The folks who run Little Rock National Airport, in Little Rock, Arkansas (LIT) have big plans for upgrading and expanding the airport.
And with those plans comes a new name: the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration will have to sign off on the new moniker, but at its March 20th meeting, airport commissioners cited the many contributions President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have made to Arkansas through more than three decades of service to the state and to the nation as the reason for voting to rename the airport.
“Hillary and I are humbled by the Little Rock Airport Commission’s decision this morning,” said President Bill Clinton in a statement. “We are grateful for this honor and for all that the people of Arkansas have done for us. And we look forward to many happy landings at the airport in the years ahead.”
While commissioners plan on changing the airport’s name, they’re going to keep the name of the airfield – Adams Field – intact. That names honors Captain George Geyer Adams, 154th Observation Squadron, Arkansas National Guard, a former city council member and airport advocate who was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 4, 1937.
This is, of course, not the first airport to be named for a former president. Others include;
• Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) in Springfield, Ill.
• New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• The Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) in Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas