JT Aviation College, Kolkata

(Collaboration with MAKAUT, West Bengal)

One year Diploma in Aviation Hospitality & Aviation Management

Semester -1:Paper Code: DAO 01

Unit: 5 IATA Codes as designations of cities, airports,

airlines and flights&ICAO airport location
Indicators.

Thousands of flights operate every day all over the world and millions of
passengers travel on these flights but very rarely a passenger board a wrong flight. Is it
not amazing?
This is only possible on account of an effective communication system of using
codesby airline industry. These codes are referred by airline industry to refer to specific
flights and destinations and have been followed for decades and proved to be vital , user
friendly and error-free.
These codes have been used to designate :
 airlines,
 flights,
 airports and
 cities.

IATA Codes are an integral part of the travel industry and essential for the
identification of an airline, its destinations and its traffic documents. Codes are also
fundamental to the smooth running of hundreds of electronic applications which have
been built around these coding systems for passenger and cargo traffic purposes.

Those companies assigned an IATA Airline Designator Code are to use such
designators for reservations, schedules, timetables, telecommunications, ticketing,
cargo documentation, legal, tariffs and/or other commercial/traffic purposes. The
characters prominently displayed on baggage tags attached at airport check-in desks are
an example of a way these codes are used.

Airline Codes
Theairline codes are to identify them to avoid any misunderstanding / ambiguity.
They are also called IATA reservation codes and are assigned by the International Air

1
Transport Association (IATA) to the world's airlines. These codes are used in
timetables, tickets, flight numbers and reservation systems.The standard is described in
IATA's Standard Schedules Information Manual and the codes themselves are described
in IATA's Airline Coding Directory. (Both are published semi-annually.)

The IATA codes were originally based on the ICAO designators which were
issued in 1947 as two-letter airline identification codes .IATA expanded the two-
character-system with codes consisting of a letter and a digit (or vice versa) For
example, American airlines has been assigned 2- letter code as AA.These codes are also
available for non IATA member airlines.

IATA assigns a two or three digit code consisting of letters , numbers or both and
follow the format xx(a), i.e., two alphanumeric characters (letters or digits) followed by
an optional letter.

Although the IATA standard provides for three-character airline designators,

IATA has not used the optional third character in any assigned code. This is because
some legacy computer systems, especially the "central reservations systems", have
failed to comply with the standard, notwithstanding the fact that it has been in place for
twenty years. , however , the two digit is more frequently used by IATA member
airlines.

Airline Name 2-Letter Code

American Airlines AA
Delta Airlines DL
United Airlines UA
Emirates EK
British Airways BA
Air France AF
KLM KL
Singapore airlines SQ
Thai Airways TG
Air India AI
Spice Jet SG
Indigo 6E
Swiss LX

2
 It is desirable that all airline personnel must know and remember their airline 2-
letter code include of those airlines which are having code sharing agreements with
their airline. This will help the airline personnel to assist passengers for on onward
connections or transfer.

Flight Numbers
A flight number is made up of the airline’s two or three digit code and is assigned
by the airline.
For example : Air India 2 letter code is AI and a number 401 is allotted to its Delhi
– Kolkata flight Thus AI-401 operating from Delhi to Kolkata, departing at 08:00 and
arriving at 09:50.
Sometimes the same flight can have two flight numbers , when the flight is
operated by an airline that has a code share agreement with another airline.
For example :Indigo Airline has joined with Qatar Airline under a code share
agreement. This means that Qatar airline has reserved a number of seats on the flight
operated by Indigo Airline that they sell to public through the Qatar airline reservation
system, at the fare decided by the Qatar airline. This is a very common practice and for
Indigo airline it means that they have already sold an agreed number of seats and will
earn the agreed amount of revenue for them.
Thus if we see the web site of Qatar airline, we will find that flight operated by
Indigo Airline departs from origin at 12:00 and arrives in its destination at 16:30.
Although a different flight number, it is exactly the same flight operated by the Indigo
airline.

3
 This arrangement sometimes confuse passengers since they have purchased a
ticket thinking that they will be travelling with particular airline ( Qatar Airline) where
as they are actually travelling with another airline ( Indigo Airline)
It is therefore desirable that all airline personnel must know and understand
what is code sharing agreements with other airline and their flight number to assist the
passengers.

Airport and City Codes

Airports are identified through unique three-letter codes. These codes serve to
simplify airline operations where it is necessary to indicate airport points of origin and
destination.
Airport codes came into existence in 1930s on account of the convenience to the
pilots for identify the locations.Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter
code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. But this system
became unmanageable where the cities and towns are without an NWS identifier.

In order to overcome this problem 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.There are still some airports in the United States
who had retained their NWS codes and to prevent any possible confusion X was added
to the end of the old codes. For example :LAX for Los Angeles , PDX for Poland and PHX
for Phoenix.

Airport codes are also assigned by IATA and therefore also known as an IATA
location identifier or IATA station code or location identifier. It is a three-letter code
designating airports around the world and used in aviation and also in logistics to
identify an airport.

4
 The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is
administered by IATA headquarters in Montreal. The codes are published semiannually
in the IATA Airline Coding Directory.

IATA airport codes can be abbreviated forms of the name of the airport , such
as HRE for Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe , Africa.

The duplications in city names around the world would result in confusion in
ticketing and baggage handling if just city names were used. The use of codes that are
unique to each airport eliminates a possible source of error. For example , London ,
England in the UK and London , Ontario in Canada.

Since airport codes are assigned by IATA , the assignment of new airport
codes or makes a change to existing code is only done by IATA. However, once a code is
assigned , it is considered permanent and can not be changed without strong logical
justification. Thus , airport have to retain their IATA code even when the airport’s name
is changed.

For example : The International Airport in Delhi is renamed as Indira Gandhi

International but its IATA code remains the same which was assigned earlier as DEL.

Airport codes often do not bear any immediate resemblance because with
over 4,000 airports world over , it is impossible to make them all instantly recognisable.
For example : All airports in Canada are prefixed by “Y”. Vancouver is assigned YVR and
Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International airport is assigned YYZ.

Airports may also be named based on :

5
  Location : Islamabad International airport (ISB) in Pakistan; Los
Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the USA
 Prominent national celebrity , such as a politician : John F.
Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York USA.
 Famous person associated with its region : Queen Alia
International Airport (AMM) in Amman , Jordan ; Liverpool’s John
Lennon International Airport (LPL) in the UK.
 Prominent figures in aviation history: The Santos-Dumont
Airport(SDU)in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil named after the Brazilian
aviator , Alberts Santos-Dumont , who first flew from St. Cloud around
the Eiffel Tower and back in 1901.

In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after the airport itself
instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself.

• Berlin (BER) – Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL) and Berlin Schönefeld

Airport (SXF), and the under construction Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)

• Bucharest (BUH) – Otopeni (OTP) is named after the town of Otopeni which
the airport is located, while the city also has another airport inside the city
limits, Băneasa (BBU).

• Chicago (CHI) – O'Hare (ORD), named after Orchard Field, the airport's
former name, and Midway (MDW)

• Jakarta (JKT) – Soekarno–Hatta (CGK) is named after Cengkareng, the district

in which the airport is located, while the city also has another airport, Halim
Perdanakusuma(HLP). JKT had referred to the city's former
airport, Kemayoran Airport which is now closed.

• London (LON) – Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), London

City (LCY), Stansted (STN), Luton (LTN) and Southend (SEN)

• Milan (MIL) – Malpensa (MXP), Linate (LIN) and Orio al Serio (BGY)

• Miami (MIA) – Miami (MIA), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), West Palm Beach (PBI)
• Montreal (YMQ) – Trudeau (YUL), Mirabel (YMX), and Saint-Hubert (YHU)

• Moscow (MOW) – Sheremetyevo (SVO), Domodedovo (DME), Vnukovo (VKO)

Cities with multiple airports

Using a code for the city in one of the major airport and then assign another code
to another airport:
• Bangkok (BKK) – Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Don Mueang (DMK)

6
 • Beijing (BJS) – Capital (PEK) and Nanyuan (NAY)
• Dallas (DFW) - Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Dallas Love
Field (DAL)
• Dubai (DXB) – International (DXB) and Al Maktoum (DWC)
• Johannesburg (JNB) – O. R. Tambo (formerly Jan Smuts) (JNB)
and Lanseria (HLA)
• Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Sepang (KUL) and Subang (SZB)
When different cities with the same name each have an airport, the airports need
to be assigned different codes. For example:

• Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is in Birmingham,

Alabama, United States and Birmingham Airport (BHX) is in Birmingham,
England, United Kingdom.

• Dublin Airport (DUB) is in Dublin, Ireland and W. H. 'Bud' Barron

Airport (DBN) is in Dublin, Georgia, United States.

• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is in San Jose,

California, United States and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) is in
San José, Costa Rica.

• Portland International Jetport (PWM) is in Portland, Maine, while Portland

International Airport (PDX) is in Portland, Oregon.

So there are approximately 9500 airport codes and it is difficult to remember all
of them but cabin crew need to familiarize themselves with the codes of the airports to
and from which their airline operate .Therefore it is reflected in their roster the airport
codes that the crew are operating from and to.
Airport Location City Code
London Heathrow Airport London, UK LHR
Tokyo Haneda International Tokyo , Japan HND
Frankfurt Frankfurt , Germany FRA
Schiphol Amsterdam , Netherlands AMS
Changi Singapore SIN
Orlando Florida , USA YYZ
London Gatwick London , UK LGW

ICAO airport code or Location Indicator

The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-
letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by
the International Civil Aviation Organization and published in ICAO Document 7910.

7
 Location Indicators, are used by air traffic control and airline operations
in flight planning. These ICAO codes are also used to identify other aviation facilities
such as weather stations, International Flight Service Stations or Area Control Centers,
whether or not they are located at airports.

Flight information regions are also identified by a unique ICAO-code.

Example: Delhi - VIDP , Kolkata - VECC . Madras - VOMM & Bombay -VABB.

ICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes, which are generally
used for airline timetables, reservations, and baggage tags. ICAO codes are commonly
seen by passengers and the general public on flight-tracking services such
as FlightAware, but passengers will more often see the IATA codes, such as on their
tickets and their luggage tags.

Airport ICAO Location Airport ICAO Location

Indicator Indicator
Bangkok VTBD Delhi VIDP
Hong Kong VHHH Kolkata VECC
Dubai OMDB Nagpur VANP
Abu Dubai OMAD Lucknow VILK
Singapore WSSS Patna VEPT
Madras VOMM
Bombay VABB
Bengaluru VOBG

8
******