APRIL FOOL: Arise, Sir Mark Cavendish Airport!

Infrastructure minister announces £200,000 plans to rename Ronaldsway

** This story is an April Fool. Sorry if we caught you out! **

Ronaldsway Airport is going to be officially renamed.

The infrastructure minister has announced plans to honour the Isle of Man's most successful athlete of all time and call it 'Sir Mark Cavendish Airport'.

£200,000 from the Capital Projects Fund has been spent initially on new signage, before Michelle Haywood goes to Tynwald to ask for further investment in the scheme.

Some of the other features will include a dedicated gold-plated parking space for Sir Mark to use, as well as a cycle lane through security.

She's been telling Amy Griffiths more:

Currently work is already taking place to update the departures lounge at the airport.

The first of three phases has already begun, which is seeing upgrades to the Costa area and the bar in the lounge.

The seats are also being replaced and work will begin as part of phase three, subject to funding, to install a private VIP lounge for Sir Mark's use.

He'll be the only person able to approve passes for the lounge.

Why 'Sir Mark Cavendish Airport'?

'The Manx Missile' retired from cycling last year at the age of 39.

Credit: UCI Cycling

During his career he won 165 professional races, including a record 35 Tour de France stages.

Along with his Tour de France honours, Cav's glittering career also includes 17 Giro D'Italia stage wins and Olympic silver in the Omnium at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.

He's also a triple world Madison champion having won with Great Britain in 2005, 2008 and 2016.

Elsewhere he won Commonwealth Games gold for the Isle of Man in the scratch race in Melbourne in 2006 and won the World Road Race Championship in Copenhagen in 2011.

Last year, BBC Sport honoured him with the Lifetime Achievement award at its Sports Personality of the Year event in December 2024.

Dr Haywood says there were a number of options her department had considered for the new name, including King Orry, Manannan and the Bee Gees.

However, the minister says given Cav's successes, he was the obvious option.

"Sir Mark has spent his whole career putting the Isle of Man on the map, it's about time we returned the favour." - Infrastructure Minister Michelle Haywood

History of Ronaldsway

Credit: iMuseum

Isle of Man Airport as we know it today was first conceived in 1998, when work began to extend it and improve facilities for passengers.

Its new extension was opened in 2000 - which included the café, arrivals area, baggage hall and departure lounge - and also the refurbishment of the check-in areas and offices.

Then in 2006 a further extension was granted by Tynwald to increase the number of departure gates before the runway was extended and opened in 2011 to the tune of £44 million.

That was the last significant amount of work done to the airport before this current refurbishment of the departures lounge.

Timeline of Changes

The infrastructure minister says the new signs for the airport have been ordered, and the official changes won't take place until they arrive in around two months.

It'll then take around a week to install them.

At that point, a special ceremony will take place to unveil the new signage, and the airport will be officially renamed then.

Internationally, its initials will appear on the board as 'SMC' from that point on.

Dr Haywood will take the plans to April's sitting of Tynwald for the extra money and, if approved, it's hoped the remaining changes can be made from June.