OAG Travel News

To reach the North Pole, you have to fly through Fairbanks.  That is if your final destination is North Pole, Alaska.  But several other U.S. cities boast the North Pole name, including one in New York, Idaho and – surprisingly – Oklahoma.  As you’ve probably guessed, I was inspired this week to research holiday place names and the closest airports offering scheduled commercial air service. 

Arizona boasts several holiday place names.  To reach Christmas, the most convenient airport is Tucson International Airport.  Santa Claus, Arizona, is closest to Laughlin/Bullhead City International Airport, but more air service options are available at Las Vegas International Airport, also nearby.  But if you’re just not in the holiday mood this season, fly to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in order to reach Humbug Creek.

Santa Claus also makes his home in southern Indiana (accessed through Evansville Regional Airport), and in the deep south (in Georgia, accessed through Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport).  Santa Claus can easily pick up his assistants in nearby Elf, North Carolina, equidistant from Chattanooga (Tennessee) Metropolitan Airport, Asheville (North Carolina) Regional Airport and Knoxville (Tennessee) McGhee Tyson Airport.

Canada’s uninhabited Reindeer Island is located in Manitoba’s Lake Winnipeg.  Nearby airports include Winnipeg International Airport to the south and The Pas Airport to the north.  Canada is also home to Snowball, Ontario, close to both Toronto Pearson International Airport and Toronto City Center Airport.

Crossing the Atlantic, you can celebrate in Christmas Common, a village in Oxfordshire just a short distance from London’s Heathrow Airport.  If you prefer a tropical holiday, then Christmas Island – a territory of Australia – is the place for you.  Located in the Indian Ocean, Christmas Island is only 300 miles from Jakarta, Indonesia.  But air service is only available from Christmas Island to Perth, Australia, and Cocos Island, also a territory of Australia.  Another option “Down Under” is Mistletoe Island, off the northern coast of Western Australia, accessed through the Port Hedland International Airport.

These are just a few of the many holiday-named locations around the world.  Enjoy the season!

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes; MapQuest.com.

Note: Only select holiday place names are included in this analysis – this is not intended to represent a comprehensive list of holiday place names.

OAG contributor Laura Jackson was just two weeks old when she took her first flight on Piedmont Airlines.  In junior high school, she developed a business plan for her own airline.  Today she manages strategy and policy issues at one of the world's busiest airports and provides original content and aviation industry analysis for OAG.