Having hit a legal roadblock after trying to change its name to ‘San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport,’ Oakland officials are now taking another stab at it with the new proposed new name ‘Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport.’
It’s been since spring of 2024 that officials at the Port of Oakland got the perhaps ill-advised idea to change the city's airport name to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, hoping to drum up more business, if even at the expense of sowing confusion among passengers who might get duped into going to the wrong airport. SFO officials fumed at the coopting of the name “San Francisco,” and sure enough, SF City Attorney David Chiu filed for an injunction to prevent Oakland’s airport from naming themselves after San Francisco.
A US magistrate judge granted that injunction this past November, temporarily blocking the Oakland airport from using that name that had the words “San Francisco” in front. That case is still playing its way out.
But now the Chronicle reports that the Port of Oakland, which operates the Oakland airport, is at it again with a too-cute workaround. According to the Chronicle, the Port of Oakland is attempting now to change the name of Oakland airport again, this time trying the name “Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport.”
The Chronicle obtained the letter from the Port of Oakland just sent Friday morning to SFO officials, a letter which notes that the Oakland airport is still planning to keep the three-letter identifier “OAK”. But it also indicates the Port of Oakland is still intending to fight for that “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” and continue their ongoing legal battle for it.
“In the meantime, however the Port needs to implement a new name for OAK while we wait for final legal resolution,” Port of Oakland director of aviation Craig Simon says in the letter. “In this regard, the Port’s Executive Director and I plan to recommend to the Board the following name — ‘Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport’ — at its regular meeting scheduled on July 10, 2025.”
So yes, the Port of Oakland would be voting on this as soon as Thursday, July 10. If the Port of Oakland approves this name, which it seems they would, as they approved the previous “San Francisco”-swiping name, the new name would take effect on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
SF City Attorney David Chiu’s office was reportedly taken aback by the news, but did not indicate how they would respond. City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Jen Kwart told the Chronicle, “We just learned about this. We are discussing internally and will have more to say in the coming days.”
Oakland is still litigating in hopes of using the other name that so provoked SFO officials, so it’s hard to imagine there would be a great deal of goodwill toward this new name that essentially just rearranges the order of the same words. And on its appearance, this still seems like an attempt by Oakland to pilfer some business from SFO, and we do not anticipate a warm reaction from SF airport officials about it.
Image: OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 12: A traveler walks through Terminal 1 at Oakland International Airport on April 12, 2024 in Oakland, California. The Board of Commissioners for the Port of Oakland voted on Thursday to proceed with a plan to change the name of Oakland International Airport to the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. San Francisco officials are objecting to the proposed name change and have threatened to file a lawsuit arguing it would violate the city’s trademark on San Francisco International Airport and would potentially be confusing for people traveling to the area. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
