What are airport codes? What are they needed for? You will find answers to these and other questions in the article. As soon as you decide to use the services of an airline to make a flight, you will have to buy a ticket for the aircraft, which will deliver you to your destination. The ticket contains information about everything you need to know about your trip. You can also find airport codes on it.
Codes
What are airport codes for? There are two designs for assigning codes to aerodromes - IATA in the international sense and ICAO throughout the Russian Federation. This means that each aerodrome has its own unique code, which consists of three (IATA) or four (ICAO) letters, respectively, to the code assignment systems. Codes are assigned by specialized organizations.
Airport codes (ICAO and IATA) are used when sending information to the flight control authorities, compiling flight schedules for flights, marking departure and arrival points on tickets, as well as meteorological services. These codes are at the same time a label of each terminal in aerial nautical charts and in a telegraphic telecommunication network. Such a typified designation of air nodes is clear to everyone. Each passenger, looking at his ticket, can find out the address of departure and landing.
For example, the Domodedovo airport is designated by the IATA code - DME, and the Sheremetyevo airport by SVO. These marks can be found on airline tickets.
Decryption
IATA airport codes originated in the United States due to the fact that the US pilots considered the two-letter codes previously unsuccessful for identifying airports.
We will find out why the letters X or O appeared in the notation. The most exotic airport codes of the world are deciphered as follows:
- YVR, Canada, Vancouver. Codes of the Canadian airports begin with the letter Y. In this regard, the letter Y is placed before the quite expected VR.
- EWR, USA, Newark. The Newark airport code looks like an EWR because all codes starting with the letter N are reserved for the U.S. Navy.
- PDX, USA, Portland. Sometimes the letter X is added to the codes at the end when it is necessary to create a three-letter code from a two-letter code. Other airports use the letter X when the desired letter is already taken. Portland's terminal was previously designated as PD. After introducing three-letter designations, he received the PDX code. Some airports add other letters. For example, San Francisco's airborne harbor is identified by the letters SFO.
- PEK, China, Beijing. Sometimes in the codes of the airways the chronicle is reflected. Today, the British city of Beijing is called Beijing, but previously it was called Peking. The same thing happened with the code of the air harbor of the Mumbai metropolis, which was formerly called Bombay. Her code is BOM.
- ORD, USA, Chicago. Before the air gate was renamed in 1949 in honor of the owner of the Medal of Honor (US highest military award) O'Hare Edward, it was called Orchard Field Airport.
- DCA, USA, Washington. In 1998, Washington State Air Terminal was named after former President of America Ronald Reagan. The airborne code reflects its location in District Columbia.
- TSE, Kazakhstan, Astana. In 1997, the city of Astana turned into the capital of Kazakhstan. In 1963, when the air gates were opened, the city was called Tselinograd.
- XRY, Spain, Jerez. The airport is located in a place called Jerez, which is the birthplace of the famous variety of fortified wine. The code of the air harbor came from the merger of the multivariate spelling of the name of this metropolis (XERES) and the variety of wine sherry (sherry).
ICAO Code Structure
Let us consider in more detail the ICAO airport code (ICAO airport code). This is a four-letter individual unique identifier assigned to the world's air harbors by the Transnational Civil Aviation Organization.
ICAO codes have a regional structure. The first two letters form the regional prefix. The first letter identifies the region in the world - part of the continent, the mainland (for example, L - Southern and Central Europe, E - Northern Europe) or a state with a large territory (C - Canada, K - continental zone of the USA, Y - Australia). The second letter identifies the country in the area corresponding to the first letter. The remaining two (three for large countries) code letters identify the airport in this state.
Today, all conceivable prefixes for the letter L are already in use. The letters X, I, Q, and J are not used as the first ICAO terminal code letter. The special ZZZZ code is reserved for precedents when a flight plan is created in an air harbor that does not have an ICAO code.
Nuances
In addition to the ICAO code, many air gates have an IATA code - a three-letter code assigned to the world's air hubs by the International Association of Air Transport (IATA). It should not be confused with the code "Airport City" - a popular online game in which you can make money. In Canada and the U.S. mainland, IATA airport codes are ICAO terminal codes without the first letter prefix. In other parts of the world (including the Hawaiian Islands included in the United States, and Alaska) this is not so.
Small heavenly gates (especially local airline terminals) may not have either an IATA code or an ICAO code.
IATA airport codes are allocated in accordance with IATA Resolution No. 763. The headquarters of this agency is located in Montreal. The list of applicable codes is published by IATA twice a year on the IATA official website.