International Air Transport Association airport code
An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier,[1] is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The characters prominently displayed on baggage tags attached at airport check-in desks are an example of a way these codes are used.
The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by IATA headquarters in Montreal. The codes are published biannually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory.[2] Most countries use ICAO codes, not IATA codes, in their official aeronautical publications.
IATA also provides codes for railway stations and for airport handling entities. A list of airports sorted by IATA code is available. A list of railway stations codeshared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak, SNCF French Rail, and Deutsche Bahn is available. There is also a separate List of Amtrak station codes, three-character codes used by Amtrak for its railway stations in the United States and Canada.
[edit] List
List of airports by IATA code: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
- See also: List of airports by ICAO code
[edit] History and Conventions
Airport codes arose out of the convenience that it brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, thus a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other.[3]
Generally speaking, airport codes are named after the first three letters of the city in which it is located - ATL for Atlanta, SIN for Singapore, MEX for Mexico City, IST for Istanbul; or a combination of the letters in its name, GDL for Guadalajara, JNB for Johannesburg, HKG for Hong Kong, and SLC for Salt Lake City. Some airports retained their NWS codes and simply appended an X at the end, such as LAX for Los Angeles, PDX for Portland, Oregon, and PHX for Phoenix.[3]
There are many reasons for airport codes that do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and mix the letters around, giving rise to DFW for Dallas-Fort Worth, DTW for Detroit-Wayne, RDU for Raleigh-Durham, and MSP for Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Large metropolitan areas with more than one airport often resort to codes named after the airport itself instead of the city it serves. This is the case with Tokyo-Haneda (HND) and Tokyo-Narita (NRT); New York-JFK (JFK), New York-La Guardia (LGA); as well as London Heathrow (LHR) and London Gatwick (LGW).[3] In Paris, Orly Airport is ORY, while Charles de Gaulle Airport became CDG. Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport goes by CGH while Guarulhos uses GRU. Seoul's major international airport is located in Incheon, and therefore uses the airport code ICN, while its Gimpo Airport uses GMP. Osaka International Airport uses ITM while the newer Kansai Airport is designated KIX. Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport goes by the designation FCO, while Ciampino Airport uses CIA. International traffic destined for Stockholm are tagged to ARN, while its two smaller airports use BMA and NYO. Buenos Aires's international airport uses EZE, while its domestic counterpart uses AEP. Santiago, Chile uses SCL, appending part of the country's name to disambiguate with other Santiago's and San Diego, California (SAN).
Sometimes, a new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new 'major' airport code to no longer correspond with the city's name. This is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation."[3] Thus, Washington D.C.-area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington-Dulles (formerly DIA), DCA for Reagan National (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore-Washington International).[3] Since HOU is used for William P. Hobby Airport, the new Houston-Intercontinental became IAH.[3] Shanghai-Hongqiao retained the code SHA, while the newer Pudong Airport adopted PVG. The opposite is true for Berlin, the existing international airport Berlin-Tegel uses the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin-Schönefeld uses SXF; the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport will adopt the code BER.
Since the US Navy reserved "N" codes and the Federal Communications Committee has reserved rights for "W" and "K", certain U.S. cities which begin with these letters had to adopt 'irregular' airport codes: EWR for Newark, ORF for Norfolk, Virginia, EYW for Key West, Florida.[3] This 'rule' does not apply outside of the United States: Karachi is KHI, Warsaw is WAW, Nagoya is NGO. In addition, since "Q" was used for international communications, cities with "Q" beginning their name also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of Qiqihar (NDG) and Quetta (UET).
Many cities who retain historical names in their airport codes despite the fact that their official name is now different. This is especially prominent in India: BOM for Mumbai (formerly Bombay), CCU for Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and MAA for Chennai (formerly Madras); in China: CAN for Guangzhou (formerly Canton), PEK for Beijing (formerly Peking), and TAO for Qingdao (formerly Tsingtao). Similarly, this is the case with LED for St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), and SGN for Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).
Some airport codes are harder to explain, and each have their own peculiarities. In the United States, Nashville uses BNA, Knoxville uses TYS, and Kahului (main gateway into Maui) uses OGG. Orlando International Airport uses MCO, while Spokane International Airport goes by GEG. Most of these are named after individuals.[3] In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata's KIJ, Nanchang's KHN, Zhengzhou's CGO, and Kobe's UKB.
Some airports are identified even in colloquial speech by their airport code. The most notable example is LAX.
All major airports in Canada use airport codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian. Many Canadian airports simply append a combinations of letters in the city's name to the "Y": YOW for Ottawa, YYC for Calgary, and YVR for Vancouver. Some Canadian codes are much harder to identify simply through the letters alone, particularly at two of Canada's largest airports, YUL for Montreal-Trudeau and YYZ for Toronto-Pearson.
The IATA airport code system has inspired other systems of cataloguing - notably the ISO 639-3 three-letter language code system.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ IATA Coding Systems
- ^ IATA Airline Coding Directory
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Airport ABCs: An Explanation of Airport Identifier Codes". Air Line Pilot. Air Line Pilots Association. 1994. http://www.skygod.com/asstd/abc.html. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
[edit] External links
- IATA official web site
- IATA Airline and Airport Code Search
- U.S. and Canada Airport Codes
- United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations (UN/LOCODE) - includes IATA codes
- "Airport ABCs: An Explanation of Airport Identifier Codes". Air Line Pilot. Air Line Pilots Association. December, 1994. http://www.skygod.com/asstd/abc.html.
- Database with extended search functionality
- Searchable database includes both IATA and ICAO codes
- Airport IATA/ICAO Designator / Code Database Search (from Aviation Codes Central Web Site - Regular Updates)
- Airport codes from around the world (Searchable IATA, ICAO, FAA codes, etc.)
