Future flyers passing through Nashville’s busiest air hub may someday know it as Oprah G. Winfrey Nashville International Airport, if one local politician has her way in renaming the facility after the billionaire media mogul and philanthropist.
After facing pushback from Nashville International Airport officials on the proposal, which she first pitched on Nov. 5, Metro Council Member Sharon Hurt is now petitioning Nashville Mayor David Briley to hear her case, the Tennessean reports.
Members of the Airport Authority Board are sticking by a policy that mandates individuals must be deceased for at least two years before they can be honored with the naming of a facility or building and must have made a "substantial contribution" to the Nashville air hub or the field of aviation as a whole. (Getty/iStock)
According to the outlet, members of the Airport Authority Board are sticking by a policy that mandates individuals must be deceased for at least two years before they can be honored with the naming of a facility or building, and must have made a "substantial contribution" to the Nashville air hub or the field of aviation as a whole.
Winfrey, meanwhile, had attended school at Tennessee State University and East High School. and got her start on the small screen in Nashville nearly 40 years ago.
An image of Nashville International Airport in Tennessee. (iStock)
Though 64-year-old Winfrey doesn’t meet airport board's requirements, Hurt says the star is more than qualified to be honored.
"It's Oprah. Nashville is in a very unique position to be able to offer that type of recognition to someone that's very deserving,” Hurt told the Tennessean. "I think it's a grand opportunity for us to recognize someone of Oprah's stature.”
The councilwoman further argued that the honorary naming could arrive at a perfect time, as the airport undergoes a $1.2 billion, four-year renovation, as per the Tennessean.
Though Hurt is facing resistance on her crusade, she had success earlier this year in petitioning the Metro Council to rename a stretch of Charlotte Avenue after Martin Luther King Jr.
"When I was growing up, and even now, my mother always talked about giving flowers while they live. Why do we have to wait until people are deceased until we can truly honor or recognize them?" Hurt had further argued, per the outlet.
“Nashville creates stars and Oprah was one of them,” the councilwoman told News Channel 5 of her quest. “We need to recognize this.”
According to the outlet, the Nashville Airport Authority board is scheduled to meet on Dec. 19.
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Over 14.1 million travelers frequent the Nashville air hub each year, as per the airport’s history page, with over 450 flights departing daily to over 50 nonstop markets.