S.F. officials slam plan to change Oakland International Airport’s name
S.F. officials and SFO chief slam plan to change Oakland International Airport’s name The name of San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport is being considered as part of a campaign to increase awareness of the airport's location and attract more routes to and from Oakland. The Port of Oakland, which owns and operates the airport, has stated that the airport’s code, OAK, and visual brand will not change. SFO's airport director, Ivar Satero, expressed concern over potential confusion and disservice from the proposed renaming. The change is supported by the Port ofOakland port commissioners, who believe it will help raise awareness and help airlines keep and add routes to Oakland. Critics argue that the change could harm the city and harm its reputation.
Published : 2 months ago by David Hernandez in Travel
The name under consideration? The San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. The airport’s code — OAK — and visual brand will not change, according to officials with the Port of Oakland, which runs the East Bay airport.
Oakland port commissioners will consider the name change at a meeting April 11, as part of an effort to increase awareness of the airport’s location among inbound travelers and, they hope, attract more routes to and from Oakland, according to the Port of Oakland, which owns and operates the airport.
SFO’s airport director, Ivar Satero, said the Bay Area’s largest and best-known airport is concerned the name change will cause confusion among travelers booking flights and wants Oakland to leave the name of the city across the bay off of its airport.
“We are deeply concerned about the potential for customer confusion and disservice that could result from this proposed renaming,” he said. “We anticipate the new name being considered by the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport will cause confusion for the public, either through a misunderstanding of its physical location or its perceived relationship to SFO.”
“I’m delighted to know that San Francisco’s name is still sought after — and that’s a lovely compliment,” said Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who plans to introduce a resolution opposing the change at Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting. “But that does not justify appropriating the name we’ve used for almost 100 years.”
Oakland port officials say the problem is that half of frequent international travelers and nearly a third of domestic travelers are unaware of the airport's location. As a result, flights to Oakland haven’t performed as well as expected, making airlines reluctant to keep and add new routes.
“Adding San Francisco Bay to the name will improve travelers' geographic awareness of the airport and help us reach and succeed in new markets,"port commission president Barbara Leslie said in a video announcement the Port posted to social media.
Leslie also presented the change as an important move for the future of the airport, which provides more than 30,000 airport jobs and $1.6 billion to Oakland’s economy.
“I love Oakland, but Oakland is Oakland. It’s not San Francisco,” Wiener said on X. “Oakland’s airport should not be cutting & pasting San Francisco International Airport into its name. Please find another way to turn things around.”
Loren Taylor, a former Oakland council member who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2022, said the Port should spend its resources to improve the city, not distance itself from it.
“What message does this give to other Oakland businesses and residents? That ditching Oakland is the ideal path to making more profit? Instead, let’s go all in on making Oakland a better, safer, and more vibrant city,” Taylor said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The proposed modification follows a survey that was sent to 700 registered voters in Oakland last summer to collect feedback. Although a potential new name wasn’t revealed at the time, the idea alone drew pushback even then on social media.