Alaska Airlines announced this week it is expanding service at Nashville International Airport (BNA) to offer exclusive nonstop flights to Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon beginning next year.
Daily, year-round flights will commence from Music City to Portland on March 14, 2024. The new service will feature a mid-morning departure from Portland and a late afternoon departure from Nashville.
BIG NEWS – we are adding a new nonstop route! @AlaskaAir recently announced it will begin direct service from BNA to Portland, OR in March 2024. Read more: https://t.co/CzDcqbj3Ke pic.twitter.com/yAEzKvsZwS
— Fly Nashville (@Fly_Nashville) November 9, 2023
In a statement, BNA said the new route will fill the “non-stop service gap” in the airport’s busiest domestic market.
“This new nonstop flight connecting Nashville and Portland marks a significant achievement for BNA. Establishing this route has been a longstanding goal, and we are thrilled to enhance connectivity between these vibrant cities,” Doug Kreulen, president and CEO of BNA said in a statement. “Portland, with its shared passion for exceptional cuisine, vibrant music, and a rich cultural scene, will undoubtedly strengthen the ties between our communities, offering travelers a taste of the rich experiences each destination has to offer.”
BNA served a record number of travelers during its Fiscal Year 2023, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
During the airport’s Fiscal Year 2023, it served a total of 21.9 million travelers – 18.7 percent higher than its previous record-breaking high in Fiscal Year 2022.
Now, BNA is preparing for an expected increase in travel activity surrounding the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
The airport is anticipating more than 35,000 departing passengers each projected peak day. BNA is projecting the peak days as November 19 and November 22 before the holiday, as well as November 26 immediately afterward.
BNA urges travelers planning on passing through the airport this holiday season to consider the following tips to avoid delays:
- Sign up for BNA Text Alerts;
- Arrive early;
- Take alternate routes to BNA;
- Allow extra time for parking;
- Utilize the new cell lot;
- Check the status of your flight before arriving at BNA; and
- Pack smart.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Now if BNA can just figure out how to allow the passengers to actually get onto the airport grounds rather than hiking down I-40 on foot with bags in tow. The Airport Authority spends bazillions of taxpayer dollars and cannot even get passenger cars on site.