Airport Names

I have been thinking about the names of airports and how they come to be.   It seems that some airports are named to honor a great and well-deserving person, some commemorate unknown or much less deserving people, and some are not named after people at all.   Some examples -

JFK - John F Kennedy International Airport.   This was New York City's second airport, built to relieve conjestion at LaGuardia airport.   It was originally called "Idlewild", named after the Idlewild Beach Golf Course that it displaced.   I remember as a kid, I thought Idlewild was a cool name, and felt bad when it was re-named for JFK, but it's hard to argue against that tribute.


By the way, after JFK died, they re-named Cape Canaveral, Florida to "Cape Kennedy"...   At the time, people referred to "Cape Canaveral" meaning the space center, and so it seemed like a nice tribute to JFK, to change it to Cape Kennedy.   But the locals said "Oh no you don't!"    You are not re-naming our cape.   So the cape was re-named back to Cape Canaveral and the Space Center was named the Kennedy Space Center.  Good solution.

LGA - NYC Laguardia -  named for Fiorello La Guardia, the mayor of New York when the airport was built.

ORD - Chicago O'Hare.    I wonder how many people know that this very busy airport was named for Edward "Butch" O'Hare, the U.S. Navy's first Medal of Honor recipient during the war.   I don't want to take anything away from Mr. O'Hare, who lost his life defending our nation, but wow, one of the busiest airports in the world bears his name.  By the way, a US Navy destroyer is also named in his honor.  And why is the code "ORD" and not something like "ORH"?   Because the airport was originally called "Orchard Field" hence ORD.

MDW - Chicago Midway.   Sometimes called "The World's Busiest Square Mile".  Formerly Chicago Municipal Airport, it was renamed in 1949 to commemorate the Battle of Midway.  










MKE - Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport.   Was named Mitchell Field in 1941, in honor of General William "Billy" Mitchell, generally regarded as the father of the US Air Force.  The name was updated to General Mitchell International Airport in 1986. 

SAN - San Diego - Was originally called Lindbergh Field, but no longer.   I have no idea why.  Charles Lindbergh seems like a deserving guy.

STL - Lambert.  Named for Albert Bond Lambert, an Olympic medalist and prominent St. Louis aviator.  It seems to me he's not on the same level as some of the other honorees.

CLE - Cleveland Hopkins International - named after its founder, former city manager (not even a mayor) William R. Hopkins. 

DTW - Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport - The airport is not named after a person, however, the largest terminal within the airport is named the "McNamara Terminal" after Edward H. McNamara, former county executive of Wayne County.   McNamara's 40 years in politics ended under a cloud of suspicion. FBI agents and state police raided his office in November 2002, seeking evidence for a federal grand jury investigating alleged corruption in airport contracts and campaign fundraising by his administration.  He died shortly thereafter, so no charges were ever filed.  Nevertheless, his name remains on the terminal.

ATL - Hartsfield-Jackson.   The airport was named "Hartsfield" in 1980 for former Atlanta mayor William B. Hartsfield, who did much to promote air travel.  The airport was re-named Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2003, to honor former mayor Maynard Jackson, who died June 23, 2003. (Not Jessie Jackson or Michael Jackson!) The council planned to rename the airport solely for Mayor Jackson, but public outcry prevented this.

LHR - London Heathrow - Named after the small town where it was built.

LGW - London Gatwick - is named after a manor house that once stood in the place of the current airport. The name is also derived from the family name of the former owners of the said manor house.

PHX- Phoenix Sky Harbor - Just a cool name.   The name dates back to 1928.

CDG - Paris Charles DeGaulle - A war hero and president of France.   By the way, if you've ever been there, you know it's pronounced "Sha-da-gah" as opposed to Char-ells-dee-gall.

LAX - Los Angeles International - The airport is almost exclusively known by its three-letter IATA designation "LAX".   It needs no other name.    It is also known by its iconic "theme building" shown here: 

PDX - Portland (OR) International - This airport is does not have a catchy name but is most well known by its carpet.   In fact there is a wikipedia article on the carpet.    This photo shows the "original" PDX carpet which was replaced by a new design in 2015.







FCO- Rome Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport.    Since the IATA designation is FCO, everyone just calls it "Fiumicino".   Until looking it up, I did not even know it was named for Leoardo da Vinci.

MCO - Orlando International.   Like a little brother to FCO, MCO is another airport you would never guess by its IATA designation.   "MCO" comes from the airport's former name, McCoy Air Force Base.

YYZ - Toronto Pearson International Airport.   The airport was officially renamed Lester B. Pearson International Airport in 1984, in honor of Lester B. Pearson, the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada and recipient of the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize.

IAD - Washington Dulles - is named after John Foster Dulles, the 52nd Secretary of State who served under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.   Why this particular person?   I have no idea.  The airport is known for having one of the most recognizable terminal buildings.





AMS - Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.   (By the way, pronounced "ski-pole", or at least that's what it sounds like to me).  Long story on the name - (from Wikipedia) - "Schiphol's name is derived from a former fortification named Fort Schiphol, which was part of the Stelling van Amsterdam defence works. Before 1852, the Haarlemmermeer polder in which the airport lies was a large lake with some shallow areas. There are multiple stories of how the place got its name. The most popular story is that in the shallow waters sudden violent storms could claim many ships. Winds were particularly strong in the Schiphol area since the prevailing wind direction is from the south-west, and Schiphol lies in the north-eastern corner of the lake. In English, Schiphol translates to "Ships Hell", a reference to many ships supposedly lost in the lake.

Interesting fact - Schiphol is one of the few airports in the world where aircraft take off and land below sea level.

Sea-Tac (SEA)  -  Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, known as Sea-Tac.    Like Phoenix, it's a cool name, and needs no further name.

FRA - Frankfort, Germany.  The airport is known as Flughafen (airport) Frankfurt am Main, also known as Rhein-Main-Flughafen.   The word Main does not mean it's the "main" airport in the area (or the main terminal for that matter), it refers to the Main River.   Rhein-Main refers to the fact that it's near the point where the Main River empties into the Rhine.




NRT - Tokyo Narita International Airport.    Named after the city it's nearby.

IAH - George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston TX.  Was named for George Bush in 1997.   One of several airports named for a person while still alive.  Others include Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids, Reagan National Airport (Washington DC), and John Glenn International (Columbus, OH).

I wonder if "naming rights" might be sold for airports in the future (like stadiums and arenas.)    I can hear it now.   "Welcome to Detroit DTE Energy Airport" or "Welcome to Chicago Chase Bank International Airport".