March 06--The case of the missing "Wichita" has been solved.
And as a result, the city's name will be restored to the new airport moniker later this year, after city officials inadvertently omitted Wichita from the motion the City Council approved for Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport on Tuesday.
The city's naming committee -- along with petitioners supporting the name change -- advocated for Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, the name council members intended to consider on Tuesday.
The mistake will be fixed when the council, sitting as the city's airport authority, rubber-stamps Tuesday's vote later this year, City Manager Robert Layton said Thursday morning.
"It was not our intention to omit Wichita from the airport name," Layton said. "The recommendation from the naming committee and the people behind the petition drive was clear, and it included Wichita."
Mayor Carl Brewer, who made the motion to approve the change, was surprised Wednesday afternoon when he learned about the omission.
Brewer said he was reading a motion supplied by city staff.
Wichita radio personality Jan Harrison, who led the petition drive for the name change, said Thursday that she didn't catch the omission either.
"I was so elated at the time that I guess I just missed it," she said.
It's not clear when the council will sit as the airport authority and clear up the name flap. The new name also must go to the Federal Aviation Administration, which will change licensing and other documents.
The new name is expected to become official March 31, 2015, when the city's new $110 million terminal opens.
Eisenhower, who was from Abilene, served as supreme commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and as United States president from 1953 to 1961.
Reach Bill Wilson at 316-268-6290 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @bwilsoneagle.
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