Petition to rename airport after Ozzy Osbourne nears 80k signatures - but idea is grounded
A Change.org petition to rename Birmingham Airport after the late, great Ozzy Osbourne - who passed away in July aged 76 - is nearing 80,000 signatures, but the idea has been grounded by the airport's CEO.
A petition to rename Birmingham Airport after the late, great Ozzy Osbourne is nearing 80,000 signatures - but the idea has been grounded.
The Black Sabbath frontman - who would've turned 77 on Wednesday (03.12.25) - passed away in July aged 76, and fans have recently called for his home city's airport to be renamed after him.
A Change.org petition to rename the airport Ozzy Osbourne International has been signed more than 76,000 times, at the time of writing, but the idea looks unlikely to take off, according to Birmingham Airport CEO Nick Barton.
He said on BBC West Midlands: "Birmingham, amazingly, has an extraordinary list of fantastically influential people, going from historic people like Charles Darwin, as well as Robert Plant and Sir Lenny Henry, but the answer is no."
Nick insisted the airport's current moniker is "incredibly valuable for development".
He said: "The airport name is so important for our future development of what we’ve got, which is a fantastic airport, but yet to grow significantly, which we will do on the back of its name."
However, Nick insisted a tribute to Ozzy will be part of the airport's future.
He added: "It’ll be like a mural recognition of Ozzy and other greats in the area."
Dan Hudson created the petition, which is titled: Rename Birmingham Airport as Ozzy Osbourne International.
He wrote on the page: "Ozzy Osbourne was the most important musician ever to hail from Birmingham. He rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the pioneering rock band Black Sabbath, who invented the genre of heavy metal.
"Ozzy's influence on music and culture is undeniable. Naming our international airport after him would be a fitting tribute to his extraordinary career and contributions to the arts.
"Other airports in the UK are named after their famous children (George Best "International Airport in Belfast, John Lennon Airport in Liverpool) so it is only right that we do this here in Birmingham, in honour of Ozzy.
"Together, we can celebrate the legacy of Ozzy Osbourne and the incredible influence our city has had on the world stage, thanks to him."
Despite Nick insisting Birmingham Airport's name won't be changed, Dan told the BBC that his campaign could still be a flier.
He said: "[The petition] isn’t going away".
