I'm flying from Lionel Wilson to Bob Hope. Which airport am I leaving and where am I headed?
If you guessed Oakland and Burbank, you're probably a frequent Southwest Airlines flyer. Or maybe you're just someone who, like me, has an unhealthy obsession with airport eponyms: names that honor people.
Some airport eponyms have achieved official status: JFK, LaGuardia, DeGaulle. But in many cities in the U.S. and elsewhere, airports generally known by their city names also get secondary names that recognize local heroes or public servants. Lionel Wilson, in case you were wondering, was Oakland's first African-American mayor; he served from 1977 to 1990. And Bob Hope was Bob Hope.
So here's a quiz for you. Name the city and country in which an airport is named for each of these people. To keep it fair, I've excluded obscure general-aviation airports and bush-plane destinations. Most of the answers are large or well-known cities--in their respective regions, anyway. Most of the airports are international hubs.
Answers tomorrow. No fair Googling.
Name the Airport
1. Bud Day
2. Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek
3. Lester Pearson
4. Marco Polo
5. Frederic Chopin
6. Kingsford Smith
7. Antonio B. Won Pat
8. Wiley Post–Will Rogers (two names, one airport)
9. Lech Walesa
10. Queen Beatrix
11. Rafic Hariri
12. King Abdulaziz
13. Ninoy Aquino
14. Mohammed V
15. Mwalimu J. K. Nyerere
16. Mother Teresa
17. Oliver Tambo
18. Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
19. Houari Boumedienne
20. José Martí
21. John Wayne
22. Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez
23. Nataji Subhash Chandra Bose
24. Simón Bolívar
25. Thurgood Marshall
For trivia buffs (and Friedmans) only: Where is Friedman Memorial Airport?
Drat. Don't know a one.
Off topic (but close): Souix City, Iowa petitioned for years to have their three letter code changed.
Now they have embraced it with new marketing campaign.
SUX is code.
Another fun game is to match the code with the original derivation... like Souix City... it SUX obviously.
Posted by: GoingLikeSixty | October 25, 2007 at 01:02 PM
The only one I know is John Wayne - Orange County, CA.
Posted by: Kim | October 25, 2007 at 02:57 PM
I must be a Commonwealth fan -- Kingsford Smith is Sydney and Lester Pearson is Toronto. Just flew into John Wayne last week. What, no Ronald Reagan (you should pardon the expression)?
Posted by: Jessica | October 25, 2007 at 04:51 PM
You missed off John Lennon Airport.
Posted by: John Russell | October 26, 2007 at 05:18 AM
John: Yep--I thought it was too obvious. Stay tuned for my post later today.
Posted by: Nancy Friedman | October 26, 2007 at 08:11 AM
Even a few non-Friedmans know about the Blaine County Friedman Memorial Airport (for the rest of your readers that's the airport that serves Sun Valley, ID.) Marco Polo - Venice?
Posted by: Charles | October 26, 2007 at 10:00 AM