Although I personally stink at fooling people, I’ve always been a fan of April Fool’s Day. And my favorites are April Fool’s jokes that are the gift that keep on giving, all year round. Just ask this guy in Milwaukee. Or this one in the UK. Or even this person in Australia.
I don’t know if all three of those people were aware of what the others were doing. But I’ve recently discovered another person, this one in Wales, who may have a step up on all of them.
I present to you Llandegley International Airport, located in the village of Llandegley, in mid-Wales.
Since 2002, if you travel eastwards along the A44 between Rhayader and Kington, you’ll see a billboard directing drivers to Terminals 1 and 3 of Llandegley International Airport. The sign says it’s about 2.5 miles down the road. The billboard even lets you know that if you want to go to the airport cafe, you should follow the signs for Terminal 1.
But here’s the joke: there’s no such thing as Llandegley International Airport!
A practical joke that went viral
A man named Nicholas Whitehead, initially had the sign made – complete with the same font as the rest of the UK’s standard Worboys signs, on private land on the north side of the A44. He did it as a practical joke, and reportedly spent £1,000 on renting the site where the sign stood.
The original sign lasted about 7 years. It was taken down in late 2009, but after a public outcry, was replaced in 2010. (that makes me smile – the locals enjoyed the sign so much that there was a public outcry about it!). It was replaced again in the spring 2012.
Fast forward 10 years and in November 2022, Whitehead decided to end his commitment to the sign, explaining it had cost him a total of over £25,000 over the years.
Once again, locals rallied around the silly sign and started a crowdfunding campaign. It was beyond successful and in May 2023 a new sign was erected, this time east of the village. Best of all, the new landowner will allow the billboard to remain there without cost.
This newest 2023 version of the sign is visible on Google Street View:
Llandegley International Airport forever!
Because of its popularity over the years, the Llandegley International Airport sign has quite a presence:
- It has a Facebook page
- And a Twitter (whoopsie…”X”) account
- It’s been featured by the BBC, The Guardian, The Independent, and, for you travel geeks out there, Simple Flying.
- It even has an entry on Coflein (that’s the online catalogue of Welch archaeology, buildings, industrial and maritime heritage)
Fans of the airport sign also pride themselves on fundraising for local non-profits. For example, when they raised money for a new sign in 2023, they also made sure that some of the money went to the Children’s Wales Air Ambulance.
So yeah…20 years of a practical joke, with a sign for an airport that doesn’t exist. Llandegley International Airport forever!
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1 comment
I am sure that many who believed the sign were not happy to find out it was/is a ruse.