These 3 airports in the United States successfully changed their names over the past couple of years — even though the odds were against that happening at times due to some impediments and opposition.
These 3 Airports Successfully Changed Their Names.
The three airports that successfully changed their names are:
- Oakland — Metropolitan Oakland International Airport has finally successfully officially changed its name to Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, which became effective as of Tuesday, April 28, 2026 when the trademark lawsuit over use of the name was legally resolved — and the terms of the agreement were memorialized in a formal document that is available on the Internet web sites of both Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
- Montréal — Saint-Hubert Airport changed its name to Montréal Metropolitan Airport back in February of 2024 with a new terminal that opened last year. Despite a permanent injunction which had been requested in Québec Superior Court to force the new Montréal Metropolitan Airport to again change its name because of the potential confusion that the new name may cause to passengers, the airport is now officially known as Montréal Metropolitan Airport — even though the airport code remains YHU instead of being changed to MET; and even though some of the signage at the airport still has not changed as of today, Tuesday, May 19, 2026 as evidenced by the featured photograph at the top of this article.
- West Palm Beach — Donald J. Trump International Airport was voted to be the new name of Palm Beach International Airport in the state of Florida by its legislators — and the new name could be in effect as soon as Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Lawmakers in the Florida legislature approved a bill in February of 2026 to rename the airport by a vote of 25 to 11 in the Florida Senate; and by a vote of 81 to 30 in the Florida House of Representatives. Ron DeSantis — who is the current governor of the state of Florida — signed the bill into law in March of 2026. The Trump Organization filed to trademark the new name of the airport.
Final Boarding Call
I vehemently oppose the changing of the name of an airport specifically to honor someone. Airports should not be named after people, in my opinion — especially when people such as Patrick Anthony McCarran and John Wayne are considered to be controversial…
…but an airport name should also be easy to remember. It should include the name of the geographic location which it serves. I personally prefer the name Saint-Hubert International Airport. Easy.
Renaming airports is a waste of time and money, in my opinion — especially if trademarks and licensing fees are involved, which brings this lunacy to an unnecessary level of audacity and ridiculousness.
I already have opined the reasons why I believe that airports should not be named after people in this article here at The Gate With Brian Cohen — and trademarks and licensing fees on the name are yet another reason.
Why must things be more complicated and more costly than necessary?
Photograph ©2026 by Brian Cohen.
