the Governor of Tennessee announced plans to rename Nashville International Airport (BNA) in honor of Dolly Parton in the wake of the resurgence of interest since her death and a fresh fan petition, but the process started about in Jan 2025

The Metro Nashville Airport Authority will address its naming policy and Lee’s proposal at its Sept. 17 meeting.

The proposal follows legions of fans signatures on a petition to rename BNA as Dolly Parton International Airport. The petition had grown to about 160,000 signatures this week.

Dolly won 10 Grammy's, and sold around 100 million records worldwide, and is known as the favorite daughter of Tennessee... it's just a damn shame this wasn't done a decade ago so she'd know how much she's been appreciated, in the way that few musicians have, as only Louis Armstrong has had an international airport named for him. 

The airport has already leaned into celebrating the city’s roster of music stars and celebrities, featuring outposts of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Grand Ole Opry and some downtown music venues.

Hindering the positive outlook of this effort are the longstanding rules of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, which oversees the airport and controls its name.

The rules currently prohibit naming any property after a person who has not been dead for at least two years. The policy also dictates that the honoree should have contributed to aviation in Tennessee or made a “substantial personal contribution” to the airport authority.

That's why the Governor is focusing on changing the rules, not simply forcing a name change. 

Another hinderance are whether Tennessee politics will add to the bureaucratic tangle: Local and state leaders are battling over who oversees the airport, so, too much damn stiff neck ego in play to do a good thing for a good reason out of admiration for someone that no one can say a bad thing about

But because the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly approved a law this year giving the state power over major municipal airports, resulting in Nashville leaders getting their buttons pushed, and they felt they must challenge the law and refused to recognize the state-controlled authority.

At least one state senator, Jessie Seal, also a Republican, has proposed legislation naming Sept. 25 as “9 to 5” Day, in honor of Parton’s famous anthem.

This could result in the only airport named for a woman, who had nothing significant to do with aviation. I vote to make this happen pronto. FEW have EVER earned as mush admiration as Dolly Parton

https://www.wsmv.com/2026/08/28/gov-bill-lee-bna-announce-plan-name-nashville-airport-honor-dolly-parton/

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/dolly-parton-international-airport-fans-say-yes-but-the-rules-are-tricky/

https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2026/8/28/gov--lee-announces-partnership-to-name-nashville-international-airport-in-honor-of-dolly-parton.html

at an international airport, the signage must be as simple and clear as possible, but really, “ARRIVALS” and “D-PARTONS” should happen.

Lansing, Illinois is going to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Henry Ford's airplane hangar that produced Ford Tri-Motor airplanes, and connected Ford's Chicago manufacturing plants with the automaker's facilities in Dearborn

https://fordauthority.com/2026/07/illinois-village-to-celebrate-ford-hangars-100th-anniversary

your feel good story for the week - James Blair, a U.S. Navy veteran who has spent the last two decades working at John Wayne Airport, was seen limping across the airport tarmac

plans to continue working, as he has for as long as he can remember, so that he can pay for his 90-year-old mother's hospice care.

 He was recorded limping, visibly struggling, by a woman traveler who knew that someone in that position shouldn't have to continue putting so much wear on themselves. 

 So she started a fund raiser, and the GoFundMe raised more than $170,000 for him

 https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/john-wayne-airport-employee-go-fund-me-fundraiser-mother-hospice-care/

Posted because it's awesome, it's charity, and it's an airport. I post all three of those things

the New York Times reports that the FAA is making a recruiting push aimed at avid video game players to fill a national shortage of air traffic controllers. (or, they could simply off to pay them a lot more money to get more applicants!)

The FAA’s new campaign aims to reach young adults who possess useful skills that are transferable to a career in air traffic control, including:

Demonstrated high cognitive functions
Multitasking
Spatial awareness
Strategy and problem-solving

With only about 25 percent of controllers holding a traditional college degree, this effort is focused on reaching talented young people pursuing alternative career paths, many of whom are active in gaming. Feedback from controller exit interviews reinforces this, with several controllers pointing to gaming as an influence on their ability to think quickly, stay focused, and manage complexity. Approximately 65 percent, more than 200 million, of Americans regularly play video games.

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-and-federal-aviation-administration-unveil

https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/the-faa-is-making-a-recruiting-push-aimed-at-avid-video-game-players-as-the-trum/1350828856899574/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/us/politics/air-traffic-controller-gamer.html

https://fortune.com/2026/04/13/why-is-faa-recruiting-gamers-air-traffic-controller-shortage/

one step closer to a terminator robot... but - is this also one step closer to robots being used as bomb defusers, deep sea welders, and other high dollar and high danger work (but it's not likely, as human labor is often dirt cheap... robots like this will never clean hotels)

Japan Airlines will introduce the robots for trial run at a Tokyo airport amid country’s surge in inbound tourism and worsening labour shortages, with a view to deploying them permanently as a solution to the country’s chronic labour shortage.

The Chinese-made humanoids will move travelers' luggage and cargo on the tarmac at Haneda, which handles more than 60 million passengers a year.

The president of JAL Ground Service, Yoshiteru Suzuki, said using robots to perform physically demanding work would “inevitably reduce the burden on workers and provide significant benefits to employees”, according to the Kyodo news agency.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/28/humanoid-robots-baggage-handlers-japan-airports

news flash... LaGuardia ATC has got a lot of explaining to do

2 pilots of Air Canada dead, the airliner collided with a fire fighting vehicle

The pilot and copilot of the Air Canada plane were killed, and 41 passengers and crew members, some with serious injuries, were taken to local hospitals. Of those injured, 32 have since been released

The fire truck was traveling across the runway to respond to a separate incident on board a United Airlines flight that reported an odor issue. Moments before the crash, audio of an air traffic controller revealed that they gave clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac. Moments later, a controller can be heard saying, “Stop, stop, stop, truck 1 stop, truck 1, stop.”

Later in the audio transmission, a distraught controller is heard saying, “We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.”

Preliminary data show that the Air Canada plane was traveling between 93 and 105 mph when it collided with the fire truck

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/2-pilots-dead-dozens-injured-after-air-canada-plane-collides-with-fire-truck-at-nycs-laguardia-airport-141713866.html

Follow up, 

A flight attendant was found alive on the ground by rescuers, still strapped to her seat with the seatbelt - which had fallen through the floor of the damaged plane

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c620w12y59nt

And we will never hear the end of that from airlines about wearing the damn seat belt during landing UNTIL the plane has reached the terminal. God damn it. They now have proof 

I hope this makes you grin, I just learned that in Kentucky, there once was a "The New Fangled Flying Machine Incorporated Airport" near the city of Hopkinsville

https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com/KY/Airfields_KY_W.htm#newfangled

£1.8 million worth of gold bars discovered at the airport, and seized by police,

Officers stopped a man carrying the bars in his hand luggage as he prepared to fly abroad in May 2025, and a court ordered that the £1.8 million worth of gold bars can be retained by police under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2407ne901o

I admire this effort to help just ONE employee ( he must be amazing!) A US-based tech firm stepped up to help one of its employees of 3 years, leave the Mexico safely.

Cloud platform company Vercel arranged seats on every available flight headed to the United States from Guadalajara in a bid to ensure their employee and his wife could get out of Mexico pronto.

The Chaos in Mexico on Sunday forced flight cancellations, with flights called off at several of the country's busiest airports

Meanwhile,  San Francisco-based Vercel's leadership team in the United States mobilized, determined to secure a safe exit, they purchased tickets on all US-bound flights from the airport, hoping at least one aircraft would manage to depart.

Their strategy ultimately succeeded. Barba and his wife were able to board one of the flights that took off and later arrived safely in Dallas, Texas. 

https://www.ndtv.com/feature/american-company-buys-tickets-on-every-us-flight-to-evacuate-employee-amid-mexico-unrest-11125193

TSA agents were sometimes permitted to keep a percentage of travelers’ cash they helped seize

TSA has stripped more than 10,000 travelers of their money since 2014, but the supposed “criminals” are almost never charged after their cash is taken.

A class-action federal court case could finally end this outrage.

“TSA has secret policies that tell its screeners that they must seize travelers’ cash,” Dan Alban, the lawyer leading a nationwide class-action suit against the agency, tells me. Alban is with the Institute for Justice, which is fighting to stop airport checkpoints from being Constitution-free zones.

But traveling inside America with hefty amounts of cash is perfectly legal. That doesn’t stop TSA from plundering passengers on any and every BS pretext.

In August 2019, 57-year-old Brown was flying out of Pittsburgh International Airport carrying her father’s life savings — $82,373 — which he wanted her to deposit in a joint bank account near her Boston home.

A TSA agent noticed the Tupperware loaded with the cash while scanning Brown’s luggage and summoned a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, who speedily announced he was seizing the money.

There was never any allegation Brown came by the money illegally.

After the media publicized a lawsuit challenging the seizure, the TSA returned the money seven months later.

Until recently, TSA seizure efforts partnered with the Drug Enforcement Agency, whose asset-forfeiture program’s unofficial motto is “You make it, we’ll take it.”

The government doesn’t have to prove the person is guilty. Instead, the feds simply take the cash, and private citizens must engage in a long, expensive fight to attempt to get their money back.

TSA condemns travelers for concealing money even though more than 500 TSA agents have been fired for robbing passengers.

https://nypost.com/2026/02/17/opinion/a-class-action-lawsuit-seeks-to-stop-tsa-from-unlawfully-seizing-flyers-cash/

1953 San Diego map shows a Peik Airfield in the Loma Portal area... I don't think I ever heard of it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peik_Auxiliary_Field#/media/File:PeikAirfield_CA_SanDiego.jpg

Sacramento City College will be the first California college to join a federal air traffic controller training program. Only 12 colleges have joined the program across the country. Huh. Not very popular

according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, a Democrat who represents Sacramento County, the enhanced designation will allow qualified students to bypass the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City and help address the national air traffic controller shortage.

 https://ktla.com/news/california/california-community-college-becomes-first-in-state-to-join-faa-initiative

this is interesting... sueing for mental anguish, distress, and such - because an airline lost his luggage, and like all airlines, won't find it even when you tell them the location via Airtag

On December 28, 2023, American Airlines had a failure to deliver his checked luggage, which caused a severe mental health decline, due to the absence of essential clothing and prolonged stress from the baggage loss

According to the lawsuit, the traveler was exposed to the extreme cold of a Zurich winter without appropriate clothing, as all winter wear and personal items were inside the missing luggage.

He claims this situation directly contributed to a rapid deterioration of his mental health.

During his stay in Switzerland, which lasted several months, KR states that he was admitted to 3 different psychiatric hospitals. He spent more than one month as an inpatient receiving treatment.

Without any form of health or travel insurance, he received medical bills totaling over $50,000 from the Swiss healthcare system.

He had placed Apple AirTags inside the bags and shared precise location data with the airline. Despite providing this information, KR alleges that the airline did not act on the tracking data to recover his belongings in a timely manner.

Because, airlines have not decided to be careful with your luggage, as they really don't care to be responsible for what happens at an airport. They have enough to deal with just flying airplanes, and getting maintenance on schedule, and past inspections. 

https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2026/01/14/american-airlines-passenger-files-50k-lawsuit-amid-lost-bags/#google_vignette

It would be incredibly interesting if someone found a legal way into getting the airlines, and airports, to be vigilant about taking care of everything they are responsible for, and not losing luggage

Pan Am had a great marketing dept in the 50s... everything was cool, but this? Wow.

http://www.everythingpanam.com/Children_s_Items.html

one of the Costco locations in San Diego, is the first / oldest of the business, was bought in 1976 and Price Club began. The first Costco was opened in Seattle in 1983, it merged with Price Club in 1993. The building was either a hanger, or a warehouse, for Hughes Aircraft manufacturing

"The airplane hangar was a building used by Hughes Aircraft Company as a manufacturing facility" says Chat GPT.

Further digging result:

The building was originally a warehouse (specifically Warehouse #401) used by the Hughes Aircraft Company, associated with Howard Hughes, as a manufacturing and storage facility. 

The structure, along with five other hangars, was part of a larger aviation industrial area.

However, there was a nearby airfield, just up the hills in Clairemont

Morena is at the bottom of the photo, this is all South of Balboa Ave, about a mile or two south of Costco. 

This earliest depiction which has been located of San Diego Airpark was a 1947 Howard Rozelle aerial view (courtesy of John Fry).

1947 San Diego Airpark. This very short-lived general aviation airport is now the long straight part of Clairemont Dr where you see the red arrow. There's a 7-11 there, and in the image below, all the apartment buildings have white roofs

https://www.facebook.com/groups/182165938517253/permalink/2929122417154911

https://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_SanDiego_S.htm#sandiegoairpark

Valley City Flying Club Airport (78OH) is a small aviation facility nestled in the serene town of Valley City, Ohio. A 1930s era air field without a control tower, or air traffic

 

Old Orchard Airpark is a private airstrip, home to the Hudson Valley Hornets Flying Club.

In 1999, the Hornets decided to build their own private airport, after 25 years of moving from one airport to another to another due to rising costs.

The club started in 1974 as Chapter 474 of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Its first home was Warwick Airport, then Orange County Airport and eventually Kobelt Airport in Wallkill.

 A 24 acre defunct apple orchard in Modena became available, and work began.

Hornet members with heavy-equipment experience and surveying and construction backgrounds, joined in a six-year task to build Old Orchard Airpark. 

Trees were cleared, the land was graded, access roads were built and a site plan for a Clubhouse/Shop, 40 privately built and owned hangars, and a tiedown spaces was developed.

https://www.recordonline.com/story/lifestyle/my-ride/2015/08/31/a-flying-club-that-preserves/33609945007/

https://www.hudsonvalleyhornets.com/

Out of 20,000 controllers and technicians, only 776 were able to not miss a day of work in the 44 days of govt shut down. I had no expectations, I don't know why the govt does, and thinks people will show up to earn money when there will be no paycheck

https://www.thetravel.com/us-air-traffic-controllers-reject-faa-10k-government-shutdown-bonus-due-to-workplace-issues/

photos of celebs at airports in the 70s

Burt and a Mopar

Phil Jackson in a Checker taxi

How much free publicity did rock and roll musicians give Jack Daniels in the 70s and 80s? 

Marlon Brando in 1959

Elton John, hell of a gifted musician, and I don't think much of his last couple decades of music, but damn, in the 70s? Saturday Nights All Right for Fighting, Philadelphia Freedom, and Tiny Dancer.... ? Loved those. Island Girl, I'm Still Standing, I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues, Sad Songs (Say So Much), Blue Eyes, and Little Jeannie

How about that Dodge ladder truck?! 

I bet no one under the age of 30 knows who that is based on the name of the airplane. Everyone over 50 does. 

https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/g13142501/celebrities-at-the-airport-in-the-1970s-the-photos

Detroit City Airport, 1974

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1245142834313843&set=a.471703661657768