Officials with the Port of Oakland on Thursday were set to vote on a controversial plan to change the name of Oakland International Airport.
The move has been met with a lot of opposition, mainly due to the new name under consideration: San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.
San Francisco officials say the proposed new name infringes on San Francisco International Airport's trademark, and it would create confusion among the Bay Area's many international visitors whose first language is not English.
Supervisors in San Mateo County, where SFO is located, voted unanimously this week to oppose the plan.
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Craig Simon, interim director of aviation for Oakland's airport, said data from studies in 2013 and 2022 showed people don't really know where Oakland sits in relation to the greater Bay Area. So Oakland’s move, he says, is more of a geographical identifier.
"It’s really about how do we grow from an Oakland perspective; what does Oakland look like," Simon said. "This is a pro-Oakland, a pro-Bay Area, pro-jobs request for the board."
Regardless of name change, the airport will still use OAK as an identifier.
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If the proposed name change passes Thursday, a second reading will happen on April 25. If that passes, the change can happen as soon as the end of the month.
The port's board of commissioners is scheduled to meet and vote at 3:30 p.m.
