Rename the airport Ostend-Bruges to James Ensor International Airport

Many cities honour their heroes. A statue, a street name, a town square—or even, a terminal. Ostend, too, has its share of celebrated figures alongside an airport. Lucy Loes, Queen of the fisherman's song. Arno Hintjens, Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters in France. And, for those inclined, Wendy van Wanten, living legend of the lighter genre. Even Marvin Gaye, no stranger to international acclaim, once settled for a spell in this City by the Sea. And of course, Baron James Ensor—the most renowned artist Ostend ever produced.

Yet those arriving in Ostend by air may be none the wiser. Though their plane touches down less than a kilometre from the resting place of this famed Ostender, the name above the arrivals gate tells a different story: Ostend-Bruges Flanders International Airport. A pedestrian title, with “Bruges” hastily appended—perhaps to feign recognition abroad. For who still remembers Ostend?

It needn’t be so. Rome has Da Vinci Airport. Picasso lends his name to the airport in Málaga. In Liverpool, planes land at John Lennon Airport; Girona boasts a Dalí terminal; Warsaw named theirs for Chopin; Helsinki honours Sibelius. The list goes on, culminating in the best-known of all: New York’s JFK International Airport, named for the president assassinated in 1963.

MuZee, Theater aan Zee, the Ostend Film Festival… These are but a handful of the many artistic events this seaside town stages each year, drawing thousands of visitors. With James Ensor, we hold the ace—Ostend’s trump card to reclaim its status, both literally and figuratively, as the cradle of the arts along the Belgian coast.

Read more at https://de.volkoren.kiwi/luchthaven

Johan Deprez & Bloggerscollectief de.volkoren.kiwi    Contact the author of the petition