Airport identity crisis

Many airports in Sweden now have an English name, as well as a Swedish name — or two.  

  • Not long ago the name Raoul Wallenberg International Airport was being considered a good one for Arlanda International Airport in Stockholm, starting a movement to change the names of other Swedish airports, too. Now many have both English and Swedish names. Photo: Andreas Trepte
  • A number of Swedish airports have changed their official names from Swedish to English, and it may be a little confusing. For example, Sturups flygplats is now Malmö Airport, Kallax flygplats is Luleå Airport, and so on. But the Swedish names still get used as well, especially in more casual settings. It's in more formal settings that the English names get used, especially with regard to international travel and official business. Even then, depending on what’s more common for the context, Swedes are more likely to say “flygplats” than the English “airport,” as in Luleå flygplats and Malmö flygplats. At the same time, some airports are just as likely to be referred to by their familiar name: Stockholm Arlanda Airport is just Arlanda and Bromma Stockholm Airport is known as Bromma.