Oakland International Airport wants to add “San Francisco Bay” to its name. But San Mateo County, where San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is located, says not so fast.
The five-member San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously this week to oppose a plan by the Port of Oakland to officially change the airport’s name from its current “Oakland Metropolitan International Airport” to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.”
“The concern is that it would cause confusion where passengers would accidentally book a ticket to Oakland when they meant to book a ticket to SFO,” said Supervisor Dave Pine, the resolution’s author, during a board meeting this week.
“The proposal has the potential to cause significant confusion for the traveling public and others, as well as to cause adverse economic impacts for businesses that have products delivered by plane,” read the resolution.
Although SFO is technically part of San Francisco, it is located in San Mateo County, which receives the most economic benefit from SFO, one of the two busiest airports in the state.
According to SFO, 47 million people traveled through the airport in 2023.
The airport generated $6.34 billion for San Mateo County in 2021 and employs at least 10,000 people, according to SFO’s latest available data. San Mateo County estimates it earned around $98 million in taxes from the airport that same period.
SFO’s government affairs manager Dyanna Volek said during the meeting the name change would cause “confusion and frustration” for the consumers.
Public reaction was mixed.
In support of the resolution, John Hutar, president and CEO of the San Mateo County/Silicon Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the resolution would affect travel-related industries negatively.
“(Renaming the airport) will cause extraordinary confusion for visitors translating into a negative impact for our industry,” Hutar said.
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The organization represents over 140 hotels and 300 restaurants and other travel-related businesses on the San Francisco Peninsula.
One resident opposed the resolution, saying it was “much ado about nothing.” He felt San Mateo was “kicking” its neighbor across the Bay while it was down. He was referring to Oakland’s struggles with public safety and keeping its sports teams in town.
The Port of Oakland Commission is expected to take up the name change during its April 11 meeting.
