The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered the renaming of Al Ain International Airport to Tahnoun International Airport, effective immediately. The decision honours the late Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, who served as Ruler's Representative of Abu Dhabi's Eastern Region from the founding of the UAE until his death in 2024.
Over the course of his long public career, Sheikh Tahnoun held several senior roles within the UAE government, including chairman of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and deputy chairman of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi. The renaming is being presented as a tribute to his decades of service to the country and to the Eastern Region in particular.
Al Ain International Airport, located roughly 18 kilometres from the oasis city of Al Ain, is Abu Dhabi's second international airport and handles more than 100,000 passengers a year. It currently operates two scheduled airlines: Pakistan International Airlines, which flies from Islamabad, and Air India Express, which connects to Kozhikode.
The move follows a similar tribute in 2024, when Abu Dhabi's main gateway, then known as Abu Dhabi International Airport, was renamed Zayed International Airport in honour of the country's founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Observers note that the renaming continues a pattern by UAE leadership of commemorating the nation's founders and senior statesmen through national infrastructure.
Authorities have not yet detailed a timeline for updating signage, official documentation and airline booking systems to reflect the new name, though the change is considered to have taken legal effect from the date the presidential directive was issued. The renaming adds to a broader set of symbolic gestures through which the UAE has sought to preserve the legacy of its ruling family's senior figures across the emirates.