India Considering Mass Name Change for Country’s Airports
Jackie Reddy February 13, 2017
The move would see facilities renamed after the locality in which they are situated rather than historical or political figures, some of whom are entirely unknown to arriving foreign passengers.
It has been revealed that the Indian government is considering a mass renaming of the country’s airports. The move is apparently being contemplated as part of an effort to help orient arriving foreign passengers, many of whom are unfamiliar with the personalities after which several of the country’s airports are named.
Jayant Sinha, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, told The Indian Express that the potential move would see all airports, including future greenfield sites, be renamed after the city or locality in which they are situated rather than historical or political figures. For example, while Delhi’s airport is named after famous former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the thinking is that the namesakes of other facilities, like Guru Ram Das at Amritsar’s airport or Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar at Nagpur airport, don’t have the same kind of cachet for those just arriving into the country.
However, Sinha explained that the idea is currently under consideration by the government and that no firm plan of action has yet been decided. “We are evaluating how best to deal with that issue,” he told the paper. The outlet reports that any policy with regards to the naming of airports will only be finalized after it is cleared by the Union Cabinet, India’s executive authority.
While the issue is still being debated, the idea has evidently garnered some support over the last few months. Speaking in May of last year on the subject, Mahesh Sharma, former Minister of State for Civil Aviation, was quoted by the paper as saying, “Due to lack of any firm and explicit instructions/guidelines for naming/renaming of airports in the country and considering the convenience of the passengers in general and especially foreign tourists who are not familiar with the local history of the area, a view has emerged to name the airports by the name of the city in which they are located/served.”
[Photo: Shutterstock]
Doesn't everyone know Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar?
Why not just do both like we do here in the US?
Having just returned from India, I'd say this is a nice step...at least for the airports in which the most foreign tourists and/or business travelers are anticipated. Of course, I think India's airlines should prioritize their scheduling and service at the same time--since they were a disaster. We didn't have a single India airline flight depart on time. In fact, the shortest delay was nearly 2 hours, and the longest was 4 hours. This was true for Air India, Jet Airways, Indigo, and SpiceJet. Worst domestic airline products I've seen in my lifetime...and I've been to more than 50 countries.
People do that anyway. It's not necessary to rename existing ones, just desist from this practice in future. 99% know that DEL is Delhi and have no idea what its official "name" is. But sometimes the names help. Belfast City (George Best) or Belfast International (Aldergrove)? Belfast City does international as well, so the other airport being known as "Belfast International" could be as bad. Too many smalltime politicians wanting to Change the World who eventually turn their ambitions on changing streetnames, parks and airports.