What is an Airport Code?

There are two kinds of airport codes used in the world today:

IATA - International Air Transport Association – a three letter code

ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization – a four letter alphanumeric code

Every airport in the world has a code allocated to it. The code is also known as the ‘location identifier’.

The IATA codes are predominantly used by passengers whilst the four letters ICAO codes are used by the aviation industry.

The ICAO codes have a regional structure, and based on the first letter corresponding to the continent, the second letter represents the country within the region, with the remaining two letters identifying the specific airports.

The IATA codes are generally an abbreviation of the airport title.

IATA airport code example for a luggage tag

Please click here for a list of Airport Codes.