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Passengers Fly to the Wrong Airport After Oakland Airport Renaming

Passengers Fly to the Wrong Airport After Oakland Airport Renaming

BY SANGHYUN KIM Published on September 18, 2024 25 COMMENTS

 



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Recently, the airport in the Californian city of Oakland had its name changed, albeit in quite a confusing way. The airport that was once known as Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK) has changed its name to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK) last May, and it is confusing travelers.
 

Passengers Ending Up in the Wrong Airport

 

Photo: San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport 

 

Since the name change in May, there have been multiple reports of passengers flying to Oakland instead of San Francisco by mistake. The new airport name now has San Francisco written before Oakland, confusing passengers who intended to fly to San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

 

The Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners stated that the name change was due to many reasons. One of the reasons was that many travelers do not know that the airport directly faces San Francisco Bay, or that the City of Oakland is actually part of the Bay Area. 

 

Another reason was to end the confusion between Oakland Airport (OAK) and Auckland Airport (AKL) in Auckland, New Zealand. The confusion between Oakland and Auckland is especially important for Chinese people, as both airports were written in the same way in simplified Chinese (奥克兰).

 

The City of San Francisco, which owns SFO and also owns the trademark "San Francisco International Airport" filed a federal trademark lawsuit against Oakland to stop the change. The City Attorney David Chiu claimed in his motion that passengers were flying to SFO while their intended destination was Oakland. The name change also had an influence in social media, where travelers were geotagging the wrong airport in social media posts. Chiu quoted that,

 

“San Francisco has invested millions in making San Francisco International Airport the world-class airport it is today. We have built an incredible brand that we must protect. Oakland has a trademark for Oakland International Airport. It should use that and stay away from San Francisco’s brand.” 
 

The Name Change goes as Planned

 



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Photo: The name change to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport was approved despite objections from the City of San Francisco 

 

While the City of San Francisco was ultimately unable to stop the name change, they consistently expressed a "strong objection" throughout the process. This was again shown by SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel at the Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners meeting, where he stated the following: 

“We understand the importance of growing passenger activity. But as airports, we also have an obligation to serve the passengers by reducing the sources of confusion and stress from air travel.”

 

However, the confusion was soon downplayed by the Port's executive director Danny Wan, as he stated the following:

“I fail to see the confusion …. It clarifies to the world that OAK is on the San Francisco Bay. It does not confuse and leads to more nonstop option choices at the airport. This is not about San Francisco. We’re not trying to confuse or copy them.”
 

It is reported that a majority of entities were in support of the name change. These include Southwest, Spirit, Volaris, tourism heads for Berkely, the Tri-Valley, and obviously, Oakland.

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Sanghyun Kim
Hey! My name is Sanghyun Kim, and I'm an aviation enthusiast based in Seoul, South Korea. I like flying, flying, and flying. Umm, maybe I like cars too, haha. I became a writer for AeroXplorer to spread interesting information like they have wings! I hope they reach every single person that is interested in aviation. Thank you! . SkyTeam Elite (Korean Air Morning Calm Club)

Comments (25)

The Colonel How the hell can passengers fly to the wrong airport? They’re just sitting in the back of an aircraft, by definition, so don’t do the flying. Are you saying the pilots get it wrong or that passengers go to the wrong airport (SFO/OAK) to get their flight?
92d ago • Reply
Lisandro I believe it means they purchase a ticket to OAK when they actually want to go to SFO. Then they tell a friend "pick me up in the San Francisco Airport" and then arrive at Oakland. When you want to fly, most people enter the city name, not the airport code, so they may book a flight that tell them they arrive in "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport" and they do not know that is different from "San Francisco International Airport" (read just the first words). They are both close the San Francisco city, but they are not the same.
MikeInPA Wow.
Axman Misleading headline. The passengers landed exactly where they booked their flight. Maybe not where they intended, but that is what they booked. A better headline would have been "Passengers book wrong city with airport name change confusion"
92d ago • Reply
Gary Helms Agree. Very misleading.
Joe S. Theragman Only in California…
92d ago • Reply
Jose R
Mike Eppright Oakland Airport is in a High crime area. Not a safe area.
92d ago • Reply
Jose R Right. Only in california.
92d ago • Reply
Chiro P Well it's not people flying to Australia and ending up in Austria
92d ago • Reply
CW Anyone voluntarily flying TO California is obviously not all that bright in the first place. Smart people are looking for seats out.
92d ago • Reply
92d ago • Reply
Obviously Confusing, change it back and find a new job !
92d ago • Reply
CLT Flyer There are YouTube video's online that compare travel times from downtown San Francisco to both airports using various means of transport (train, Uber) and the conclusion is they are both equally close... Here is one: https://crankyflier.com/2024/07/15/airport-death-match-is-sfo-or-oak-faster-to-san-francisco/
92d ago • Reply
Tom Similar confusion in Orlando. There’s Orlando international and Orlando Sanford international airport. About 35 driving miles apart. MCO vs SFB.
92d ago • Reply
C Simonds Like people wanting to fly to Dallas and end up at Dulles
92d ago • Reply
King Hui haha, same problem with people in UK confusing Syndey, Nova Scotia, Canada as Sydney, Australia. A few pax brought cheap tickets to Sydney (thinking SYD Australia) ended up in Sydney, Canada.
92d ago • Reply
John Yarno Simple, Oakland/San Francisco Bay Airport. There fixed that next???
92d ago • Reply
John Archie Bunker accidently shipped a work package to London UK not London Ontario Canada. His excuse was pretty good. - London Ont.?
91d ago • Reply
Marc N Oakland did this on purpose. So people would come to Oakland. Not very considerate.
91d ago • Reply
Eva Years ago, colleague also made a pretty crucial mistake when booking a ticket to Melbourne...: MEL*C MELBOURNE - 0K /AUVI MLB C MELBOURNE - 0K /USFL Didn´t stumble over the flight duration either
89d ago • Reply
KimC As a travel advisor for over 30 years, I can tell you this is a HEADACHE. The name should have been changed to something like, "OAKLAND on San Francisco Bay" if they wanted the location in the name. Morons! Obviously the didn't talk with anyone who actully WORKS in the industry before making this bonehead decision.
89d ago • Reply
KimC As a travel advisor for over 30 years, I can tell you this is a HEADACHE. The name should have been changed to something like, "OAKLAND on San Francisco Bay" if they wanted the location in the name. Morons! Obviously the didn't talk with anyone who actully WORKS in the industry before making this bonehead decision.
89d ago • Reply

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