Cape Town International Airport Renaming Dumped over Lack of Consensus

Friday, February 26, 2021 at 11:22 AM by Reeshni Chetty

- The idea of renaming the Cape Town International Airport has reportedly been abandoned

- The process has been in the works since 2018 but an agreement was not reached

- Two options, including Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's name, were in the top picks for the renaming

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The plan to rename Cape Town International Airport has been shelved, say reports. The news comes after there was a reported deadlock on which historic icon to name the international airport after.

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture said the public consultation process reached a point where the renaming was ditched. During the meeting names such as Krotoa and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Airport were proposed.

The name changing process has been in motion since 2018 but it seems three years was not enough time to come to a decision.

Renaming of Cape Town International AIrport has been dumped — The renaming of the Cape Town International Airport has been abandoned due to not being able to reach an agreement. Image: Mark Mansfield/Gallo Images
Source: Getty Images

A report by IOL stated that the renaming of the airport was brought into the public light after Winnie's funeral. Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema had concluded his speech by calling for the ANC to change the airport's name in honour of her.

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News24 reported that the idea to rename the airport after Madikizela-Mandela was supported by other politicians with African National Congress national executive member Nocawe Mafu saying it was a top pick.

Previously, Briefly.co.za reported on the SA government releasing a list of 13 different name changes to towns and airports. Port Elizabeth is the big one with the Friendly City's name being changed to Gqeberha.

Reports say that the name change process was lengthy and lasted around two years. At this time, residents were given the opportunity to challenge the name changes that were proposed. Back in 2019, PE residents were not impressed with the possible name change.

The PE International Airport and several other towns, such as Berlin, Uitenhage and King Williams Town's name changes were also recognised by Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa.

Many South Africans, however, have headed online to share their opinion on Port Elizabeth's new name. While some that it is very difficult to pronounce, others think that it is very beautiful and suitable for the area.