After Heathrow

Heathrow Airport is the busiest in the world, welcoming or dispatching the equivalent of the UK's population every year. The letters LHR symbolise our country for millions of visitors. Contrast Heathrow's dour cadences with the romance of Charles de Gaulle, capturing some of France's heroic spirit, or JFK, full of the youth and hope of the US. Heathrow is simply the name of the hamlet which nestled by the tented airport more than 50 years ago. It is time to consider a change.

Of course, a name change means altering every airport computer system in the world, plus the unknown cost of changing thousands of signs, letterheads and notices. To justify this, the new name would have to be popular. It would need to say something which captured some of the freshness of our nation, at a time when we are projecting a new image abroad, sloughing off our imperial legacy. It should come from the people. The Observer has set up a website for suggestions. Let's hear what you think.