Louisville Airport Gets Renamed After Muhammad Ali

The airport in Muhammad Ali’s hometown will be changing its name to Ali’s in his honor.

Louisville Regional Airport is located in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. On Wednesday, the Louisville Regional Airport Authority’s board voted to change the airport’s name to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

Lonnie Ali, Ali’s widow, said in a news release from the board that she is happy about the name change, mentioning that while Ali was a “global citizen” he never let go of his roots and hometown.

Research shows that Ali’s name recognition is more popular than Louisville’s, according to Mayor Greg Fischer. Fischer says he will be putting together a group that will work towards celebrating Ali on a grander scale. “Muhammad Ali belonged to the world, but he only had one hometown, and fortunately, that is our great city of Louisville…” Fischer said in a tweet. “It is important that we, as a city, further champion The Champ’s legacy, and the airport renaming is a wonderful next step.”

The change comes after the airport board group studied how to rename the airport for more than a year. Ali passed away back in 2016 and would have been 77 on the 17th.