# Counterintuitive Airport Codes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 26, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539 "2009-02-26T18:39:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/41 "2009-02-27T20:49:56Z")
I know the OP want counterintuitive codes, but I still love Sioux City’s - SUX ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/42 "2009-02-27T20:51:09Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > 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 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/43 "2009-02-27T21:23:09Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/44 "2009-02-27T21:24:48Z")
> [@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. Right. When first built, to take DC’s international traffic, Dulles was DCI, but that sounded too much like DCA to be safe. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/45 "2009-02-27T21:34:48Z")
> [@labtrash](#): > > 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? ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/46 "2009-02-27T21:55:04Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > 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) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/47 "2009-02-27T22:03:37Z")
> [@Algorithm](#): > > [AIR](http://www.flightstats.com/go/Airport/airportDetails.do?airportCode=AIR) WIBD! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/48 "2009-03-01T13:08:44Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539/49 "2009-03-02T03:40:48Z")
> [@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. Yeah, I was making reservations on-line a while back and accidentally typed “KCI” instead of “MCI” and almost booked a flight to Indonesia! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterintuitive-airport-codes/487539.md?page=2)