Name-confusion fight between Orlando, Sanford airports goes to federal court

For nearly three decades, the authority that runs Orlando International Airport has grumbled that the smaller airport in Sanford, more than 30 miles to the north, has hijacked its name and befuddled travelers.

They point to the dozens of calls and complaints the larger airfield receives each year from flyers misled by the name Orlando Sanford International Airport, which the Sanford Airport Authority adopted in the mid-1990s after securing chartered flights to the United Kingdom and constructing what it called an international terminal.

“OMG, I’m at the wrong airport!” stated a Twitter post by traveler The FAM in 2019 from the Orlando airport realizing their Allegiant flight was soon to take off from the Sanford airport miles away. “Apparently there is (sic) 2 Orlando International airports. I’m 45 mins away and my flight leaves in 60 minutes. No time for security check.”

Although their names are nearly identical, the Orlando International Airport in Orange County is roughly 14 miles south of downtown Orlando. The Orlando Sanford International sits in the east side of the city of Sanford in Seminole County.

Last March, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office agreed the smaller airport’s name would confuse travelers and upheld the denial of the Sanford Airport Authority’s 2016 application to trademark the name Orlando Sanford International Airport following objections from the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which runs the larger airfield.

The Sanford Airport Authority then filed a lawsuit last month requesting a federal court to overturn that decision and award it a trademark for the name it has long used for its airport.

The name Orlando Sanford International Airport and its logo “are not confusingly similar” to the name Orlando International Airport, states the lawsuit filed in the U.S. Middle District Court in Orlando. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority is attempting “to monopolize the phrase Orlando International Airport,” the lawsuit also notes.

Both airports “have coexisted in the Orlando metropolitan area using their respective names, Orlando Sanford International Airport and Orlando International Airport, for almost thirty years,” attorneys for the Sanford Airport Authority noted in the court filing.

Brent Renton, one of three attorneys with the Orlando law firm Shutts & Bowen representing the Sanford authority, said he “can’t comment on active litigation.”

Angela Starke, a spokesperson for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, also said her organization would not comment on the lawsuit.

Still, pilots, air traffic controllers, baggage handlers and other airport personnel identify an airport by its unique three-letter code rather than the official name of the airport. For example, Orlando Sanford International Airport’s code is SFB. And Orlando International Airport is MCO.

Sanford airport officials claim the two facilities are substantially different, and say their facility shouldn’t be denied a trademark for a name because a few travelers may be confused.

The Orlando International Airport, for example, is one of the busiest airports in the world because of its proximity to the theme parks. The larger airport is about 20 miles from Walt Disney World, about 18 miles from Universal Studios and 14 miles from SeaWorld.

With about 41 airlines, Orlando International Airport handled more than 55 million passengers last year.

By comparison, the Sanford airport — located about 45 miles northeast from Walt Disney World — saw 2.8 million passengers go through their gates last year. Low-cost Allegiant Airlines is its major carrier. The airport also handles flights from Flair Airlines, a low-cost carrier based in Edmonton, Canada, and the charter company Sun Country Airlines.

The Orlando Sanford International Airport “has contracts with numerous vendors, none of which was confused as to which airport they were contracting with,” according to the lawsuit. The Sanford airport also “has contracts with numerous airlines, none of which has been confused as to which airport they were contracting with.”

The Sanford airport also notes that the Federal Aviation Administration’s operating certification lists it as Orlando Sanford International Airport.

But in opposing the Sanford airport’s trademark application about five years ago, Phil Brown, at the time the chief executive officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, testified that his airport often receives questions or complaints from Allegiant Airlines passengers regarding their flights. Orlando airport staff tell travelers the airline does not fly in or out of Orlando International Airport and that they should contact the Sanford airport.

Ed Allen, for example, complained that friends mistakenly flew into the Orlando Sanford International Airport “but due to confusion with the airport names, they booked a car rental at [Orlando International Airport],” according to testimonies submitted by the Orlando aviation authority in opposition to the trademark request.

Lee Hoffman testified in 2017 that he booked a flight out of the Sanford airport.

“He realized his confusion when he arrived at [Orlando International Airport] on the day of his flight,” Administrative Trademark Judge Martha Allard said in her board’s ruling last March denying the Sanford airport’s appeal.

Edward Lawson, another confused traveler, testified that he was perplexed by the similarity between airport names. He mistakenly booked a flight to the Sanford airport instead of the Orlando airfield.

“He realized that he arrived at the wrong airport when his ride-sharing service driver mentioned that [the Orlando International Airport] would have been much closer to his hotel, which was in Orlando,” Allard said in her ruling.

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority’s fierce protection of its airport’s name soars past the Sanford airport.

In May 2021, the smaller Melbourne airport agreed to flip its name to the Melbourne Orlando International Airport after years of litigation by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

The two airports sit more than 60 miles apart. But the Orlando airport’s Brown stated in a 2017 memo that Melbourne using Orlando as the first word in its airport’s moniker was “confusingly similar, false and misleading” with his airport.

Sanford airport officials would not comment on whether they would agree to a similar reversal by changing their facility’s name to the “Sanford Orlando International Airport.” Or whether they would come up with a new name, if their legal battle fails.

Even so, changing the Sanford airport’s name would cause it “irreparable injury and damage,” according to the lawsuit.

As of Thursday, a court hearing had not yet been scheduled.

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