Battle of the airport names takes off in Bay Area

The city of San Francisco is suing the nearby city of Oakland over the latter’s plan to modify its airport name to include “San Francisco,” arguing that the proposed name infringes on its trademark and would “cause confusion and chaos,” according to ABC News.

San Francisco filed its federal trademark infringement lawsuit Thursday, a week after the Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners preliminarily approved a plan to rename its “Metropolitan Oakland International Airport” to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport,” according to the news outlet.

“We had hoped Oakland would come to its senses, but their refusal to collaborate on an acceptable alternative name leaves us no choice but to file a lawsuit to protect SFO’s trademark,” San Francisco’s city manager said in a statement. “This new name will cause confusion and chaos for travelers, which will damage the travel industry for the entire region.”

The Port of Oakland told ABC News it denies that the proposed renaming infringes on any trademark.