Italy is proud of its Fiumicino Airport, named after the great master Leonardo da Vinci, so is France with WWII valiant Charles de Gaulle and embalms his name at the Paris airport. Likewise, Tunisia boasts of its ancient history with Carthage taking pride of place at the Tunis airport.

Yet, our own Malta, steeped in history with so many great names adorning our social, academic and cultural heritage, has only thought of naively introducing the aviation complex with the common international label.

Without hinting at one particular class and leaving the political circle to avoid controversies, it should never be too late to sound the trumpet, worldwide, for our eminent personalities whose names are also well known in foreign domains. Our hospitals have proudly inscribed some of our prominent citizens’ names including Sir Paul Boffa and Sir Anthony Mamo. But our airport, welcoming thousands of visitors, has remained nameless.