Passengers Confuse Oakland Airport with SFO International After Renaming

In May 2024, officials in Oakland, California approved the requested name change of Metropolitan Oakland International Airport. The new name is now “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” and appears to be causing some confusion among potential passengers.

Given the airport's proximity to downtown San Francisco, Oakland officials believed the new name would “strengthen and grow the airport.” They hoped the name change would encourage passengers to consider their airport as an alternative for getting into the city rather than flying through San Francisco International Airport.

The change also solved the problem of passengers confusing Oakland (OAK) with the similar-sounding Auckland (AKL) about 12,000 miles away in New Zealand.

The move was not without opposition, as San Francisco city officials argued that the new name violated their trademark for San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and would cause confusion among the traveling public.

In a preliminary injunction filed in September by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, he said:

“San Francisco has invested millions to make San Francisco International Airport the world-class airport it is today.

“We have built an incredible brand that we must protect. Oakland owns a trademark for Oakland International Airport. You should take advantage of that and stay away from the San Francisco brand.”

He also argued that since the name change, there have been several cases in which travelers accidentally booked Oakland even though they intended to fly to SFO itself. Even on Instagram, he noticed travelers tagging the wrong airports on Instagram, some at SFO tagging Oakland and vice versa.

As part of the filing, they are demanding that Oakland revert to the older name and also destroy or transfer physical and digital assets under the new name, believing the city of Oakland is trying to capitalize on the popularity of the SFO-based airport name .

Photo credit: Bradley Wint/Gate Checked

Danny Wan, the executive director of the Port of Oakland, felt that the name change was justified and not confusing since Oakland is on the other side of San Francisco Bay, and mentioned that it would help reduce confusion with other airports such as Auckland Airport to avoid.

“I can’t see the confusion…” It makes it clear to the world that OAK is on San Francisco Bay. It eliminates confusion and results in a wider range of non-stop options at the airport.

“This is not about San Francisco. We’re not trying to confuse or copy them.”

Featured Image: Port of Oakland