Airports Named For Celebrities
We all know that many American airports are named after politicians and presidents – but how many around the world are named after other kinds of celebrities?
Bob Hope Airport – California
This airport was named after the long-time resident of Toluca Lake and comedian Bob Hope after he died in 2003. He kept his personal airplane at the airfield and by coincidence, was born in the same year that the Wright brothers made their first flight!
Ian Fleming International Airport – Jamaica
If you think it’s strange for a Jamaican airport to be named after the British author of James Bond novels, most locals in the Saint Mary Parish would agree with you. Fleming wrote 13 James Bond novels in the Parish, owned the Goldeneye estate there (which is now the Goldeneye Hotel and Resort) and even the nearby beach is named after his most famous literary creation.
Local residents were up in arms over the decision in 2011 to name the newly refurbished airport after the Brit, although the airport company claimed that it would help raise recognition of the airport and area.
Chinggis Khaan International Airport – Mongolia
Now, this is a weird one.
Originally established as Buyant-Ukhaa airport, the name was changed in 2005 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the establishment of a Mongolian State. In Mongolia, Genghis Khan is seen as a great leader who unified the country, organised the Silk Road and encouraged religious tolerance. Elsewhere he is seen as a ruthless genocidal invader, which does make the naming seem an odd choice.
Will Rogers World Airport
Not only is this airport named after a comedian, cowboy and prominent Cherokee but it is also the only airport in the USA to have the word “World” in it without any kind of reference to its actual location. Born into a highly influential Cherokee family, he became a comedian, columnist, vaudeville performer, actor and aviation advocate. He unfortunately died in a plane crash in 1935.
Originally opened as Moisant International Airport in 1959, it was renamed in 2001 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of famous jazz musician Louis Armstrong’s birth. Armstrong was an incredible trumpet and cornet player, a huge influence in early jazz and had an incredible gravelly voice which he used to sing and to scat.
Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza – Albania
The only airport on this list named after a woman, it is also the only international airport in the country of Albania. In 2001 it was named after Mother Theresa who was of Albanian descent, although lived most of her life in India – she was given this honour two years before her beatification.
Charles M. Schulz Airport – California
The Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa was renamed in 2002 after the famous cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz. He lived in the area for over 30 years, and in the same year as his death the local airport was named after him.
They also took one of his most famous creations, Snoopy, as the airport’s new mascot. The logo now shoes Snoopy riding his famous red dog house like a plane, dressed in WW1 attire.
John Lennon Airport – Liverpool
The first airport in the UK to be named after a person (real or fictional) was the Liverpool International Airport, which took inspiration from John Wayne Airport. Its name was changed in 2001 to honour the Liverpool-born member of The Beatles, and prominently features themes and lyrics from his famous song Imagine. The renaming came 21 years after his death and met with approval from his widow, Yoko Ono, who later revealed a seven foot bronze statue in his likeness.