ICAO airport code
TheICAOairport codeorlocation indicatoris a four-lettercodedesignatingaerodromesaround the world. These codes, as defined by theInternational Civil Aviation Organizationand published quarterly in ICAO Document 7910:Location Indicators,are used byair traffic controland airline operations such asflight planning. ICAO codes are also used to identify other aviation facilities such asweather stations,internationalflight service stationsorarea control centers,whether or not they are located at airports.Flight information regionsare also identified by a unique ICAO-code.
ICAO codes versus IATA codes[edit]
ICAO codes are separate and different fromIATA codes,the latter of which have three letters and are generally used forairline timetables,reservations, andbaggagetags. For example, the IATA code forLondon'sHeathrow Airportis LHR and its ICAO code is EGLL. IATA codes are commonly seen by passengers and the general public onflight-trackingservices such asFlightAware.
In general IATA codes are usually derived from the name of the airport or the city it serves, while ICAO codes are distributed by region and country. Far moreaerodromes(in the broad sense) have ICAO codes than IATA codes, which are sometimes assigned torailway stationsas well. The selection of ICAO codes is partly delegated to authorities in each country, while IATA codes, which have no geographic structure, must be decided centrally by IATA.
Structure[edit]
The first one or two letters of the ICAO code indicate the country; the remaining letters identify the airport. ICAO codes are used partly for geographical context. For example, the ICAO code forHeathrow International Airportin London, is EGLL, with its first letters reflecting that it is based in theUnited Kingdom.On the other hand, IATA codes do not provide geographic reference. For example, LHR, representing Heathrow, does not enable one to deduce the location of the airport LHV with any greater certainty; it isWilliam T. Piper Memorial AirportinLock Haven, Pennsylvaniain theUnited States.
There are a few exceptions to the regional structure of the ICAO code that have been historically for political or administrative reasons.RAF Mount Pleasantair base in theFalkland Islands,for instance, is assigned the ICAO code EGYP as though it were in theUnited Kingdom,but nearby civilianPort Stanley Airportis assigned SFAL, consistent withSouth America.Saint Pierre and Miquelonis controlled by France, and airports there are assigned LFxx as though they were in Europe.Kosovois assigned the code BKxx grouping it withGreenlandandIcelandrather than its geographical neighbors which have Lxxx (described below).Jerusalem International Airportwas assigned both LLJR (its Israeli persona) as well as OJJR (its Jordanian persona), but the airport itself fell into disuse.
In the contiguous United States and Canada, many airports have ICAO codes that are simply copies of their three-letterIATAcodes, with the geographical prefix added on (e.g., YEG and CYEG both refer toEdmonton International Airport,while IAD and KIAD both refer toWashington Dulles International Airport). This similarity does not extend toAlaska(PAxx),Hawaii(PHxx), or U.S. territories.Kahului AirportonMaui,for instance, has an IATA code of OGG and an ICAO code of PHOG.
ICAO airport codes do not begin with I or J or X or Q, though theJezero CrateronMarsis assigned the special ICAO code JZRO.[1]Codes beginning with I (Ixx and Ixxx) are often used fornavigational aidssuch as radio beacons, while theQ codeis reserved for international radiocommunications and non-geographical special use.
InRussia,Latin letter X, or itsMorse/BaudotCyrillic equivalentЬ,are used to designate government, military, and experimental aviation airfields in internal airfield codes similar in structure and purpose to ICAO codes but not used internationally.[2]ZZZZ is a pseudo-code, used inflight plansfor aerodromes with no ICAO code assigned.
ICAO codes are sometimes updated.Johannesburg AirportinJohannesburg,South Africa, for instance, was formerly known as Jan Smuts International Airport, with code FAJS. When the airport was renamed O. R. Tambo International Airport, its ICAO code was updated to FAOR.
Some airports have two ICAO codes, usually when an airport is shared by civilian and military users.Frankfurt AirportinFrankfurt,Germany, for instance, has been assigned ICAO code EDDF whileRhein-Main Air Basewas assigned ICAO code EDAF until its closure.Sion Airportin Switzerland has code LSGS while its military facilities have the ICAO code LSMS.Brussels AirportinBrussels,Belgium, has the ICAO code EBBR for its civilian facilities, andMelsbroek Air Basehas been assigned ICAO code EBMB, even though the two airports share runways and ground and air control facilities.
Pseudo ICAO-codes[edit]
In small countries like Belgium or the Netherlands, almost all aerodromes have an ICAO code. For larger countries like the UK or Germany this is not feasible, given the limited number of letter codes. Some countries have addressed this issue by introducing a scheme of sub-ICAO aerodrome codes; France, for example, assigns pseudo ICAO codes in the styleLFddnn,whereddindicates thedepartmentwhilennis a sequential counter. The French Federation of Ultralight Motorized Gliders was formally named the keeper of these codes. Aerodrome de Torreilles in France, for instance, has code LF6651.[3]InAntarctica many aerodromeshave pseudo ICAO-codes with AT and two digits, while others have proper codes from countries performing air control such as NZ forNew Zealand.
Prefixes[edit]
See also[edit]
- Airspace class
- Geocode
- IATA airport code
- ICAO airline designators– a list of codes
- International Board for Research into Aircraft Crash Events
- Lists of airports by IATA and ICAO code
References[edit]
- ^"NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight".NASA.April 19, 2021.RetrievedMay 16,2024.
- ^Index of four-character airfield codes in Russia
- ^"Accueil".basulm.ffplum.info.
External links[edit]
- Metropolitan area airport codestravel guide from Wikivoyage – for areas served by several airports
- Airport codestravel guide from Wikivoyage – relating to particular airports*International Civil Aviation Organization(official site)
- ICAO Doc 7910
- ICAO Free World Airport and Runway Map(ICAO official site)
- Airport IATA/ICAO Designator / Code Database Search(from Aviation Codes Central Web Site – Regular Updates)
- "Airport ABCs: An Explanation of Airport Identifier Codes".Air Line Pilot.Air Line Pilots Association.December 1994. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-02-07.Retrieved2010-06-25.