Burlington airport to be renamed for former Sen. Leahy

BY PATRICK CROWLEY VTDigger

More than a century after the first plane touched down at what’s now known as Burlington International Airport, Vermont’s aviation hub is poised to get a new name: Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport.

During his State of the City address Monday night, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced the rechristening, which comes months after former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., retired from the U.S. Senate.

“You have always understood what a critical link the airport is between Vermont and the world, and for 48 years you worked to strengthen that link,” Weinberger said, addressing Leahy, who he said was listening remotely. (Weinberger got his start in politics as an intern and mail clerk for the senator in the early 1990s.)

Leahy’s wife, Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy, attended the ceremony in a packed City Hall, along with U.S. Sen. Peter Welch and U.S. Rep. Becca Balint.

“I can tell you that he is very humbled and deeply moved to have his name associated with the Burlington International Airport — oh, that name’s going to change,” Marcelle Leahy said.

She said flying to or from the Burlington airport was always a big part of his work.

“Many of you have heard him say, and I have too, when greet- ing us at the airport on the return flight, that familiar phrase, ‘It’s good to be home,’” Marcelle Leahy said.

In addition to those applauding Leahy in person, two national figures and longtime colleagues of Leahy’s — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Joe Biden — celebrated him in short video messages played for the audience.

“It’s fitting the Burlington International Airport will be named after you,” Biden said. “Everyone that flies through will remember your tenacity, your service, honesty, dignity and the best of what you provided our country.”

In order for the airport’s name change to become official, the Burlington City Council would need to ratify the plan. Though the airport is physically located in South Burlington, it is owned by the Queen City.