cluster in the Marketplace, with more spread through the concourses.

• Music and gifts: the Country Music Hall of Fame store, The Opry Shop, Goo Goo Shop, and Nashville Jam Session.
• Fashion and books: Draper James, Johnston & Murphy, and Parnassus Books, co-owned by author Ann Patchett.
• Tennessee spirits: the Tennessee Whiskey Company and Whiskey Trailhead, with tastings from the Tennessee Whiskey Trail.
• Tech and basics: Brookstone, InMotion, and Hudson Nonstop, a grab-and-go shop with walk-out checkout.

The Galleria covers duty-free for international flyers, and several local news shops carry snacks and last-minute basics.

Where to Rest Between Flights

The terminal has a small set of lounges, so options depend on your airline or a paid pass. The main Nashville Airport lounge choices break down by access.

• Admirals Club: Concourse C, on the mezzanine between gates C14 and C16. It opens daily from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. A one-day pass includes food, drinks, a full bar, and Wi-Fi.
• Delta Sky Club: Concourse B near gate B3, recently expanded, for eligible Delta flyers and members.
• Minute Suites: Concourse D near gate D-3. Private suites rent by the hour for a nap or work, each with a daybed, a desk, a TV, and Wi-Fi. Open to anyone.

United does not run a club here. A larger Admirals Club is planned for the rebuilt Concourse A, later in the New Horizon expansion.

What to Remember

It reads simply once you know the layout. One terminal and one security point feed concourses B, C, D, the Satellite, and the T-Gates. The food is the standout, full of Music City names, and the shops lean local enough to cover your souvenirs.

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