Name the New Panama City Airport – Submit Here

Airport 1 Minute

Submit your names to be included in tomorrow’s regularly schedule Airport Authority Board Meeting.  The Airport Authority is considering new names and is asking for public input.

Up for debate for quite some time has been a new name for the new Panama City – Bay County International Airport, which is being relocated to an under construction site north of West Bay in Panama City Beach.  The new airport has been under construction for over a year now and is set to open May 18, 2010.

We’ve had discussions here and many in the community have recognized that essential to the success of the new airport is a new name that has a regional (or greater) connotation.  The potential of this airport can certainly capture a regional traveler.  Shoot, if we’d drive over to Ft. Walton’s Northwest Florida Regional Airport to save a few hundred buckaroos, certainly our friends to the west (and east for that matter) would do the same.

In order for this airport to best serve our needs into the future, visitors that fly into Panama City need to fly into an airport that encompasses all of Northwest Florida.  Talking to Mel Ponder from Coastal Vision 3000 – or THE Beach – not long ago, he was telling me that international travelers that fly into Orlando rarely stay in Orlando the whole time they are here.  Furthermore, they rarely travel here for less than 14 days.  International travelers will venture as far as up to 5 hours away from Orlando in their travels.

Our new airport will need to be a regional destination that will bring visitors within hours of some of the worlds most beautiful vacation spots from Apalachicola to Pensacola and beyond.

Submit your name suggestions below and email them to newpfn@gmail.com.

Here are some of the names that have been submitted on here in the past:

Northwest Florida International

Emerald Coast International

Gulf Coast International

Any others?

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Published by Jason Koertge

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105 thoughts on “Name the New Panama City Airport – Submit Here”

  3. Northwest Florida International says it all. We all need to keep in mind that the moniker chosen will appear throughout the world, and whatever chosen symbol for the airport will ultimately become the symbol folks think about ie (ATL, LAX,)

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  4. “Sunshine State International” because
    it is the most marketable name worldwide
    for Florida.It also gives the potential
    air passenger a positive and inviting picture
    of their destination.

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  7. I originally liked Emerald Coast International, but have since e-mailed the suggestion of
    Florida Pan International. I think Florida Pan sounds nice and it reflects the whole Panhandle.

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  10. I’ve heard the argument that this is a regional airport, but selfishly we really want everyone who uses it to come to Panama City Beach – do we not? Consider that all marketing for this airport from now until forever could be selling PCB as a destination if we name it the Panama City Beach Int’l Airport.

    If it has to be a regional name, perhaps Florida’s Emerald Coast Int’l Airport with the slogan “Serving Panama City Beach and all Northwest Florida destinations”

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  12. How about the Martin Lee Anderson International Airport?
    Better yet, in the spirit of the Hartsfield/Jackson International Airport how about the Richard Jackson/Martion Lee Anderson Airport? Either name would surely satisfy the apologists who are forever berating the white male.

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  16. Originally I thought Emerald Coast International because it sounds cool but Northwest Florida International makes the most sense with regard to identifying the area to people not familiar with this area. Most of the world doesn’t know that this area is called the Emerald Coast. I don’t think that this is the time to try to educate them.

    Also, the Gulf Coast extends through Tampa, Ft. Myers, Naples, etc. It doesn’t identify this particular area.

    The term Pan doesn’t automatically mean Panhandle to most people. Plus I know people in South Florida who don’t even know what the Panhandle is. I’m seroius. So I don’t know how many international travelers will be familiar with the term.

    Northwest Florida says it all and incorporates all surrounding areas.

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  20. As a Resident of Bay County and a Realtor working primarily with “out of towners” , I would like to see the name of the airport be Northwest Florida International Airport….it simply sums it all up ! In reality, I think we are all just excited to see it completed.

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  21. I have now changed my mind due to Jeff’s comment on referring to Emerald Coast International airport – travelers would have no idea this has anything to do with Florida. Great Point! But when you stick ‘Florida’ in front of it as was CJ’s suggestion it sounds even better and at least has a referring reference ‘Florida Emerald Coast Int’ Airport

    But to be a little biased I think we should name it Pier Park International Airport! LOL!

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  23. Emerald Coast International Airport is a very good name. It describes our area very well. I don’t think any names that include the word “North” should be considered. When I hear the word “North”, I think of “Cold”. I don’t think we want someone to be thinking “Cold” when their trying to book a vacation on the Emerald Coast.

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  26. Iam not a resident of Panama City. But I consider this as PANAMA CITY’s Airport to bring people TO Panama City. I also think it will be the most prominent airport in the region, even over Tallahassee (ever try making a flight to or from there?)
    So I favor a plain and straight forward PANAMA CITY NATIONAL(or International if it will be Int’l)AIRPORT.

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  27. I met people as far away as Seattle who know where Panama City Beach is, and either fondly remember coming here, or want to come here someday.
    I don’t see anything wrong with PANAMA CITY BEACH REGIONAL AIRPORT. I am, however, torn between embarrassment and laughter when I see “International” tacked onto the name. Has anyone out there ever been to an International airport? If you call yourself “international”, you’d better have Paris on the flight times and destinations board. Otherwise we just look silly.

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  28. Florida Northwest Gulf Coast International (PCB)

    I think it is important to get the Florida name in there, and this name clearly indicates that it serves all of NW Florida. Gulf Coast is better than panhandle and gives the coastal/sunshine flavor.

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  30. I like The Emerald Coast International Airport. However,
    I wouldn’t complain if the name had Paradise or Panhandle in the name. The area is truely “The Pie in the Sky”. All who live or visit the Emerald Coast know that what I mean!

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  31. Panama City Beach International Airport. The name of the city is needed so travelers know exactly where we are (Emerald Coast and Panhandle give you no idea where we are located), Beach markets highly to tourism, and International markets to foreign tourists.

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  32. “Emerald Coast International” gets my vote. The “coast” shows it’s Gulf Coast. The “Emerald” part separates it from the Tampa side coastline. We’re also serving Alabama to a degree too, so I don’t think “panhandle” is the greatest. There are many panhandles of several states, I’ve seen a lot of people getting them confused.
    If is indeed an International airport, then it should sound like one, not a regional one. We already have a regional airport nearby. If we want to service the people in Walton County too “emerald” is more all encompassing. And isn’t that what the main attraction is around here? The Emerald Coast? It sounds exotic enough to attract foreign visitors too, especially if you want to get away from the “redneck riviera” reputation some people associate with the area.

    My 11 year old son wants it to be named “St. Joe International Airport”. He thinks they should get credit since they own most of the land around here and especially the airport. He wanted to make sure I posted his entry. 🙂

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  33. We should go with either Emerald Coast international or Florida Panhandle International. Of the two, Emerald Coast will be harder for people to locate initially, but will wear well and generate more positive buzz in long run.
    The other choices are not good
    -Panama city international has too downscale of an image.
    -Florida Northwest international remind people of the North (sound cold) – and most people want to go South on vacation.
    -Gulf Coast international reminds people of hurricanes.

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  35. May as well call it the Hathaway Airport. We weren’t successful in getting rid of that name for the new bridge, so it’s unlikes they will change the airport’s name. Change comes slowly to these folks.

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  36. Most commenters seem to be focusing on names that have meaning to them.

    I think it makes more sense to pick a name that has more meaning to international visitors. People in Amsterdam, Kaiserslautern, Nice, Sheffield, Florence, etc. would clearly see the connection between their vision of a fantastic vacation and the destination airport to make it happen.

    “Florida Gulf International” would do nicely.

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  38. Florida Gulf Coast International would work

    1. Northwest Florida International sounds too much like Northwest Florida Regional in Ft. Walton.

    2. Panama City does not support the regional nature of the airport and

    3. Emerald Coast is only known by those already familiar with the area.

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    1. I agree with not using NW Florida Int’l, as VPS may file a lawsuit as it infringes on their name, and aslo sounds too similar.

      I’m not sure that the FAA has plans to change the ICAO, which is the four letter identifier that all airports have. We’ll see, but I have yet to hear anything at this time, but they’ll have to do it likely before February.

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  42. One last thing, the identifier can not be KNFI. The letter N as the 2nd letter of the ICAO is reserved for U.S. Naval air fields only, not exceptions. An example is KNIP, which is NAS Jacksonville. An example of a decommissioned navy air field changing is former NAS Cecil Field in Jacksonville. It was KNZC, but was changed to KVQQ upon becoming a public airport operated by the Jacksonville Airport Authority (JAA).

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  47. I agree with the efforts of the Coastal Vision 3000 group in trying to market the whole region instead of each area competing with each other, but THE BEACH International Airport just sounds wrong. The entire region from Pensacola east to St. George Island has some shade of emerald colored water. Just because the Okaloosa-Walton County areas started using “the Emerald Coast” as their brand years ago should not detract from emerald coast as a regionally descriptive name. I really like the sound of Emerald Coast International for its simplicity, but I do see a benefit in mentioning “Florida” especially if the Airport Authority is successful in making the airport a TRUE international airport. So how about: FLORIDA EMERALD COAST INTERNATIONAL? Also we should probably keep the PFN as all the people and travel agents who already use the airport know that code. We could easily lose some customers if we go changing everything at once. Let the current & future customers continue using PFN but change the airport name to make it more marketable. FLORIDA EMERALD COAST INTERNATIONAL or FLORIDA’S EMERALD COAST INTERNATIONAL

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  50. I like: Panama City Beach International
    Gulf Coast Beaches International
    Gulf Coast International Airport
    Panhandle International Airport
    Sugar Sands International Airport
    Gulf Beaches International Airport
    I think starting it out with ‘Northwest’; though geographically accurate and would be logical, it’s too close to FWB’s name and would be a nightmare of confusion to the tourists.

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