NEW DELHI: The government is considering naming future airports after cities and not personalities because it feels that names of cities are easier to remember for passengers especially foreign tourists. The civil aviation ministry is, however, yet to finalise its decision. Regarding renaming of existing airports after personalities, the government is yet to make up its mind. The government, however, is likely to allow naming of airport terminals after eminent personalities.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha clarified the government’s stand while giving a written reply in the matter to the Lok Sabha recently. He said the proposal of naming and renaming airports after cities is being examined by the government and that the government is also working on a policy on naming / re-naming of airports.
“Due to lack of any firm and explicit instructions/guidelines for naming/renaming of airports in the country and considering the convenience of passengers in general and especially foreign tourists who are not familiar with the local history of the area, a view has emerged to name the airports by the name of the city in which they are located/served and the terminals of the airports after eminent personalities in honour of their memory.
There will be no changes to existing airport names,” Sinha said.
Sinha also confirmed that the ministry has received proposals from Andhra Pradesh regarding renaming of the Vijayawada Airport and the Tirupati Airport. On this, he said, “Since a policy on naming /re-naming of airports is presently under deliberation in this ministry, it has emerged that all proposals for naming / re-naming of airports may await the finalization of the above policy.” The state government in Andhra Pradesh wants the Vijayawada Airport to be renamed as ‘Nandamuri Taraka Rama RaobAmaravati Airport’ after the legendary actor and founder of the ruling Telugu Desam Party, and the Tirupati Airport to be renamed as ‘Sri Venkateswara Airport’ after lord Venkateswara of the temple town.
Major airports in India have been named after personalities, for instance, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport for Mumbai, Indira Gandhi International Airport for Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.