Columbus airport renamed after John Glenn

COLUMBUS, Ohio – One of the nation’s first commercial airports has been renamed after a Muskingum County native.

Tuesday, Port Columbus International Airport became the John Glenn Columbus International Airport. The bill was signed earlier this month by Gov. John Kasich to make it official.

With his wife, Annie, and other state officials, Glenn took the stage and said that this was an unexpected honor.

“This is quite a thing to have a big city airport like this named after you and I appreciate that very much,” said the 94-year-old Glenn. “When I was a boy and we would come to Columbus I would always prevail upon my parent to stop by the airport before we drove back to Zanesville and New Concord.”

Glenn was born in Cambridge but raised in New Concord and attended Muskingum University. He served in World War II and became the first American to orbit earth. Glenn then went on to serve as an Ohio senator from 1974-1999.

The Columbus airport opened in 1929. It airport code will remain CMH.