Counterintuitive Airport Codes

[Zeldar]

One of my regular email buddies sent this today as part of his ongoing campaign to provide as much meaningless trivia as he can:

The ORD abbreviation for Chicago’s O’Hare Airport comes from the airport’s original name Orchard Place Airport. The airport was renamed for WWII ace pilot and Medal of Honor winner Edward “Butch” O’Hare.

Nashville's BNA seems odd at first glance until you learn it's for Berry NAshville, as explained at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_International_Airport

Does/do your nearby airport(s) have a TLA that defies understanding until you know the lore?

Does anybody have one that just doesn't make sense ever -- even after the explanation for why it's called that?

[chrisk]

Lester B Pearson near Toronto - YYZ.

Why? Why??

;)

[Giles]

One code that is completely arbitrary is that for Lester B. Pearson International, Toronto, Ontario: YYZ. (Well, the first Y can be explained -- most airport codes in Canada start with Y -- but the rest suggests they were running out of letters for codes).

ETA: Simulpost!

[Jas09]

The airport in Kansas City MO is MCI -- it was originally Mid-Continental International Airport, so this code at least makes sense in that context.

[Silophant]

Why? Why??
Zee?

[Sunspace]

One code that is completely arbitrary is that for Lester B. Pearson International, Toronto, Ontario: YYZ. (Well, the first Y can be explained -- most airport codes in Canada start with Y -- but the rest suggests they were running out of letters for codes).At least Vancouver got YVR. :: mutter grumble ::
Listing of Canadian airport codes (http://www.avacation.com/airportcodes.html#canada). It looks like in a few cases they tried to make the two letters after the Y make some sort of sense, but soon gave up.

The Soo is YAM. I believe that the Island airport in Toronto is YTO, which makes sense because it was there first, and YYZ in Malton was intended to be a relief airport.

[mnemosyne]

All of the Canadian Airport codes are nonsensical:

YYZ (Toronto)
YUL (Montreal)
YYG (Charlottetown)
YYC (Calgary, slightly more logical than the rest)
YYT (St Johns)
YVR (Vancouver, again easier to guess)
YEG (Edmonton)
YHM (Hamilton; Munroe Airport, guessable)
YHZ (Halifax)

I don't remember any more offhand! I'm kind of impressed I've gotten this many on my own! hehe

[Missy2U]

Lester B Pearson near Toronto - YYZ.

Why? Why??

;)

It's a RUSH thing? ;)

[It's Not Rocket Surgery!]

Louisville International Airport is SDF, for the original name of Standiford Field.

Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport is CVG, which is truly nonsensical as it's short for Covington, Kentucky. But the airport is 10 miles from Covington, in Erlanger, and has never been in Covington.

[ElvisL1ves]

The airport in Kansas City MO is MCI -- it was originally Mid-Continental International Airport, so this code at least makes sense in that context.
Worse yet - when the KC airport changed its name, Wichita, which isn't that far away, grabbed the "Mid-Continent" name for its own. Travelers just have to remember that Mid-Continent is ICT, not MCI.

On occasion, the "sensible" code for a city does exist, but is still held by an older, smaller airport that used to be the mainline one. Orlando still has ORL, even though airline traffic goes through MCO (the former McCoy AFB) now. Houston still has HOU, even though the airlines mostly go to IAH (Intercontinental) now.

[Zeldar]

Louisville International Airport is SDF, for the original name of Standiford Field.

Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport is CVG, which is truly nonsensical as it's short for Covington, Kentucky. But the airport is 10 miles from Covington, in Erlanger, and has never been in Covington.

Is WCKY still in operation? Talk about a blast-from-the-past! I'm not even sure which synapse jumped for that connection.

[It's Not Rocket Surgery!]

Is WCKY still in operation? Talk about a blast-from-the-past! I'm not even sure which synapse jumped for that connection.

It looks that way:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCKY_(AM)

although I've only lived here 3 years (but know enough about the history of the airport to say it was never in Covington) and don't listen to AM radio so i have no other information for you.

[Spoons]

All of the Canadian Airport codes are nonsensical <snip>

I don't remember any more offhand! I'm kind of impressed I've gotten this many on my own! heheHere's another one for you: Lethbridge is YQL. :)

[matt_mcl]

Zee?

Zed.

[GorillaMan]

There's one in the UK that baffles me: Durham Tees Valley Airport, formerly Teesside Airport, originally RAF Middleton St George. MME. Huh?

[apollonia]

At least the Ottawa airport code makes some kind of sense: YOW. See, it starts with O...and there's a W in there...well, it makes more sense than YYZ, at least. Also it's a nicer airport than YYZ, so it's pretty much winning all around.

[ASAKMOTSD]

Zed.

Hoser :D

[MsRobyn]

Harrisburg International Airport is MDT, which is short for Middletown, the suburb where the airport is located. The natives don't call it MDT, we call it HIA.

Robin

[Morbo]

Maui's main airport, OGG, is named for Bertram J. Hogg, who was an early pilot for Hawaiian Airlines, and not, sadly, for Og.

[Casey1505]

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (http://www.flyavp.com/) is listed as AVP. It's located in Avoca, so I'm guessing it's short for AVoca, Pennsylvania. Much easier to say, in any case.

[wolfstu]

All of the Canadian Airport codes are nonsensical:

YYZ (Toronto)
YUL (Montreal)
YYG (Charlottetown)
YYC (Calgary, slightly more logical than the rest)
YYT (St Johns)
YVR (Vancouver, again easier to guess)
YEG (Edmonton)
YHM (Hamilton; Munroe Airport, guessable)
YHZ (Halifax)

I don't remember any more offhand! I'm kind of impressed I've gotten this many on my own! hehe

YSB is Sudbury
YFB is Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay)
YOW is Ottawa
YQB is Québec
YSJ is Saint John, NB
YTS is Timmins
YHU is St-Hubert
YWG is Winnipeg
YLT is Alert
YGP is Gaspé
YBG is Bagotville
YMM is Fort McMurray
YKA is Kamloops



... So they're not all that bad. Some of them are totally nonintuitive, obviously. :)

- wolfstu, who mostly flies from
_ . _ _ / _ . _ _ / _ . . .

[TJVM]

I couldn't find any explanation for Toronto's YYZ code, but I did learn that, according to this page (http://www.skygod.com/asstd/abc.html), the Rush song "YYZ" is taken from that airport code (Rush is from Toronto).

[seodoa]

Niigata Airport (Niigata Kuukou), is listed as KIJ. I have heard a few different reasons for this, but none of them have really seemed like anything more than WAGs.

ETA: The only part of the code I am pretty certain about is that the J is short for Japan. The final J seems to be fairly popular among regional airports in Japan. KagOshima Airport is KOJ and HIroshima Airport is HIJ.

This thread has prompted me to email the airport staff and ask them for the final word. Here's hoping they'll have something to tell me soon.

Also, Port Columbus International's code is CMH, which is not totally counterintuitive, as it does have a C and an M. The code actually comes from an older name for the airport, which was Columbus Metropolitan Hangar. Several of my friends from the area refer to the entire city as CMH in internet shorthand, which I've always considered rather obnoxious.

[seodoa]

Oh, I just thought of another one:

Chubu Centrair International Airport (Chubu Kokusai Kuukou) has the code NGO which is again a throwback. The airport replaced NaGOya Airport when it opened a few years ago. I don't know if this really counts, though, because you can still at least guess the location by the name and I still hear plenty of people refer to Chubu Centrair Int'l as Nagoya Int'l.

[MarkofT]

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is MSY. It was previously known as Moisant Field but that isn't the origin of the code. It is named after the previous tenant of the property, the Moisant Stock Yards.

[Cyberhwk]

Spokane International Airport (Spokane, WA) - GEG :confused:

[GameHat]

I came into this thread to suggest ORD, but your OP beat me to it.

:rolleyes:

[Zeldar]

I came into this thread to suggest ORD, but your OP beat me to it.

:rolleyes:

Right on, Bubba! Excellent post!

[uncle squeegee]

Spokane International Airport (Spokane, WA) - GEG :confused:

Used to be known as Gieger Field. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane_Airport

I used to have a page bookmarked that had a explanations of many of them, but I lost the bookmark and wasn't able to locate it via google-fu.

[It's Not Rocket Surgery!]

This seems to be germane to this thread. It's a general explanation about airport identifiers, with some explanations included:

http://www.skygod.com/asstd/abc.html

[uncle squeegee]

Just found these articles that explain some of them:
http://www.gonomad.com/traveldesk/0505/what_airport_codes_mean.html
http://www.skygod.com/asstd/abc.html

addtl: Rocket Surgery just beat me to the punch.

[GameHat]

Right on, Bubba! Excellent post!

I detect...sarcasm. WHYYY?????????

[Zeldar]

I detect...sarcasm. WHYYY?????????

You detect wrongly. That was sincere praise. One of the funniest posts of the day for me. Not quite as funny as another I had already anointed as Post of the Day in another thread. So I had to use another way to let you know I enjoyed your humor.

[chrisk]

Just found these articles that explain some of them:
http://www.gonomad.com/traveldesk/0505/what_airport_codes_mean.html
http://www.skygod.com/asstd/abc.html

addtl: Rocket Surgery just beat me to the punch.

Actually, both of you were stealthed out by TJVM in post 22 :D

[kushiel]

Saskatoon is YXE, but I have no idea why.

Regina is YQR, which is understandable (Queen Regina)

[Duke]

Williamsport, PA's airport has a code of IPT. Not WPT, IPT. I'm guessing WPT was already taken by someone else.

[wolfstu]

Saskatoon is YXE, but I have no idea why.

Regina is YQR, which is understandable (Queen Regina)

Except that there was never a person named "Queen Regina", and it's a phrase I can't imagine appearing in any other context -- even if 'Regina' is Latin for 'Queen'. More likely the R has significance, but the rest of it comes from being named as part of this series (http://www.homepages.mcb.net/bones/06airfields/ICAO-AD.htm):

CYQA Muskoka
CYQB Quebec Jean Lesage Intl
CYQD The Pas
CYQF Red Deer Industrial
CYQG Windsor
CYQH Watson Lake
CYQI Yarmouth
CYQK Kenora
CYQL Lethbridge
CYQM Moncton
CYQN Nakina
CYQQ Comox
CYQR Regina
CYQS St Thomas Muni
CYQT Thunder Bay
CYQU Grand Prairie
CYQV Yorkton
CYQW North Battleford
CYQX Gander
CYQY Sydney
CYQZ Quesnel

[Tom Tildrum]

Reagan National, formaerly Washington National, is DCA. This is recognizable, although it's never had "DC" in its name. Washington Dulles International is IAD, which maybe means International Airport, Dulles. I think Houston's main airport is IAH, which maybe follows the same pattern.

The airport in Newark NJ is EWR, IIRC.

Why LAX and SFO, instead of LAO and SFX?

[Nuke]

CID Cedar Rapids Iowa airport

[Algorithm]

Reagan National, formaerly Washington National, is DCA. This is recognizable, although it's never had "DC" in its name. Washington Dulles International is IAD, which maybe means International Airport, Dulles. I think Houston's main airport is IAH, which maybe follows the same pattern.

The airport in Newark NJ is EWR, IIRC.

Why LAX and SFO, instead of LAO and SFX?

LAX was previously known as LA when two letter codes were used. When the transition to three letter codes was made, they tacked an X on to the end. See also: PDX.

[Labtrash]

I know the OP want counterintuitive codes, but I still love Sioux City's - SUX

[suranyi]

Williamsport, PA's airport has a code of IPT. Not WPT, IPT. I'm guessing WPT was already taken by someone else.

For reasons I don't want to get into, North American airports were not allowed to have codes beginning with certain letters until fairly recently. Those letters include "N" (hence EWR [Newark], BNA [Nashville]), etc.), "K" (hence MCI [Kansas City], TYS [Knoxville], etc.), and "W" (hence DCA [Washington National], IAD [Washington Dulles], IPT {Williamsport], AVP [Willkes-Barre], etc.) It had to do with those letters being reserved for radio stations, I think.

Ed

[ElvisL1ves]

N prefixes were originally reserved for Navy bases.

If you want to fly from Fresno Air Terminal to Fukuoka, Japan, your ticket will call you a FAT-FUK.

[ElvisL1ves]

Reagan National, formaerly Washington National, is DCA. This is recognizable, although it's never had "DC" in its name. Washington Dulles International is IAD, which maybe means International Airport, Dulles. Right. When first built, to take DC's international traffic, Dulles was DCI, but that sounded too much like DCA to be safe.

[Zeldar]

I know the OP want counterintuitive codes, but I still love Sioux City's - SUX

Let me guess: not only is this one intuitive, it's also descriptive?

Off-topic a bit. As a kid I tried to pronounce Sioux something like sigh-youx-shus, so when I heard it pronounce Sue I didn't have a clue what they were on about. Then I met a gal named Siouxzee and was sure her parents were weird.

Had the same problem with segue. It was Seeg unil I was in my late 20's.

Okay. Back to the airports. I haven't tried to find one, but if there's an airport labeled AIR, wouldn't that be like Miami calling itself The U?

[Algorithm]

Let me guess: not only is this one intuitive, it's also descriptive?

Off-topic a bit. As a kid I tried to pronounce Sioux something like sigh-youx-shus, so when I heard it pronounce Sue I didn't have a clue what they were on about. Then I met a gal named Siouxzee and was sure her parents were weird.

Had the same problem with segue. It was Seeg unil I was in my late 20's.

Okay. Back to the airports. I haven't tried to find one, but if there's an airport labeled AIR, wouldn't that be like Miami calling itself The U?

AIR (http://www.flightstats.com/go/Airport/airportDetails.do?airportCode=AIR)

[Zeldar]

AIR (http://www.flightstats.com/go/Airport/airportDetails.do?airportCode=AIR)

WIBD!

[mnemosyne]

Another one that bothers me a bit is BTV, for Burlington International Airport in Vermont. I keep thinking it should be BVT, given as the state code for Vermont is VT!

[Shoeless]

The airport in Kansas City MO is MCI -- it was originally Mid-Continental International Airport, so this code at least makes sense in that context.

Yeah, I was making reservations on-line a while back and accidentally typed "KCI" instead of "MCI" and almost booked a flight to Indonesia! ;)