What's in an Airport's Name?

Recently, there have been talks to change the name of Prestwick Airport in Scotland to Robert Burns International Airport. This is in hope that it will increase tourism numbers into the Ayrshire area, which is where the Scottish poet was born.

This got us all thinking here of other airports that are named after famous people and we were surprised by how many there was; some seem like obvious choices and there are some that are a little quirky!

In Ireland, we recently joined in on the airport naming fun by changing our Belfast City Airport to the George Best Belfast City Airport. Originally named Sydenham Airport, the name change was made in 2006 but not without its fair amount of controversy!

The city of Liverpool in the north of England opted for a musical theme and renamed its airport to the Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The original terminal building was left unstable after Beatles fans packed its terraces to welcome home the band. However, it has since been renovated and is now the Crown Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport Hotel.

Probably one of the busiest and most famous airports in the world is JFK, New York, United States. This airport was originally named Idlewild Airport, named so as it was built on the grounds of Idlewild Golf course. The airport was renamed as John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1963 as a dedication to America’s 35th president.

Now, we did promise quirky and this is what we found: there is an Ian Fleming Airport in Jamaica. Named after the writer of the James Bond novels, we wonder if they gave him a ‘licence to fly’! Remember him that stole from the rich to give to the poor, well Yorkshire in the UK do. They named their airport the Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield to remember the horse riding outlaw and his band of merry men.

Take note next time you book a flight, you never know the airports history could be quite interesting!