While the airport code would remain OAK, the new name would "boost inbound travelers' geographic awareness of the airport's location on the San Francisco Bay," Port Commission President Barbara Leslie said in a statement Friday.
The airport has lost routes, including 39 of 54 that were added from July 2008 to March 2024, Interim Director of Aviation Craig Simon said.
Leslie said: "Market research and interviews with airline partners have shown that routes have not performed as well as they should have due to the lack of geographic awareness, making air carriers reluctant to sustain and add new routes in Oakland.”
Rechristening the airport would protect 30,000 direct jobs and more tha one-and-a-half billion dollars in economic impact on the region, added Leslie.
The port's commissioners will consider the name change at their April 11th meeting.
