Who’s in charge of Nashville’s airport? US and Tennessee officials disagree under a new state law

By JONATHAN MATTISE
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — While Nashville International Airport hums to the tune of live music in a terminal filled with tourists and locals, this trendy gateway to Tennessee has quietly confronted an identity crisis.

Under a new state law, there is no clear agreement now about who’s in charge of airport operations. The confusion comes at a time when the airport is booming, its annual passengers having more than doubled over the past decade to 21.8 million by the 2023 fiscal year.

The nonprofit Metro Nashville Airport Authority and state officials argue that a new group of state appointees has lawfully taken over the authority’s board. But the Federal Aviation Administration and the city contend the old board picked by Nashville’s mayor still has power.

Both boards met at the same time last week across town from each other.

A state three-judge panel in Nashville heard the dispute Friday, with assurances from multiple parties that the airport is functioning as usual. A decision over whether to block the law temporarily is expected within days.

“We don’t really know how this is all going to play out,” said Nashville Chancellor Anne Martin. “There’s clearly some tension here among the parties about different issues and control. I’m not sure how consistent the FAA is being in its communications with everyone. We are trying to read between the lines a little bit.”

Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers approved plans for the state to make enough appointments to control the airport’s board starting in July. The change was among several passed by legislators seeking to curtail the power of the Democratic city, whose metro council sunk a bid to bring the 2024 Republican National Convention to Nashville.

The city has sued the state over the changes to the airport authority, which manages, operates, finances and maintains the international airport and a smaller one in Nashville. In the meantime, the authority installed the new board members on July 1, saying it can’t defy state law without a court order.

Citing the Tennessee Constitution, the lawsuit argues the state violated home rule protections by singling out Nashville without either a local referendum or a two-thirds metro council vote for the change.

The state responded that Nashville can’t make its claims because the airport authority is independent of the local government.

City leaders, however, reached out to the FAA, which can veto certain changes to the airport’s governance. The federal agency said it would keep recognizing the pre-July 1 board until the court rules.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper, a Democrat, has cried foul on the Republican change.

“Nashville’s airport has grown very successfully over the years by the direction of this board, and that’s unquestionable,” Cooper said during a recent meeting of the mayoral-appointed board. “Any state action is purely about politics.”

Tennessee’s situation isn’t unprecedented. Due to FAA and court action, North Carolina’s 2013 law to shift control of Charlotte Douglas International Airport from the city to a separate regional board never came to fruition. Mississippi’s 2016 law to reconfigure Jackson’s airport leadership structure remains blocked by an ongoing legal challenge. Georgia lawmakers flirted with flipping the Atlanta airport’s governance in 2019 but opposition sank the proposal.

Nashville officials say the state hasn’t even complained about the board’s performance, even during extensive airport expansions.

In the 2023 budget year, the airport unveiled a new lobby, added more restaurants and live music, opened an additional parking garage and made progress toward an onsite hotel. The airport hosts country, jazz and bluegrass concerts and exhibits the work of local artists.

Its growing pains have been marked by passenger pickup lines sometimes stretching well past a nearby interstate exit.

Lawmakers passed the change despite predictions in April by former FAA official Kirk Shaffer of competing boards in “a messy and costly stalemate that damages all involved,” possibly jeopardizing federal grant money.

So far, the fight is largely unfolding in court filings. The city says lost grant money could halt projects to accommodate more flights, spurring cancellations and delays. The state and the airport authority argue the grants aren’t in jeopardy — an attorney for the authority, George Cate, said it has received grant payments and notice of a new grant since the board switch-out.

Republican lawmakers contend the state deserves more say over the growing airport because of its regional impact. House Speaker Cameron Sexton said lawmakers created “the legally sanctioned board.”

The airport authority has intervened in the lawsuit, but remains neutral on whether the new law is unconstitutional. Updates to the FAA have never resulted in the federal agency directing the authority to stop following the state law, while even worse disruptions would result from an order to temporarily return to the preexisting board, the authority wrote.

The authority has argued changing the board doesn’t require FAA approval, noting that, for instance, a new entity isn’t taking the reins.

The state-majority board met at the airport last Wednesday, conducting standard-fare business on contracts and reports. Meanwhile, the mayoral-picked board gathered in city hall, reiterating the FAA’s letter, criticizing the state law and approving an outside attorney hire.

The authority’s attorney, Cate, argued Friday that the preexisting board’s meeting was “sort of a publicity stunt” creating the “illusion” of competing boards.

In a letter to the Nashville community, the authority’s CEO has acknowledged the “frustration and confusion” caused by the dispute, but said the authority must stay legally compliant.

“As an airport authority, we do not take political positions,” airport authority President and CEO Doug Kruelen wrote on July 6.