How to change name of airport
 

I'm gathering information on how to change a name of an airport. There is a local airport that I believe should be named after a rather famous local person (kind of like how BUR, Burbank Airport is called Bob Hope Airport). Any suggestions, contacts, etc would be very much appreciated.

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Who owns the airport?

It is as simple as the airport owner changing the signage. The IATA code remains unchanged.

Personally, I find airports named after people look a bit tacky. I much prefer the idea of airports being named after the cities they serve.

An example to follow, or to avoid, is how Atlanta's airport became Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2003. The process is similar to, but typically more turbulent than, renaming a street.

http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Airpo...t_History.aspx

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When the City of Fresno, which owns the former Fresno Air Terminal, changed the name to the rather grandiose and somewhat inaccurate Fresno-Yosemite International Airport, it just took a vote of the city council. The airport code, however, remained the (in-)famous FAT. ;)

thanks for the responses. I don't want to mention the airport or name just yet but will keep you posted.

Do not propose a joke name (by adding "international")
 

Whatever you propose, don't make a fine airport become a joke airport. Do not add international unless you have 5 or more daily international flights, including at least 2 to another continent. For several years, DFW had a classy understated name, Dallas Fort Worth Regional Airport. When it added "international", it was well deserved. On the other hand, Lubbock's additional of international made it a smallish, modern airport into a laughing stock. In contrast, Little Rock National Airport is classy, with a name similar to the old Washington National. Columbia Metropolitan Airport in Columbia, SC is another modern airport without a grandiose, silly name.

I prefer airports to be named after local aviation heros, not politicians, unless the politician is exceptional. JFK is fine. Even Seattle dumped the Henry M. Jackson International Airport, named for a short time after a dead senator. O'Hare is Chicago WW2 ace. Fort Wayne, IN used to have Baer Field until they changed it to Fort Wayne International Joke Airport about 10 years ago. Ok, the name doesn't have "Joke" in it.

Good points in your post, but I'd qualify them with one caveat: make it easy for people to see (when searching for airports in your city) which one is the main passenger port.

I can't recall any specific examples right now, but a few times, I've pulled up a list of airports in a city and have seen three airports, and because none of them is named "XYZ International Airport," it wasn't obvious which one had scheduled service and which ones were just GA fields, freight facilities, or even private landing strips.

Airports named "Metropolitan Airport" tend to be small GA/corporate aviation facilities, and so naming your field like Columbia's may not necessarily be the best thing.

Why, though? What's wrong with "Placename Airport"?

There's only a couple round here that have been renamed after people - Liverpool John Lennon ("Above us only sky...") and Doncaster Robin Hood. Both quite boakworthy. I'm so glad the suggestion to name Heathrow after a certain dead ex-princess never came to fruition.

How about adding two words to Houstons airport.

just add CRIME FAMILY to it's current name.

I'll disagree with your criteria. When I hear "international airport", to me, that says that the airport has customs and immigration facilities in use. Note that by that pattern, LGA does not qualify, even though they have lots of pre-cleared flights from Canada.

If a place like Lubbock had even one or two direct flights to Mexico, that's good enough for me; if they just added the "international" to sound bigger, then I agree that is a mistake.

Queen of Hearts Airport has a nice ring to it.

I also like the idea of naming it after aviation rather than political figures - avoids the whole partisan aspect, and allows everyone to be proud of the name, not just one political party. I also feel that it is better to name an airport or any public site for someone who is dead, preferably long dead. By waiting, you have the ability to really judge the importance of the person, unclouded by the emotions of the moment.

Do you think history might not be kind to the memory of George Best?