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Albert-Picardie Airport becomes Amiens-Henry Potez International Airport
Albert-Picardie Airport renamed in honor of Henry Potez
On the occasion of the Paris Air Show 2023, POTEZ AÉRONAUTIQUE announces the naming of Amiens-Henry Potez International Airport and reveals its logo.
Albert-Picardie Airport changes its name to Amiens-Henry Potez International Airport. The new name pays tribute to a great man of the aeronautics industry: Henry Potez, who made Albert and Méaulte a land of aeronautical excellence.
A majority of the representatives of the syndicat mixte, which includes the Département de la Somme, the Communauté de communes du Pays du Coquelicot and Amiens Métropole, adopted the name “Aéroport International Amiens-Henry Potez”.
Amiens, for greater geographical clarity. Over the last few decades, French airports have changed their names to clarify their geographical position and enhance their territorial identity on a national or even international level. Following the example of Nantes Atlantique, Marseille Provence and Lille (Lesquin), the vast majority of airports take their nearest urban area as a reference “Amiens is a metropolis known throughout France. Located just 28 km (15 nautical miles) from Méaulte, it was the obvious choice” explains Virginie Caron-Decroix, president of the airport and vice-president of the Somme département.
Henry Potez also played a major role in the life of the region, serving successively as mayor of Méaulte (1929-1940), general councillor for the canton of Albert (1931-1940 / 1949-1961) and mayor of Albert (1947-1959). Jean-Michel Fournier, mayor of Méaulte, declares: “It is an honor that Henry Potez, former mayor of Méaulte and Albert, carries in this name the banner of our communes“. The president of the airport concludes, “Associating the name of Henry Potez with the airport is both a well-deserved tribute and an opportunity to offer him wide national and international recognition. The Potez family was very receptive to our approach and gave us their approval“.
Henry Potez, a well-deserved honor. He is the man who wrote the industrial and aeronautical history of the area where the airport is located. Henry Potez is, along with Marcel Bloch (Dassault) and Louis Coroller, the father of modern aeronautics. “He believed in the establishment and development of the aeronautics industry in Albert and Méaulte 100 years ago” adds Virginie Caron Decroix. “Elected representatives like Fernand Demilly, to whom we owe the infrastructure of today’s airport, have worked to maintain the activity and perpetuate his work” adds Michel Watelain, President of the Pays du Coquelicot Community of Municipalities. “Our region has thus become the center of aeronautical excellence in the Hauts-de-France region, where production now rubs shoulders with research and training”.
Amiens-Henry Potez International Airport joins the short list of French airports paying tribute to local and national figures: Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Lyon Saint-Exupéry, Ajaccio Napoléon Bonaparte, Martinique Aimé-Césaire and Cayenne Félix Éboué.
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