In Canada at least 3 major airports have been given names of former politicians.

YUL - Montreal Dorval became Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport.
YHZ - Halifax International became Robert L. Stanfield International Airport
YYZ- Toronto International became Lester B Pearson International Airport

In the US 2 presidents:

JFK from (Idlewild)
IAH (Houston International) to George H W Bush.

Let's not forget Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)!!

Quite recently, MAD went from Madrid Barajas to Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas

EWRandMDW wrote:

Let's not forget Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)!!

Sorry I missed that one - for DC I only thought of Dulles.

Isn't the Anchorage Int'l Airport now named for former Senator Ted Stevens?

Isn't the Anchorage Int'l Airport now named for former Senator Ted Stevens?

I wonder if they'll name an airport after Obama (likely event). There were online petition/wishful-thinking about renaming MDW after him.

What about Reagan,Clinton & Ford? Now yes, you did say MAJOR,but I am not sure what that definition means. Surely, DCA would count, no?

EWRandMDW wrote:

Let's not forget Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)!!

Is it really a "major" airport though ?

BWI is named after a Supreme Court justice

DOH changed to Hamad International Airport, honouring the former head of state of Qatar.
IAH too named after George H. W Bush , the 41st president of the USA.

Besides JFK,....any airports renamed after someone, and the code changed?

euroflyer wrote:

EWRandMDW wrote:

Let's not forget Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)!!

Is it really a "major" airport though ?

Think of it as the Heathrow of DC....with shorter runways

McCarran Airport back home (LAS) was renamed for Pat McCarran in 1941.

euroflyer wrote:

EWRandMDW wrote:

Let's not forget Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)!!

Is it really a "major" airport though ?

You need to reel in your terminology.

DCA has more enplanements than Dulles which you mentioned.

So - yes it is a major airport.

It is *not* an international airport - which is what I think you're getting at.

Then we have Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The Port Commission back in 1983 decided to change the name to Henry M.Jackson International Airport. The political leaders of Tacoma protested the move since their fair city name was removed from the name of the airport. The final result in 1984, under pressure the Port Commission reserved their decision and the name went back to Sea-Tac. How many youngsters even know who Henry Jackson was?

The then mayor of Phoenix (Rimza) tried to get the name of Phoenix Sky Harbor changed to honor Barry Goldwater, needless to say that idea was dead on arrival.

Recently, Wichita, Kansas is now the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (March 2015) and Port Columbus (Ohio) is now the John Glenn Columbus International Airport (June 2016).

Btw - BWI (Baltimore-Washington International) renamed for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and IAD (Washington-Dulles) - originally named for President Eisenhower's Secretary of State - are *also* named for politicos.

Manila International Airport (MNL) was renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport to honour Benigno Aquino Jr, a former senator and President Ferdinand Marcos' political opponent, who was assassinated in the airport after returning from his exile in the US.

CGN is not that major, but it was renamend for Germany's first post-war chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1994.

Let's not forget the busiest one in the world: ATL

It's so major they named it after two politicians: former mayors William Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson

I imagine it is a near certainty that in the next decade ORD or MDW will be renamed for the nations first black president.

Much to the chagrin of some a.netters, if I was a betting man, I would bet on ORD. haha

Given Chicago has a huge black population, Obama is from there, his library is going there, and recent unrest and racial tensions in the city (I think it is now the most dangerous large city in US) this will be a nice nod to the community aimed at improving relationships.

Little Rock AR to Clinton National

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_National_Airport

Name includes Hillary and she not even POTUS yet!!!!

ACJ - Jimmy Carter Regional Airport - Americus, Georgia
STT - Cyril E King Airport, US Virgin Islands, was known as Harry S Truman Airport until 1984
ICT - Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, Wichita, Kansas
GRR - Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Grand Rapids, Michigan
DCA - Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Arlington County, Virginia
LIT - Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, Little Rock, Arkansas
MDW - Chicago Midway Airport has been suggested as a possible candidate for renaming as Obama Airport
EUX - F. D. Roosevelt Airport, Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands
DAR - Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
NBO - Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
RAI - Nelson Mandela International Airport, Praia, Cape Verde
DEL - Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, India
CGK - Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia
CDG - Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
JNB - O. R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa

I'm sure there's lots more. Why name an airport after a politician?

jfklganyc wrote:

I imagine it is a near certainty that in the next decade ORD or MDW will be renamed for the nations first black president.

Much to the chagrin of some a.netters, if I was a betting man, I would bet on ORD. haha

Given Chicago has a huge black population, Obama is from there, his library is going there, and recent unrest and racial tensions in the city (I think it is now the most dangerous large city in US) this will be a nice nod to the community aimed at improving relationships.

It would be quite appropriate to rename ORD in honor of President Obama, I think. Renaming Midway (no disrespect to Midway, but) would not be appropriate since I think that ORD is an international airport, and renaming an international gateway to America after its first African American President is the best way to honor that distinction.

We have a few in Brazil:

GRU - Governador André Franco Montoro, but everyone refers to it as "Guarulhos" or "Cumbica"
SSA - Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães - fomwerly known as 2 de julho.

Other major brazilian airports honor politians (CWB, CNF, MAO,...) but I'm not sure if they were renamed after them.

Also:
SPI - Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, Springfield, Illinois

LGA, named after Fiorello La Guardia, a former Mayor of NY.

What are the bets on Trump renaming it after himself should he win the election?!?!

neutronstar73 wrote:

It would be quite appropriate to rename ORD in honor of President Obama, I think. Renaming Midway (no disrespect to Midway, but) would not be appropriate since I think that ORD is an international airport, and renaming an international gateway to America after its first African American President is the best way to honor that distinction.

Regardless of the merits of the idea, it is to a degree pointless to rename either airport for President Obama. To Chicagoans--who don't take well to new names--they will always be "O'Hare" and "Midway."

And:
SID - Amílcar Cabral International Airport , Sal, Cape Verde
DIL - Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport, Dili, Timor Leste
WDH - Hosea Kutako International Airport, Windhoek, Namibia
LOS - Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria
ABV - Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria
KAN - Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, Nigeria

Cubsrule wrote:

neutronstar73 wrote:

It would be quite appropriate to rename ORD in honor of President Obama, I think. Renaming Midway (no disrespect to Midway, but) would not be appropriate since I think that ORD is an international airport, and renaming an international gateway to America after its first African American President is the best way to honor that distinction.

Regardless of the merits of the idea, it is to a degree pointless to rename either airport for President Obama. To Chicagoans--who don't take well to new names--they will always be "O'Hare" and "Midway."

I agree. No matter if it changes or not, O'Hare will always be O'Hare.
That's the same point trying to change JFK's name; it will always be JFK.

MGA - Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, Managua, Nicaragua

CBRboy wrote:

CDG - Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France

In this case it was named so from the opening in 1974, not renamed as the OP asked.

There is also MEX named after President Benito Juarez but I don't know if it's a renaming.

Cubsrule wrote:

Regardless of the merits of the idea, it is to a degree pointless to rename either airport for President Obama. To Chicagoans--who don't take well to new names--they will always be "O'Hare" and "Midway."

There is always the official name and the public name. CDG is always referred to as "Roissy" by the public, not Charles De Gaulle. JFK seems to be the exception, though.

Not sure if you are looking for just Airports or can also include terminals.
GFK- Sen. Byron Dorgan Terminal/Sen. Mark Andrews Field
MSP-Humphry Terminal
DTW-McNamara

CLE was named after William Hopkins, a former City Manager of Cleveland. DAY was named after James Cox, former governor of Ohio.

DakotaFlyer wrote:

Not sure if you are looking for just Airports or can also include terminals.
GFK- Sen. Byron Dorgan Terminal/Sen. Mark Andrews Field
MSP-Humphry Terminal
DTW-McNamara

PSP -Sonny Bono Concourse

Also in California...

SJC - Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport

TLV - Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel
TLL - Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport, Estonia

It's basically every airport

CBRboy wrote:

ACJ - Jimmy Carter Regional Airport - Americus, Georgia
STT - Cyril E King Airport, US Virgin Islands, was known as Harry S Truman Airport until 1984
ICT - Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, Wichita, Kansas
GRR - Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Grand Rapids, Michigan
DCA - Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Arlington County, Virginia
LIT - Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, Little Rock, Arkansas
MDW - Chicago Midway Airport has been suggested as a possible candidate for renaming as Obama Airport
EUX - F. D. Roosevelt Airport, Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands
DAR - Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
NBO - Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
RAI - Nelson Mandela International Airport, Praia, Cape Verde
DEL - Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, India
CGK - Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia
CDG - Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
JNB - O. R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa
re there's lots more. Why name an airport after a politician?

CDG was not renamed, as it was christened Charles de Gaulle Airport a few months before opening

Dominican Republic

Puerto Plata Puerto Plata MDPP POP Gregorio Luperón International Airport
Sánchez Samaná MDCY AZS Samaná El Catey International Airport (Dr. Juan Bosch)
Santo Domingo Distrito Nacional MDJB JBQ El Higüero (Dr. Joaquín Balaguer)
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo Este MDSD SDQ Las Américas-JFPG International Airport (Dr. José Fco. Peña Gómez)

ATH - Eleftherios Venizelos, after the Prime Minister of Greece between 1910 and 1920 and 1928-1933, widely regarded as the father of modern Greece.

Now technically the name has been with ATH since it moved to its current site, but the original ATH was called Hellenikon.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport - KCLT

Ben Douglas former mayor....

Time for LHR to change its name to Winston Churchill

enilria wrote:

It's basically every airport

Yup. If an airport/terminal has a person's name in it than they are likely either:

A) A politician
B) A local war hero (e.g., O'Hare, Boston's Logan)

Well then, I guess John Lennon has a big smile on his face.

Throughout the Caribbean, this has happened quite a bit: BGI - Seawell to Grantley Adams; SKB - Golden Rock to Robert Bradshaw; SJU - Isla Verde to Luis Muñoz Marín; KIN - Palisadoes to Norman Manley; GND - Point Salines to Maurice Bishop, SLU - Vigie to George Charles; FDF - Le Lamentin to Aimé Césaire... and others.

POS has kept Piarco and SDQ is still Las Américas... a few others have kept the original names as well.

Once it is opened Germany has BER - Willy Brandt, as well as MUC - Franz Josef Strauss,

O'Hare (ORD) received its code from it's original name which was Orchard Field. It was renamed O'Hare in honor of Edward O'Hare, s US Navy pilot who won the Congrssional Medal of Honor in World War 2.

Removing the name of a legitimate war hero and replacing it with the name of a politician would be a disgrace.

IST - Istanbul Atatürk Airport after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, previously known as Yeşilköy airport (due to its location).

I wonder if the new Istanbul airport will eventually be named Erdogan Airport.