Nashville Airport Defends Its Actions Amid 14,000-Vehicle, Five-Hour Traffic Jam on Monday

“Nightmare” may be too kind a term to describe the five hours of traffic chaos at The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) on Monday. The gridlock produced hours of delays, missed flights, no explanations, frustrated travelers, and a definite black-eye to Nashville’s tourism reputation. MNAA now says that it is conducting a comprehensive review following traffic gridlock at Nashville International Airport (BNA) on Monday, which left thousands of travelers stranded and frustrated.

Officials now say that their preliminary findings indicate that several overlapping factors contributed to what the airport described as an “unprecedented” backup. 

According to MNAA, rideshare demand was 2.5 times greater than normal, with more than 14,000 vehicles moving through the Ground Transportation Center, compared to the 6,000 typically seen on a Monday. 

The Tennessee Department of Transportation said when HELP trucks arrived in the area, they observed police had just cleared a crash at Terminal Drive, which TDOT initially thought may have been the cause of the congestion, but that was not the case. 

NFL fans departing Nashville, the arrival of roughly 10,000 Autodesk Convention attendees, and the departure of more than 2,000 people from another conference also contributed to the surge. Some travelers reported abandoning their rides on I-40 ramps to make their flights, while rideshare users said fares surged from around $40 to more than $200. Certainly, the airport would have seen the number of reservations and ticketing for Monday, giving them some clue to the higher-than-normal flight demand.

Some travelers reported waiting nearly two hours for an Uber, then another 30 minutes to get out of the airport once they were picked up. 

Airport leaders say corrective measures will follow a full-scale after-action review, including efforts to strengthen response protocols, expand capacity, and improve coordination with law enforcement, transportation officials, and rideshare companies. However, many of the issues can be traced to new traffic patterns, following the airport, construction upgrades, and changes to rideshare pick up and delivery, raising the question of why the airport didn’t review these factors in advance.

“We extend our sincere appreciation to our passengers, partners, and the Nashville community for their patience and understanding,” said Stacey Nickens, MNAA vice president of communications. “MNAA remains fully committed to ensuring the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of BNA and will continue to take proactive measures to safeguard the travel experience for all who rely on our airport.”

MNAA’s issued a statement attempting to excuse their role in the debacle:

Contributing Circumstances

Rideshare Demand: An unprecedented surge in rideshare (pick-up/drop off) activity, approximately 2.5 times greater than normal levels sustained over 11 hours.

Initial data: On a typical Monday, the Ground Transportation Center would typically handle 6,000 vehicles. Yesterday, we experienced more than 14,000 in this period.

Event-Related Travel: A large number of NFL fans departing.

Convention Arrivals: The Autodesk Convention, drawing approximately 10,000 attendees, with an estimated 50 percent arriving by air.

Convention Departures: The Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics conference concluded in Nashville, with 2,200 attendees, approximately 60 percent departing by air.

Corrective Measures

MNAA leadership has initiated a full-scale after-action review to:

Identify other operational conditions that may have contributed to the congestion.

Apply lessons learned to strengthen future response protocols.

Implement corrective measures regarding capacity.

Develop mitigation efforts for traffic impacts during high-volume events.

Enhance coordination with Tennessee Highway Patrol, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Greater Nashville Hospitality Association, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation, and other business partners

Additional coordination with Transportation Network Companies regarding surge demand at BNA

Commitment to the Community

We extend our sincere appreciation to our passengers, partners, and the Nashville community for their patience and understanding. MNAA remains fully committed to ensuring the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of BNA and will continue to take proactive measures to safeguard the travel experience for all who rely on our airport.”

Nowhere in the MNAA statement is there an explanation of why the difficulties and chaos were not foreseen or anticipated. There also does not appear to be any plan to address the damage to the reputation  Nashville has suffered in the eyes of tourists and convention planners and attendees.

Steve Gill is editor and publisher of TriStar Daily.