Mayor wants initials for airport to be changed to JLM in order to commemorate capital's reunification.
By ELIE LESHEMBen Gurion 248.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski has appealed to Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz and Israel Airport Authority (IAA) Chairman Ovadia Eli with a request that the international abbreviation for Ben-Gurion Airport be changed from TLV, for Tel Aviv, to JLM, to mark 40 years since the reunification of the capital in the Six Day War, the Jerusalem Municipality announced Monday.
According to the announcement, Lupolianski and Eli decided that the issue would be raised at the upcoming IAA board of directors meeting.
Most countries name their central airport after their capital city, Lupolianski claimed, and stressed that Israel's main international airport was named after Tel Aviv despite the fact that it was situated outside the city.
The drive from Jerusalem to Ben-Gurion Airport will last less than half-an-hour once Route 9 is opened, and will be significantly shorter once the light rail system is installed, he added.
"Due to the disputes and lack of legitimacy in many countries in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and in order to commemorate 40 years since the reunification of the city, nothing would be more appropriate than changing the official initials of the terminal from TLV to JLM and adding Jerusalem to the airport's official name," Lupolianski said.
Eli told Army Radio that he was personally in favor of making such a change but was of the opinion that the final say on the matter should be left to the government.
The Transportation Ministry expressed interest in the proposal but added that such a move would require serious forethought.
A senior official in the aviation industry, however, was quoted by Army Radio as saying that "the world has already become accustomed to the old name, and changing it now would be practically impossible."
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