A dispute is simmering in Central Florida over which airports have the right to use the ‘Orlando’ name.
In one corner is Orlando International Airport which is demanding the Orlando Melbourne International Airport and the Orlando Sanford International Airport remove the Orlando name as it claims it misleads passengers.
Sanford airport is about 25 miles away while Melbourne is 70 miles from downtown Orlando.
Orlando International Airport has first taken aim at Melbourne in particular and wants it to remove all references to Orlando in its name.
"We want to make sure that when people come to Central Florida, they’re not dismayed when they arrive at the Melbourne International Airport and discover that they are perhaps an hour — maybe more than an hour’s drive — away from Orlando and they thought they were actually flying into the Orlando airport," Stephen Luther, an attorney representing the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority told Florida Today.
After meeting Orlando airport officials, Melbourne Airport reps rejected the demands which included halting marketing the airport as a gateway to Orlando.
"I have never had somebody come up to me and say, ‘Look, I am so confused. I flew into Orlando. I should have been in Melbourne.’ Or, Melbourne-Orlando," said Kathy Meehan, airport board vice chairwoman, who is also Melbourne mayor.
Marcos Marchena, GOAA general counsel said if a settlement cannot be reached between the two, it will go to mediation, and it has also hinted it may take legal action.
Orlando International also accused Melbourne of using maps on its airport website that are ‘zoomed in to conceal the accurate distance to Orlando.’
