Oranjestad, St. Eustatius- The Statia Island Council last week has adopted a motion calling for a new name of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Airport (FDR) on the island.

The motion was adopted with 4 votes for, and 1 against. For the motion voted the entire PLP fraction and independent Council Member Koos Sneek. Adelka Spanner (DP) was the only council member voting against the name change. According to Spanner, at the time the fact that Statia was allowed to name her airport after a US President was a great achievement. “And it is also the only US president who has visited our island, in recognition of the role Statia has played in US history”, said Spanner. The councilwoman is of the opinion that the broad public should also be consulted to gauge how they feel about a name change, for instance by means of a town hall meeting.

The motion also calls on the installation of a 7-member Committee to study the possible name change and to suggest new names for the airport. The Committee would be formed by 2 members of the Island Council, an expert within the field proposed by Executive council, a local historian and 3 persons from the community of St. Eustatius.

Patriotism

According to the motion, the name change will contribute to pride and patriotism on the island. “Said name change will continue to build pride and patriotism within the community, as Statians are proud and resilient people and would love to promote their own and acknowledge the various contributions of their people”, according to the motion.