If the FDP regional group in Saxony has its way, Leipzig / Halle Airport could soon be nicknamed: Hans-Dietrich Genscher. The argument put forward is that other airports are named after former SPD or CDU top politicians.

The list of former officials in whose honor German airports are named is long: Konrad Adenauer (Cologne / Bonn), Helmut Schmidt (Hamburg), Franz Josef Strauss (Munich), Manfred Rommel (Stuttgart), Hans Koschnick (Bremen) and so on. Berlin-Brandenburg Airport is nicknamed Willy Brandt.

The Saxon FDP is now addressing the state government to demand that Leipzig / Halle Airport should in future bear the nickname Hans-Dietrich Genscher. The regional reference is also made here, because the politician, who died in 2016, was born in Reideburg (city of Halle an der Saale) and studied in Leipzig. In the Federal Republic of Germany, Genscher served as foreign minister under various federal chancellors and was also vice-chancellor at times. The FDP also refers to its role in German history, especially in connection with reunification.