Airport Code Explained

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May 30th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

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An airport code is a three or four letter cryptogram used to identify each airport. There are two different codes that each airport has, the IATA code and the ICAO code. The IATA code is more commonly known, and is used for airline travel, and for things such as baggage transfers. The ICAO code is used for flight planning and international airport flights.

The IATA abbreviation stands for the International Air Transport Association. The airport codes distributed by the IATA are used by airports everywhere, especially to mark luggage and find airline seats. The codes are issued by the IATA headquarters in Montreal, and are published biannually in the IATA coding directory. After being issued, all airports are given a unique three letter cryptogram. Codes that are defunct for any reason may be used again at a later date for some other airport, after a suitable time period has passed. These codes are highly useful for airport security, air cargo tracking, and for international airport transfers. If an airport does not have their own code because they are too small, then they are given a Location Identifier instead. The IATA also issues codes for railways.

The International Civil Aviation Organization is normally referred to as the IACO. The four letter cryptograms are used for international airport travel and transport, and are assigned the IACO. These codes are primarily used by airline professionals, flight planners and traffic controllers, and are not normally used by the general public. These codes are broken down into regions. Normally the first letter in the code stands for the region, the second letter is for the country and the last two letters signify the particular airport. The fake code of ZZZZ is used when the airport has no IACO cipher.

Both the IATA and ICAO airline codes are used to identify airports. However, each airport code is significant to a specific airdrome. The IATA codes are used for things such as baggage transfers between airports and for reserving airline seats, and the ICAO codes are used for things such as airport flight plans and transport information. With either code, it is nice to know that the airports have you covered.

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Airport Code Explained