In recent years, a number of UK airports have renamed themselves after sporting heroes, popstars and fictional characters. This follows a trend in America and Europe. The notice continued: "It is now becoming increasingly common for aerodromes to be given commercially inspired names, which do not follow this principal. "The commercial name of an aerodrome may change several times over a period of time. For example, Liverpool John Lennon Airport was previously called Liverpool Airport and before that Speke Airport. "While the name of an aerodrome may offer commercial or marketing benefits it is important to ensure there is no detrimental effect on aviation safety. "In aviation terms the name of an aerodrome is directly connected with aeronautical communications and flight safety information." Other airports that have been named for commercial reasons include, Robin Hood Airport Doncaster-Sheffield. A spokesman for (LJLA) said renaming the airport has been a huge success commercially, but managers had no qualms with the CAA calling it by another name for operational purposes. He said: "Commercially, renaming the airport has been fantastic and has really put us on the map. "Many people just refer to it as John Lennon Airport. Everybody knows about John Lennon and the Beatles and that they were from Liverpool. "Naming airports in this way has been done in America and Europe for some time, but has only just begun to take off in the UK in recent years. "We understand how this may cause confusion for the CAA and if they want to refer to us as Liverpool Airport, that is fine." Yesterday, Belfast City Airport was re-named after George Best at an official ceremony. Family and friends of the footballing genius gather at the airport for the official unveiling of the new signage on the day Best would have celebrated his 60th birthday. Airport managers said they believed renaming the airport after Best was "a fitting and permanent tribute to his footballing brilliance". The Best family said they were "absolutely delighted" by the gesture. George's father Dickie Best unveiled a plane bearing his son's picture. George Best died last November, after suffering organ failure in a London hospital. jessicashaughnessy@dailypost.co.uk | 
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