Airports with weird/different names
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thanks for everyones help.
im more specifically looking for airports which have been rebranded to have a famous person/icon in there name (eg Liverpool John Lennon Airport), or airports which have been rebranded to be associated to a destination which they are nowhere near (eg London Oxford).
Thanks for bringing my attention to 'London Prestwick.' Done some research and it was in fact Ryanair who advertised that in an advert in Norway.
im more specifically looking for airports which have been rebranded to have a famous person/icon in there name (eg Liverpool John Lennon Airport), or airports which have been rebranded to be associated to a destination which they are nowhere near (eg London Oxford).
Thanks for bringing my attention to 'London Prestwick.' Done some research and it was in fact Ryanair who advertised that in an advert in Norway.
How about Shannon (EINN/SNN)?
Established in 1942 the airport is named after the river. The nearby town of the same name was built later in the 1960's (it's Ireland only "New Town"). Contrary to what many outside Ireland think, the airport is in Co. Clare, not Co. Limerick.
JAS
P.S. Sorry, just noticed the previous post ...
In that case, Ireland West Airport (EIKN/NOC) was previously Knock International Airport, Connacht Regional Airport, and Monsenior James Horan International Airport (the afore mentioned clergyman being instrumental in the airport being built despite the government of the day being opposed to the plan, the idea being that it would help Catholic pilgrims visit the area)
Established in 1942 the airport is named after the river. The nearby town of the same name was built later in the 1960's (it's Ireland only "New Town"). Contrary to what many outside Ireland think, the airport is in Co. Clare, not Co. Limerick.
JAS
P.S. Sorry, just noticed the previous post ...
In that case, Ireland West Airport (EIKN/NOC) was previously Knock International Airport, Connacht Regional Airport, and Monsenior James Horan International Airport (the afore mentioned clergyman being instrumental in the airport being built despite the government of the day being opposed to the plan, the idea being that it would help Catholic pilgrims visit the area)
Last edited by Just a spotter; 30th Aug 2009 at 10:19.
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Teesside International
Teeside International became Durham Tees Valley depsite there being several larger cities closer to the airport than Durham. In their defence it is in County Durham, and Durham is unusual because the name of the county and the county town are the same, compare York and Yorkshire
Teeside International became Durham Tees Valley depsite there being several larger cities closer to the airport than Durham. In their defence it is in County Durham, and Durham is unusual because the name of the county and the county town are the same, compare York and Yorkshire
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World's strangest airport names.
Here's a story I like about Chicago O'Hare (it's probably been on pprune a number of times in the past).
O'Hare Airport.
There's an explanation underneath thre story that debunks some of the details.
Here's a story I like about Chicago O'Hare (it's probably been on pprune a number of times in the past).
O'Hare Airport.
There's an explanation underneath thre story that debunks some of the details.
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If you look at Woolsington on Google Earth, you see that Prestwick is actually only a mile or so north of Newcastle airport, a little closer to the terminal than Woolsington itself. Something that does not show up on Google is that the 25 end of the Newcastle runway is very close to Havana. In fact when I went on a school visit down the Havana Drift coal mine in about 1957 we were told that we were under the runway, which was being lowered by about three feet as the coal was extracted from under it.
Those of you who are involved at all with computer database systems may be interested to learn that the IATA code for San Carlos Airport, California, the nearest to the Oracle headquarters in Redmond, is SQL.
Those of you who are involved at all with computer database systems may be interested to learn that the IATA code for San Carlos Airport, California, the nearest to the Oracle headquarters in Redmond, is SQL.
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Trudeau
To my mind, the most ironic story of all involves Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau international airport. As you probably all know, Trudeau was prime minister of Canada during the 70s and was originally from Montreal. One of his big projects while he was in power was to build a second Montreal airport at Mirabel, 45 minutes north of the city.
The whole thing was a disaster from day 1: low traffic, bad design, no links to city etc. So years later, the decision was taken to close down Mirabel (except for cargo) and put all the international flights back to what was then called dorval. In fact, Trudeau wanted to close Dorval and make Mirabel the one and only airport serving Montreal.
So what happens after Trudeau dies? They rename Dorval Airport P. E. Trudeau International. To my knowledge, the only airport in the world that is named after a man who wanted to shut it down!
The whole thing was a disaster from day 1: low traffic, bad design, no links to city etc. So years later, the decision was taken to close down Mirabel (except for cargo) and put all the international flights back to what was then called dorval. In fact, Trudeau wanted to close Dorval and make Mirabel the one and only airport serving Montreal.
So what happens after Trudeau dies? They rename Dorval Airport P. E. Trudeau International. To my knowledge, the only airport in the world that is named after a man who wanted to shut it down!
Last edited by bigjames; 3rd Sep 2009 at 13:46.
London Ashford aka Lympne was also a looong way from London.
Lympne was a grass field that closed years ago. Silver City used to operate car ferries from Lympne which used to get very boggy after heavy rain. They asked the then Ministry of Civil Aviation to lay a hard runway. The MCA thought they had a captive customer and refused. Silver City then told the MCA to s*d off and built their own airport, Lydd Ferryfield, from scratch out near Dungeness. This is what is now London Ashford.
The current London Ashford Airport is Lydd, but Lympne was officially renamed Ashford Airport in June 1969. Ted Heath unveiled a plaque to commemorate the occasion, and remarked that it produced a typically British situation. "We are changing the name from Lympne to Ashford, but whenever anyone asks where Ashford Airport is, they will be told it is at Lympne"
Despite eventually getting a 1400m concrete runway in 1967, commercial aviation ceased at Lympne in 1974.
Despite eventually getting a 1400m concrete runway in 1967, commercial aviation ceased at Lympne in 1974.
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Dairyground: If you look at Woolsington on Google Earth, you see that Prestwick is actually only a mile or so north of Newcastle airport, a little closer to the terminal than Woolsington itself.
Isn't Black Callerton closer still?
Re. remote airports. It used to be the case, don't know if it still is, that in order for a remote airport to be officially assigned to a major city, the process was subject to a poll of the incumbent airlines in that city's 'real' airport, in a process administered by IATA.
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Here in Connecticut we have a joke of an airport called Bradley International Airport, which supposedly serves the Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA areas.
There really isn't anything international about Bradley. Very few flights fly directly
to destination from here. The airport itself has no restaurants aside from a few stationary roach coaches and one shop. No duty free at all. Oops. I almost forgot.
It does have a Dunkin' Donuts.
There really isn't anything international about Bradley. Very few flights fly directly
to destination from here. The airport itself has no restaurants aside from a few stationary roach coaches and one shop. No duty free at all. Oops. I almost forgot.
It does have a Dunkin' Donuts.
One which should surely be near the top of the list is Eleftherios Venizelos, the airport for Athens.
When it was located south of Athens, it was simply known as Athens airport, or Ellinikon by the locals.
When the new site was proposed, and construction began, there were many who wanted to call it Spata because, arguably, that is the nearest town and the name is well-known around the world. Apparently, the politicians became involved, and overruled all objections in order to call it after someone who had made a large contribution to Greek aviation. Very laudable, but I've yet to hear an arrival announcement on any airline other than Olympic which mentions the airport by name!
When it was located south of Athens, it was simply known as Athens airport, or Ellinikon by the locals.
When the new site was proposed, and construction began, there were many who wanted to call it Spata because, arguably, that is the nearest town and the name is well-known around the world. Apparently, the politicians became involved, and overruled all objections in order to call it after someone who had made a large contribution to Greek aviation. Very laudable, but I've yet to hear an arrival announcement on any airline other than Olympic which mentions the airport by name!
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Bradley International is also home to an excellent museum! Well worth a visit, some unusual airframes on display.
