The Basics of Nashville!
A Gtmkm98 Airport Guide - Inspired by Other Guides across the Community!
The busiest airport in Tennessee by passenger traffic and second busiest by cargo traffic (behind Memphis, of course), and a focus city/major city for both Allegiant and Southwest Airlines, Nashville International Airport is ‘easy’, just like Keith Carradine sang in the classic movie Nashville (1975).
Unless there is an event or such, Nashville Int’l is next to empty on Infinite Flight - and that’s unfortunate. In this post, I will explain basically everything you need to know about this amazing airport. Without further ado, let’s get’er done!
The Terminal
The commercial terminal at Nashville’s Airport is located at the north-central part of the airport, right in between two of the airport’s primary runways.
Airlines at Each Concourse
West Wing
Concourse T
| Airlines |
|---|
| American Airlines (Some Flights) |
| Air Canada |
| British Airways |
| Flair Airlines |
| VivaAerobus |
| WestJet |
Concourse A
| Airlines |
|---|
| Alaska Airlines |
| United Airlines |
Concourse B
| Airlines |
|---|
| jetBlue |
| Frontier Airlines |
| Delta Air Lines |
East Wing
Concourse C
| Airlines |
|---|
| American Airlines (Most Flights) |
| Southwest Airlines (Most Flights) |
Concourse D
| Airlines |
|---|
| Southwest Airlines (Some Flights) |
Satellite Terminal (Currently Not in IF)
| Airlines |
|---|
| Allegiant |
| Avelo |
| Spirit |
| Sun Country Airlines |
Cargo Aprons (Located on the West End of the Airport Separate from the Main Terminal)
North Apron
FedEx
South Apron
DHL Aviation
Runways/Traffic Routes
Nashville Airport has four runways, each of which has a very different purpose based on traffic flow. I will cover this from west to east.
Runway 13/31
At 11030 x 150 ft., this is the longest runway at Nashville. This runway suits the airport for larger arrivals. Its primary use is during crosswind flows.
On the 13 end, the runway is only equipped with an RNAV (GPS) approach. However, this approach gives you amazing views of downtown Music City as you descend to trade-off the limited approach style. Remember, you can always do a visual!
The 31 end, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. It is Category I ILS equipped, RNAV (RNP) equipped, and RNAV (GPS) equipped. It is often used, even though it conflicts with regular traffic flows.
Finally, regarding departures, it is frequently used at night or by heavy aircraft as it conflicts with primary traffic flows.
Runway 2L/20R
This is the shortest and westernmost primary runway at the airport. In terms of arrivals, this runway is well suited for both directions (landings on 2 and 20 ends) for westerly arrivals.
On the 2L end, this runway is Category III ILS equipped, RNAV (RNP) equipped, and RNAV (GPS) equipped, meaning it caters to any kind of approach commonly used or needed at this airport.
On the 20R end, this runway is Category I ILS equipped, RNAV (RNP) equipped, and RNAV (GPS) equipped, once again proving its usefulness.
In terms of departures, this runway is used for most departures to the west (including southwest and northwest).
Runway 2C/20C
This is the center runway of the airport and its southernmost runway. This runway is unidirectional, but it also isn’t. It acts as a ‘cannon’ or ‘vacuum’ based on direction, in a sense.
On the Runway 2C end, the runway can be used as a ‘vacuum’, a good runway for arrivals due to its location (after landing, you can just hop, skip, and jump to the concourses; especially the east wing). This end is equipped with Category I ILS, RNAV (RNP), and RNAV (GPS) approaches. Its location makes it easy for arrivals from each southerly direction (south, southeast, and southwest).
On the Runway 20C end, this runway functions as a ‘cannon’, taking you right out of the airport complex as you depart, making it easy to immediately turn in any southerly direction without interfering with operations. Unfortunately, landing on this end would be extremely rare, as its location only allows for RNAV (GPS) approaches. Do not land on this end unless ATC tells you to.
Runway 2R/20L
This runway is the easternmost runway at the airport, making it sensible for landings in easterly directions (east, northeast, and southeast). However, its location away from the terminals makes it inconvenient in more ways than one.
On the 2R end, this runway is Category III ILS equipped, RNAV (RNP) equipped, and RNAV (GPS) equipped.
On the 20L end, this runway is Category I ILS equipped, RNAV (RNP) equipped, and RNAV (GPS) equipped.
Traffic Routes
Departures (South Flow)
Departures (North Flow)
Departures (Crosswind Flows)
Arrivals
Note: Cargo traffic routes are not included as there is very little real cargo action at Nashville. Sorry for the inconvenience.
SIDs/STARs
As with most airports of its size, SIDs and STARs are paramount to a good experience at Nashville. If there are any major changes in the SIDs and STARs at Nashville, I will try to update this page to meet them - however, I do not anticipate many updates as SIDs and STARs have remained relatively the same here for several years.
SIDs
Nashville uses what I call ‘Vector SIDs’, just like Charlotte or Washington - Dulles. This means that you will climb at the assigned heading upon rotation and expect vectors to your assigned RNAV track; usually, it’s an immediate turn to the first waypoint as soon as a positive rate is established.
Below, you will see a guide to each of the SIDs above. Most segue into VORs or their partner fixes.
| SID Name | Named After | Serves | Further Routing After SID |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDOGG | Unknown | Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Louisville | Direct VHP VOR or BVT VOR after FAPER; KDTW Arrivals, Direct WWODD after FAPER and join HANBL/LECTR Arrival; KSDF Arrivals, Direct JIINN after FAPER and join MBELL Arrival; KIND arrivals, Direct RACYR after FAPER and join SMUKE Arrival |
| KRSTA | Unknown | Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh | Direct SHB VOR or IIU VOR after OLSIE; KCMH Arrivals, Direct GETTA after OLSIE and join JAKTZ Arrival |
| CHADM | Unknown | New York-area Airports, Philadelphia, Boston, London | Join Q34 Northeast-Bound after SWAPP |
| TAZMO | Unknown | Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Washington-Area Airports, Norfolk | Direct VXV VOR after BURME; KCLT Arrivals, Direct TAZZA after BURME, Join FILPZ arrival; KRDU Arrivals, Direct KPASS after VXV VOR, Join ALDAN Arrival |
| EVVAN | Unknown | Savannah, Charleston | Direct ODF VOR/MILBY or IRQ VOR after EVVAN |
| TIPPN | Unknown | Atlanta, Florida Peninsula, Cancun | Direct THRSR or RMG VOR after BRXTN; KATL Arrivals, direct CHPPR after BRXTN to join CHPPR Arrival |
| FLAME | The Nashville Flame | Birmingham (AL), Mobile (AL), Florida Panhandle, Some Cancun Flights | Direct VUZ VOR/VLKNN after GENDE; KBHM Arrivals, direct NULLS after GENDE |
| DRURY | The Drury Plaza | New Orleans, Houston-Area Airports, Jackson (MS) | HAGIE Transition: Direct MEI VOR/MERDN after HAGIE; JALAR Transition: Direct IGB VOR/HRISN after JALAR; ACKEE Transition: Direct SQS VOR/IZAAC after ACKEE |
| DANLS | Jack Daniels Distillery | Memphis, DFW-Area Airports, Lower West Coast | SPKER Transition: Direct LIT VOR/LITTR after SPKER; KMEM arrivals, join BLUZZ arrival at SPKER |
| PARDN | Dolly Parton, Parthenon, or ‘Pardon’ | Oklahoma City, Central West Coast, St. Louis, Kansas City, Las Vegas | NAKIY Transition: Direct FAM VOR after NAKIY; HODJS Transition: Direct ARG VOR, SGF VOR, or EOS VOR after HODJS; JJEFF Transition: Direct FSM VOR after JJEFF |
| HGGRD | Merle Haggard | Denver, Seattle, Upper West Coast | TINGS Transition: Direct ENL VOR/DAAVE after TINGS, or join Q19/J45 Northwest-Bound at TINGS |
| Nashville 7 | Nashville Airport | All Turboprop Departures; Any Destination |
After departure, you will climb and maintain 4000ft. You will maintain this until cleared higher by ATC or the flight time reaches 5 minutes.
STARs
Nashville uses RNAV STARs only, their non-RNAV STARs were abolished a few years ago. These STARs serve basically any destination possible.
However, I do suggest putting the transition routes in by hand instead of loading them in through the game, as these contain improper altitudes and omit the primary waypoints after the main waypoint of the STAR. However, putting the main part (past the main waypoint) in through the game is okay. I also suggest using this link to look at the charts for more accuracy and customization: BNA - Nashville International Airport | SkyVector
Below is a guide to the STARs and where they serve.
| STAR Name | Named After | Serves | Routing Onto STAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| RYMMN | The Ryman Auditorium | Upper and Central West Coast, Chicago-Area Airports, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis | YACKS Transition: From BUM VOR direct YACKS; RANTS Transition: From PLESS, DENNI, or MWA VOR direct RANTS; GUMMA Transition: From PXV VOR direct GUMMA; LULOU Transition: From MYS VOR direct LULOU, KSDF Departures direct LULOU from HIDEY |
| PASLY | Brad Paisley | London, New York City-Area Airports, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit | FORKS Transition: From IIU VOR or FLM VOR direct FORKS; GROAT Transition: From YOCKY/Q68, UNCKL, DEWAK or HYK VOR direct GROAT; LVT Transition: From PSK VOR or GZG VOR direct LVT VOR |
| SWFFT | Taylor Swift | Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, Florida Airports, Cancun, Atlanta, Birmingham | VXV Transition: KCLT Departures, REWET direct VXV VOR - KRDU Departures, SHPRD direct VXV VOR; JAGIR Transition: From WESSN, THRSR, or IRQ VOR direct JAGIR, KATL departures direct from PENCL to JAGIR; ZANZA Transition: From VUZ VOR/VLKNN direct ZANZA |
| CHSNE | Kenny Chesney | Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Lower West Coast, Memphis, Birmingham | TINCA Transition (Offload for ZANZA Transition on SWFFT Arrival): Direct TINCA from VUZ VOR/VLKNN; HRTUN Transition: Direct HRTUN from IGB VOR/HRISN; KISTS Transition: Direct KISTS from SQS VOR/IZAAC; MEM Transition: From LIT VOR, ELD VOR, or TXK VOR Direct MEM VOR; LOPPY Transition: From RZC VOR, TUL VOR, or IRW VOR direct LOPPY; KMEM Departures, Enter Arrival at CHSNE after DIYAB |
Use of IAPs
Nashville is very interesting when it comes to approaches. It interchanges use of Visual, ILS, GPS, and RNP approaches fairly often, leading to potential confusion.
Does this picture scare you? Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it looks. The chart below will explain this spiderweb in much greater detail.
| Approach Type | Frequency | How They Are Used |
|---|---|---|
| Visual | Common | Used via vectors from ATC, performed with vectors from any STAR. |
| RNAV (RNP) | Common | RNAV (RNP) Approaches bridge right into STARs at Nashville, but usually are superseded by Visual Approaches. |
| ILS | Fairly Common | Requires vectors from the end of STAR routing, often used on busier days/cloudy days. |
| RNAV (GPS) | Uncommon | Used only in certain circumstances, requires vectors like the ILS approaches from the STAR routes. |
And with that, we are at the end of the current rendition of this airport guide. I give a special thanks to @TheExDid_HD for being the inspiration for my layout, @Thunderbolt for inspiring me to enhance my airport guides and viewers like you!
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Thank you for stopping by!