Some airports named after famous people
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (England): Known as Speke Airport after the suburb it is located in, was privatized in 1991, and the owners decided to rename it in Lennon’s honour in 2001, 21 years after his death. Until that time, renaming places was the province of heads of states-making this Beatle the first celebrity to receive this honour. To use his name, the airport needed consent from his widow Yoko Ono. A year later during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, Yoko Ono and the Queen officially opened the airport in July 2002.
Aristotelis Airport or Kastoria National Airport (Macedonia): Aristotle was born in Stagira, Macedonia in 384 BC was known its large body of work as well for his huge influence on medieval thought and scholarship. He was invited by Philip II of Macedonia to tutor his son, the future Alexander the Great and later appointed head of Royal Academy and tutored two other future Kings: Ptolemy & Cassander. The airport is located near the historic lakeside city of the same name. A small airport served by a single airline that flies to Athens twice a day.
Falcone-Borsellino International Airport (Italy): Judges Giovanni Falcone & Paolo Borsellino were both native sons of Palermo, close friends and partners in the fight against Mafia which sadly claimed both their lives. Both murders were orchestrated by infamous Mafia boss Salvatore Riina who was arrested and spend the rest of his life in a prison. A few years after the tragic demise the airport is named after them and memorial to the fallen judges can be found all over Italy.
John Paul II Krakow Balice International Airport (Poland) & Joao Paulo II Airport (Sao Miguel): Pope John Paul II, was elected to the papacy in 1978 and served until his death in 2005. His 27-year period of service makes his the second-longest reigning Pope in his history exceeded only by Pius IX. He was the first non-Italian Pope since the 16th century. After his death he was “fast-tracked” for sainthood. During his reign, he reaffirmed many Catholic doctrines and also improved relations with other faith traditions. He is credited with helping to end communism in his native Poland.
Sergei Prokoflev International Airport (Ukraine): He was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who later worked in the Soviet Union. “Peter and the Wolf” is his most frequently performed piece and is likely one of the most frequently performed piece. He composed a huge breadth of musical types, from operas to ballets to concerti. He died on the same day as Josef Stalin, which led to difficult staging his funeral and little public notice.
Roland Garros Airport (Reunion): He became an aviator after watching an air race and when the WWI broke out, he joined the French army as a pilot, but firing a gun from the plane was problematical since the bullets often hit the propeller. With a synchronizer incompatible with the guns used at the time. Garros and his mechanic, Jules Hue, attached thin metal wedge to the propeller to deflect bullets fired from his gun. This was so successful that Garros was the first person to shoot down an enemy aircraft while firing through a tractor propeller. In 1915 he was shot down in enemy territory and captured by the German forces, but his armoured propeller was now in enemy hand. He managed to escape from his POW camp, and rejoined the French army, only to be shot down and killed before the end of the war. The French tennis stadium, built in 1920 was named for him, and the French Open Championships have also taken his name.
Reina Sofia Airport (Canary Islands): Queen Sofia of Spain, born in 1938 to King Paul of Greece and Frederica of Hanover. She married Juan Carlos of Spain in 1962. Following the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, they became King and Queen of Spain until he abdicated in favor of their son Felipe in 2014. She changed her name and her religion upon her marriage to become more attractive to Catholics of her new county. She changed her name and religion upon her marriage to become more attractive to the Catholics of her new country. She was a seasoned traveller and visited Addis Ababa in 1973, receiving The Order of the Queen of Sheba, a ladies ‘Order of Merit’ whose badge is a Gold Star of David
Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt International Airport (Germany): Willy Brandt was born Herbert Ernst Frahm, changed his name in order to avoid detection by the Nazis. He spent time in Norway during the WW2, returning to Berlin to rejoin the Social Democratic Party of Germany, eventually becoming Chancellor in 1969. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971. He was credited with strengthening relations between West Germany and EEC. He had strong ties with the United States, controversially endorsing the Vietnam War.
Copernicus Airport Wroclaw (Poland): Nicolaus Copernicus was a polyglot and polymath who was known for many achievements, particularly his theory of heliocentrism. He earned a doctorate in canon law, and had professions that included being a mathematician, astronomer, physician, translator, local governor, diplomat and economist. In 1517 he derived a quantity Theory of Money (a key concept in Economics) and in 1519 he formulated an economic principle that later came to be called Gresham’s law.
Chicago O Hare International Airport (USA): Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry O’Hare, was an American naval aviator of the United States Navy, who on February 20, 1942, became the Navy’s first fighter ace of the war when he single-handedly attacked a formation of nine heavy bombers approaching his aircraft carrier. Even though he had a limited amount of ammunition, he was credited with shooting down five enemy bombers and became the first naval aviator recipient of the Medal of Honor in WW2. An F4F Wildcat, in a livery identical to the aircraft (“White F-15”) flown by O’Hare, is currently on display in Terminal 2.
Other Notable mentions
Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, Rome: Italy
Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport: Portugal
Nikola Tesla International Airport, Belgrade: Serbia
Venice Marco Polo Airport: Italy
Charles M Schulz Sonoma County Airport: USA
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