UK airport to end name row today

A British airport will today reveal if it is to change its name and spark a dispute between three neighbouring cities.

Managers at East Midlands Airport spent yesterday considering whether to rebrand the site and if nearby Derby, Leicester or Nottingham will feature in the new title.

Managing director Graham Keddie is to reveal the decision and any name change following months of talks with tourists, businesses and local authorities.

Consultations began last year after low-cost carrier BMIbaby claimed foreign travellers flying to the destination have no idea where they will arrive.

The airline, formerly known as British Midlands International, has lobbied for 12 months for a change to Nottingham (East Midlands) Airport and launched a €150,000-marketing drive this summer using the image of that city’s most famous son, Robin Hood.

Though the airport is officially in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, it has a Derbyshire postal address and uses the Derby code in its phone number.

To add to confusion, under International Air Transport Associations (IATA) rules, which allocate a destination city, the airport is classed as in Nottingham.

A spokeswoman said the decision on any name change at the airport, which handled 4.3 million passengers last year, would be based on the site’s “future commercial imperative”.

But civic leaders in Derby, the closest city to the airport, and Leicester already fear a negative impact on their own tourist trade if Nottingham is included in the title.

Diplomatic public suggestions have included rechristening the location after folklore hero Robin Hood, football legends Brian Clough and Gary Lineker, jet engine pioneer Frank Whittle or local aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce.