Oakland Takes Another Step Towards Adding ‘San Francisco’ to Its Airport Name

The process for a major change and rebranding to Oakland International Airport (OAK) took a major step late last week.

On Thursday, the Board of Commissioners for the Port of Oakland, which governs the airport, approved the name change to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.” Officials are hoping that the new name will raise awareness of the airport’s proximity to San Francisco, and help boost the profile among domestic and international travelers.

“Every day, hundreds of travelers drive from the East Bay to SFO, passing OAK because they can’t get the flight they need. For the economic health of the region, this must change,” Danny Wan, the Port of Oakland’s Executive Director said. “Our renaming will make travel easier for thousands of people and help grow the local economy.”

The proposal will now await a second vote on May 9 for final approval on the name change. If approved, Oakland staff plan to move forward with a formal renaming “to reflect the modification in airport and airline systems,” though the airport code OAK will not change.

While Oakland officials, along with local travel groups including Visit Oakland, fully support the name change, those in San Francisco remain adamantly against the change and are still promising to do what they can to stop the process, including suing.

In a letter to the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners last week, the city attorney from the City and County of San Francisco David Chiu wrote that the name change is “very likely to cause confusion and mistake problems,” particularly among the non-English speaking population of international travelers.

“That very high risk of confusion or mistake is because consumers will either misunderstand Oakland International Airport’s physical location (i.e., that it’s in San Francisco rather than Oakland) or mistakenly believe that there is a formal relationship or connection between the two airports that does not exist,” Chiu wrote.

San Francisco officials said they have no problem working with Oakland to come up with a name that would help it raise its profile, but simply putting “San Francisco” in the name is not the solution. And if Oakland continues down the path, it will take legal action against the city.

“I invite the Port of Oakland staff to consult with SFO staff, who are prepared to work collaboratively on alternative names that would not create confusion for consumers and the public. If the Port of Oakland instead elects to proceed with the proposed name change, then unfortunately the City will have no choice other than to pursue necessary legal action,” Chiu wrote.