COUNCIL TO DEBATE AIRPORT NAME CHANGE

Aviator Amelia Earhart who vanished without trace while trying to fly around the world

Aviator Amelia Earhart who vanished without trace while trying to fly around the world

THE possibility of a name change for City of Derry Airport will be raised at this afternoon’s monthly meeting of Derry City Council.

Sinn Fein Councillor Elisha McCallion has put forward a motion calling on the council to continue discussions with relevant stakeholders on re-naming the airport in honour of world famous female pilot Amelia Earhart.

Earhart became the first woman to fly the Atlantic single-handedly when she touched down in a field at Ballyarnett on the outskirts of Derry on 21 May, 1932.

The 39-year-old aviator disappeared without a trace on 2 July, 1937, while attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world.

Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, lost radio contact during what many considered the most treacherous leg of their trip, from Lae, New Guinea, to Howland Island in the Pacific.

Cllr McCallion’s motion reads: “That this council as part of the legacy of the City of Culture maximise on the Amelia Earhart brand to market the city as a tourist destination. In doing so, continue the discussions with all relevant stakeholders about the possibility of renaming the City of Derry Airport to incorporate the Amelia Earhart brand.”

The search for America’s long-lost female pilot will resume again next year with an investigation to be led by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), an organisation that has spent many years and millions of dollars attempting to solve the mystery of Earhart’s disappearance.

This year marked the 80th anniversary of Earhart’s historic trans-Atlantic flight and Derry City commemorated the occasion by designating 21 May as the first ever “Amelia Earhart Day.”

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