Comments on: The Quick 10: The Previous Names of 10 Airports

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:21:13 +0000

Interesting, Ronald Reagan is one of the few people to have an airport named after him while he was still alive. I wonder if there would have been so much fuss if they had waited until he had died?

By: Dawn

Dawn — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:10:00 +0000

Late to the post, but also lived in the DC area for many years…and yep, the airport was DCA or National. I actually forgot the “Ronald Reagan” part, and was always surprised to see the full name whenever I flew out of the airport (normally took the metro there).

As for Orlando – it’s airport code is MCO. Is that “Mickey and Company” or a remnant of the old name?

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:32:00 +0000

In Houston, the Hobby airport was originally called the Howard R. Hughes Airport. But this was when Hughes was alive – and they wanted to name it after someone who had already died (William P. Hobby, for instance). So they changed the name.

Did it occur to no one that Howard Hughes might someday, you know, die???

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:27:00 +0000

I always wanted them to rename Newark International Airport after Frank Sinatra. They could have a big “Come Fly with Me!” sign out in front. Alas, after 9/11, they changed the name to Newark Liberty Airport.

By: Lilly

Lilly — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:46:00 +0000

It occurs to me that the “correcting” people who’ve moved to the DC area and call it Reagan sounds bitter…sorry…it’s less about being bitter and more about very few, if any, locals call it Reagan. Some tourists call it Reagan and locals call it National. It’s more of a local colloquialism for many.

By: Marty

Marty — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Neat factoid on O’Hare. His father worked financial matters for Capone. He was the one who turned over evidence to Eliot Ness’s group to help them convict Capone for tax evasion. If I remember correctly, his father was later murdered…I wonder why? :)

By: Lilly

Lilly — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:35:00 +0000

I can’t think of a single person who calls National anything other than National, DCA, or Washington National Airport…with the exception of metro announcers who passing through the station now call it Ronald Reagan National Airport.

I first moved to DC when the gov’t was threatening to withhold money from metro in order to have the signs changed…it infuriated many, many people. I actually correct people if they try to call in Reagan (ie, new residents.) Within a few months they seem to understand the metro ordeal and the fact that Reagan is not a man you name an airport after (above mentioned actions during the 1981 strike) as more than just cause that the airport will always be National.

Sidenote, to be technical, it is listed as Ronald Reagan National Airport, no international flights land or depart there, only domestic. The area’s international airports are Baltimore Washington International (BWI) and Dulles International Airport (located a little further into Virginia.)

By: Philip

Philip — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:23:00 +0000

From the other side of the pond: Franz-Josef Strauss Airport, Munich. Named after an ultra-conservative German politician whose career was tainted by many scandals (arresting journalists, allegedly taking bribes from Lockheed). Used to be Munich international.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:15:00 +0000

I used to live in the DC area, and we always called in National, never Regan. I now live near Chicago, and O’Hare has a memorial to the pilot O’Hare in one of the terminals, I think it’s the united terminal.

By: Pants

Pants — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:54:00 +0000

It seems like a lot of airports are called “international” when they seem to only serve domestic flights because they have the capability of accepting international flights Ex: Some will not have commercial international flights but will have charter international flights. (Like Club Med, Apple Vacations, etc)