With the airports name change debate in full swing, it is only a matter of time before the Port Elizabeth International Airport and three others around the country receive a title overhaul.
The deadline for proposals and public comment was midnight yesterday.
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela International Airport are two of the suggested names known to have been thrown in for Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, respectively.
The names of the East London airport and Kimberley airport will also be changed as part of the renaming campaign.Airports Company South Africa said there was no time frame in place for the implementation of the new names as the process was intricate.
Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa would have the final say on the name changes after two committees, including the geographical naming committee, had scrutinised submissions.
Khoisan activist Christian Martin, who led a group of people from the South End museum to the Port Elizabeth International Airport yesterday, said it would be most apt to rename the airport after Stuurman.
“The land on which the [Port Elizabeth] airport is built historically belongs to the Stuurman brothers so he’s the most appropriate person to name the airport after.”