Spain’s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility is preparing to officially rename Palma de Mallorca Airport as Palma–Mallorca, following a campaign to better reflect local linguistic conventions and the airport’s role as the gateway to the entire island.
According to the ministry, a draft ministerial order has been prepared to implement the name change, with public administrations and interested organisations invited to submit comments or objections until 15 September.
The proposal follows lobbying by the Catalan-language advocacy group Fem-ho en Català, which last year called for the linguistic normalisation of airport names across the Balearic Islands. The organisation had originally requested that the airport adopt the official Catalan name “Aeroport de Palma”, but the ministry has instead opted for the compromise designation “Palma–Mallorca.”
Fem-ho en Català welcomed the decision, saying the inclusion of “Palma” reflects the city’s proper name while the addition of “Mallorca” acknowledges that the airport serves the whole island. The group described the change as recognition of its arguments but said it would consider submitting further comments in an effort to have the airport’s official name fully expressed in Catalan as “Aeroport de Palma–Mallorca.”
If adopted, the new name would replace the current official designation Palma de Mallorca Airport, although the airport would continue to be commonly known by its IATA code PMI and by its location at Son Sant Joan.
The proposed renaming forms part of broader efforts to promote the use of Catalan place names in the Balearic Islands while maintaining international recognition of one of Spain’s busiest airports.