8 Ways Airports Codes Are Chosen
- City name directly. Often, cities choose codes based on the first three letters of their name, for example, AMS for Amsterdam, SYD for Sydney, and MEX for Mexico City.
- City name abbreviation. The airport code can also reflect a combination of letters that make it relatively obvious that the code refers to the city, like HKG for Hong ...
- Airport name. ...
What are airports codes and how do they work?
Airport codes are a shortcut to identifying airports without needing to write out the full name of the facility. Whether it's on checked baggage tags, boarding passes, or that inflight tracker, you'll find airport codes at several places along your journey.
How are IATA codes determined?
So every airport that has adopted this IATA standard has a three-letter code. So the next question will naturally be: " How are these codes determined?" Well, to keep it simple, codes don't really have any rule other than: They must be unique and not in use by any other entity Beyond this, everything is fair game.
Why do airport codes always have 3 letters?
They always have 3 letters and there’s no ambiguity (if you know what they are). For those interested in the origin of airport codes, i n the 1930s, airports in the US would use the 2-letter city codes from the National Weather Service (NWS).
What is the language of the airport code?
Of course, over the radio, they would use the phonetic alphabet, saying: "Uniform-Uniform-Echo-Echo." To wrap up this explanation, airport codes are the language of airlines, aviators, and (many) travelers. Whether you use the IATA code or ICAO code depends on what you're doing at the airport!
When did airport codes start?
Airport coding first began in the 1930s, and airlines typically chose their own two-letter codes. By the late 1940s, there were too many airports, and the system shifted to the three-letter code we know today. Los Angeles International Airport, for instance, was originally just “LA,” but became LAX in 1947. The IATA stepped in during the 1960s when the airlines decided they needed a standardized process to avoid confusion.
How is a three letter code determined?
The three-letter code is determined by first ensuring that it’s unique and not in use by any other entity. The code might be assigned based on the name of the airport, the name of the city, or some other meaningful and relevant identifier if those letters are already taken.
What is the airport code for Fort Lauderdale?
For instance, Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport would be KFLL; the “K” is for U.S. and “FLL” is the specific airport code. There’s LOL (Derby Field airport in Nevada, serving Lovelock City); OMG (Omega Airport in Namibia); and EEK, (a small town in Alaska).
What airport has the same code as Amsterdam?
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, for example, appears as “FLL," and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is “AMS.”. Sometimes the code is the same as the last three letters that the ICAO assigns, but not always. Airport coding first began in the 1930s, and airlines typically chose their own two-letter codes.
When did the IATA come into existence?
The IATA stepped in during the 1960s when the airlines decided they needed a standardized process to avoid confusion. “IATA codes are an integral part of the travel industry, and essential for the identification of an airline, its destinations, and its traffic documents.
What airport is MIA?
Some airport codes are easy to unpack: Miami International Airport is MIA; Athens International Airport is ATH. Other airport codes are harder to decipher. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport’s code, for instance, is MSY, named after aviator John Moisant, the first to fly across the English Channel with a passenger, and who lived in Louisiana until his death in 1910. Chicago O’Hare’s airport code is ORD, named after the space’s previous incarnation as Orchard Field.
How many letters are there in an ICAO location?
ICAO’s four-letter location indicators range from being “a little different” from the corresponding IATA code, to not at all the same. When it comes to being very similar, this typically involves having the additional letter first, which indicates the region of the aerodrome. Here are some examples:
Where does Delta fly to?
Starting July 2nd, Delta will fly to Athens International Airport (ATH) from its largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) with a daily service. This route was last served in 2011 and will allow the airline to offer connections to over 140 cities across the US from its largest hub.
Why is the airport code important?
The code is always unique to each airport. They are important to quickly distinguish specific airports instead of having unstandardized long-form identifiers, which is especially useful when a city has multiple different airports, which is the case in most major cities.
How many practices are there in airport codes?
Those 7 practices explain a vast majority of airport codes around the world.
What airports use filler letters?
Filler letters. Many airports around the world use filler letters to complete their 3-letter code, for a variety of reasons. A great example is LAX. Since airport codes used to have only 2 letters, the airport in L os A ngeles was LA.
Why is YVR code?
But why? Well, it goes back to the 1930s when some of the codes were used for weather reporting stations or radio transmitters. As mentioned above, codes used to be 2 letters, so V ancouve r was VR. The letter Y was added as a filler letter in front of each. Some sources say it was meant to indicate “Yes,” that a particular weather reporting station was also an airport, thus YVR.
How many airport codes does Basel Mulhouse have?
Finally, there is a unique exception in the world: EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse in France has 3 airport codes, since it is one of the only airports in the world administered by two countries. MLH is the French code ( M u lh ouse) and BSL is the Swiss code ( B a s e l ).
What is the code for Mexico?
Often, cities choose codes based on the first three letters of their name, for example, AMS for Amsterdam, SYD for Sydney, and MEX for Mexico City. Those are the easiest.
When did airport codes start?
For those interested in the origin of airport codes, i n the 1930s , airports in the US would use the 2-letter city codes from the National Weather Service (NWS). However, as air travel became more popular, there was an increasing number of airports, including in cities with no NWS code, so 3-letter codes were introduced. After the 1960s, the IATA took steps to add a standardized process to prevent any confusion.
How Do Airports Get Their Codes?
As commercial airlines became more accessible and air travel gained popularity throughout the 1930’s, a three-letter system was used to create a seemingly endless amount of combinations — it’s actually 17,576.
What is the IATA code?
IATA (International Air Transport Association) is a trade association that represents the airlines IATA codes are mainly used for ticketing; travel itineraries use IATA’s 3-letter codes for airports and IATA flight numbers. The assignment of these codes is administered by the Montreal-based International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the codes cover locations (mainly airports) around the globe.
What is the purpose of ICAO codes?
ICAO’s 4-letter codes are used for “official” purposes such as Air Traffic Control; flight plans use ICAO codes for airports and airline flight identification . ICAO codes are commonly seen within the aviation industry and on private flight-tracking services such as FlightAware ( www.flightaware.com ), whereas passengers more often will see IATA codes on their tickets and luggage.
What is the difference between the FAA and ICAO?
Basically, the ICAO is focused on civil aviation regulations, whereas IATA is a trade association for airlines. The FAA is the United States’ civil aviation authority, governing domestic airlines, their operations and regulations. Check out all of the airport codes around the world, and learn more about the organizations below.
What was the code for Orchard Place?
Take Chicago, for example — in the 1940’s, Orchard Place was a small community just west of the city and the site of a military airport; the airfield was also a manufacturing facility for Douglas Aircraft, and Or chard Place Airport – D ouglas Field was given the code ORD.
What is the airport code for Liberty International Airport?
DuBai subbed an X for the U, making its unique airport code of DXB. EWR. Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey. When airport identifiers switched from two letters to three, the Navy reserved all codes starting with N. NEWaRk, then, used the other letters in its name to make EWR.
What is the airport code for Austin Powers?
While it may sound like a private airport for cougars (both kinds) or Austin Powers’ preferred landing pad, GRR is actually the code used for G erald R. Fo r d International Airport in Gr and R apids, hitting a rare twofer with both formal and city names.
How is the airport code determined?
The three-letter Airport code is determined by ensuring that it's unique and not in use by any other entity. The code might be assigned based on the name of the airport, the name of the city, or some other meaningful and relevant identifier. Airport codes are assigned by primarily 2 organisations: 1. IATA & 2. ICAO.
What is an airport code?
Airport codes given by IATA is generally of 3 letters and is mostly taken from first three letters of the concerned city.
What is the IATA code for Mumbai?
Mumbai, earlier it was called Bombay, its IATA code is BOM. Similarly for Delhi it is DEL. There is no any certain logic behind these codes as these are randomly decided and implemented. These codes are not used for any aircraft movement officially. It is only used by airlines for ticket booking and for easy reference of passengers.
Why do airports have X at the end of their codes?
Many station codes are simply the first three letters of the city name. Sometimes the city name lends itself to one letter for each word, such as Salt Lake City (SLC). Most of the "hard to decipher" identifiers become obvious if one knows the name of the airport rather than the city served.
What are the location indicators used for?
These Location Indicators are used by pilots and for all other official communication purpose between airports and airlines. Even the Flight Plans filed by Airlines before every flight has ICAO location indicators. All location indicators are of 4 letters.
What does V stand for in ICAO?
V stands for AFS routing area assigned by ICAO for South Asia and South East Asia.
How many combinations of airport codes are there?
There are three types of airport codes. Your “17,576 possible combinations” refers to possible combinations of three letters.
What are airport codes at all?
Before we jump into three-letters vs. four-letters or IATA vs. ICAO, let's take a step back and figure out why we need 'codes' in the first place (This is extremely basic, so feel free to scroll down if it's a little too simplistic).
What is an IATA code?
It is a trade association that has established itself as the voice of representation for air travel as it pertains to the public and business.
What is the ICAO code for New Orleans?
Likewise, a pilot’s flight plan will have the ICAO code of KMSY to represent the airport.
How many letters are there in an airport code?
For most readers (who we assume love to fly), it’s relatively common knowledge that every airport has a unique three-letter code associated with it. From tickets to barcoded luggage tags to boarding passes, you’ll see these IATA-administered codes everywhere. On some flight tracking services, there might be a slightly different four-letter airport code. While pilots and industry-insiders know what the difference is, the knowledge isn’t common to everyone. Let’s jump into the world of airport codes and try to make some sense of it all.
What is the ICAO code for London Heathrow?
Are you flying out of London Heathrow Airport? You’ll see LHR on your boarding pass. The ICAO code is EGLL. Photo: Heathrow Airport News Room
What are the two airports in Tokyo?
NRT and HND: The two airports of N a r i t a and H a n e d a both serve the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in Japan
Why is air travel important?
With air travel being one of the main ways we human travel between countries, it helps greatly to have an agreed-upon set of rules, policies, and procedures. This saves pilots and airline operations personnel a great deal of grief when planning a flight to a new country. This is the role that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has.
