This Bay Area airport wants to change its name. The San Francisco airport hates the idea
One Bay Area airport wants to add “San Francisco” to its name even though it is not located in the City by the Bay.
As for the airport that is located in San Francisco, it is not happy about the name change plan.
The Oakland International Airport will consider on April 11 changing its name to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, according to a statement by Oakland Board of Port Commissioners President Barbara Leslie. The airport code OAK and brand visuals would not change under the proposal.
“The Port is considering a name modification to boost inbound travelers’ geographic awareness of the airport’s location on the San Francisco Bay,” Leslie said in the statement. “This will protect our airport’s over 30,000 good-paying, direct jobs and $1.6 billion in economic impact on the region.”
San Francisco International Airport’s international terminal will be renamed after the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Jennifer Bridie, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, which serves Oakland, also supported the move, saying that Oakland has “helped put us on the map in California.”
“We’re wholeheartedly supportive of this rebranding that acknowledges OAK’s economic position and influence in the San Francisco Bay area while staying true to its Oakland roots,” she said in a statement.
However, not everyone is a fan of the proposed change.
The San Francisco International Airport, which has been operating since 1927 and used San Francisco Airport or its current name for most of its history, has expressed “serious concerns” about the idea to rename the Oakland airport.
“Given this history, we anticipate the new name being considered by the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport will cause confusion for the public, either through a misunderstanding of its physical location or its perceived relationship to SFO,” San Francisco International Airport Director Ivar Satero said in a statement.
More than two dozen protesters linked arms and blocked the entrance to the airport’s G gates, calling for a cease-fire in in the Israel-Hamas war.
Satero requested that the Oakland airport reject the name change because it would “only result in confusion and inconvenience to the traveling public we all serve.”
This wouldn’t be the first time an airport has changed its name to try to bolster its image and draw more passengers.
Bob Hope Airport officials voted in 2016 to change its airfield’s name to Hollywood Burbank Airport to increase recognition with people outside of Southern California.
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