PARIS – French authorities have announced to rename an airport in the honor of late Queen Elizabeth II.
The decision would rename the Touquet-Paris-Plage Airport as Elizabeth II Le Touquet-Paris-Plage International Airport but the date for the inauguration has not been announced yet.
The renaming comes months after the original proposal was made to the British Crown. Authorities sought to rename the airport six days after the death of the Queen on September 8 last year.
“That King Charles III accepted the proposal of the mayor of Le Touquet further [Sic] reinforces the strategy of the latter who wants to affirm Le Touquet as ‘the most British of French resorts’,” Le Touquet’s town hall added.
The airport has a history of close affiliation with the Brits as it was designed in the 1930s to welcome Britons to the coastal town about an hour’s drive from Calais.
Interestingly, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte also have a holiday home there and authorities believe that the airport’s new name will strengthen the link between the town and the UK, and welcome tourist planes from across the Channel.
It bears mentioning that the airport currently doesn’t offer scheduled flights to passengers and is mainly used by private jets but officials hope to welcome tourist planes in the future.
The decision to rebrand the facility was widely hailed by people from both Britain and France.
‘We are deeply touched and grateful by this gesture from the town of Le Touquet, acknowledging her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,’ Mayor of Witney, Councilor Owen Collins said.
‘The people of France took the Queen to their hearts during her lifetime, and as well as providing a lasting memorial to her relationship to the country, this renaming will also further strengthen the bond between Le Touquet and Witney, which has stood for over forty years and which we hope will share in the Queen’s longevity.’ he added.
