# Referring to a city by its airport code **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363 "2011-02-23T18:31:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/21 "2011-02-23T20:22:35Z")
I’m a fan of Sacramento’s airport identifier: SMF, which my brain reads as “smurf”. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/22 "2011-02-23T20:25:35Z")
We’ve got three major airports and four codes: BWI DCA IAD and for the area as a whole, WAS. “BWI” is often used, as that was the abbreviation for the airport’s old name. I occasionally refer to Dulles as IAD. The third airport is always called “National,” even though it’s been renamed for some guy who fired a bunch of air traffic controllers. In International Mafia, though, I was keeping track of the parts of the game with LHR for London (Heathrow) and WLG for Wellington. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/23 "2011-02-23T20:26:37Z")
'Round these parts the airport code does not match the town. Spokane Airport is GEG for Geiger field. Sounds annoying as shit to me. On a slightly related note, we got a Wal-Mart recently and an alarming number of people call it Wally World. Now I appreciate Vacation as much as then next person but _holy nasal inflection Batman_, it’s starting to get old. JUST CALL IT FUCKING WALMART. _panting_ I need chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/24 "2011-02-23T20:33:58Z")
As noted upthread, a lot of people refer to Jacksonville, Fl, as “JAX.” In this case, it is a bit easier to just say a quick “Jax” instead of the longer city name. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/25 "2011-02-23T20:37:49Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > We’ve got three major airports and four codes: > > BWI > DCA > IAD > > and for the area as a whole, WAS. Yes, but the city itself is called “DC” or “the District”. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/26 "2011-02-23T21:03:00Z")
I have no idea what the code is for any of the airports near me — not even the one in the town where I live. So it’s not on my radar at all. Radar—har! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/27 "2011-02-23T21:03:46Z")
Here in Salt Lake City we use the airport code SLC all the time to refer to the city. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/28 "2011-02-23T21:24:33Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > “BWI” is often used, as that was the abbreviation for the airport’s old name. The airport’s old name was[Friendship International Airport](http://www.kilduffs.com/Friendship_Airport_Baltimore.html), which I thought was really nice. Then someone decided it should become Baltimore-Washington International to persuade that travelers to the DC area that they had another choice beyond Dulles or National. I remember as a kid, my dad would take us to Friendship where we could stand outside on a observation deck and watch planes take off and land. Good times, good times… That would have been in the early 60s when we didn’t sweat the jet noise. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/29 "2011-02-23T21:30:13Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > Here in Salt Lake City we use the airport code SLC all the time to refer to the city. The airport code for St. Louis is STL, so I guess the entire area is terminally (hah-hah) hip, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/30 "2011-02-23T21:36:18Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Do the people of any other major metro areas do this? People who travel a lot have airports in their blood, so it’s natural to use the codes as names. The nearest one to me is SUE. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/31 "2011-02-23T21:40:05Z")
I don’t refer to cities by their airport codes unless it’s in the context of flying there and there are multiple airports. However, since I use Miami airport frequently, I think the fact its code is MIA is particularly appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/32 "2011-02-23T21:49:26Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > I can’t recall when people started using PDX for the city. I think it started in the 90s when adding an X to everything made it sound cooler. It is so prevalent here that I don’t think of the airport as PDX, the city is PDX. The airport is the airport in PDX, or Portland International. I wonder if it has anything to do with [this station.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPDX) As far as the overall issue using an airport code sorta makes sense if you have two large cities in proximity such as Dallas/Ft. Worth or San Francisco/Oakland. However, I see Dallas/Ft. Worth often referred to as “the Multiplex” and (at least here in the Northwest) SanFran/Oakland as “the Bay Area” that I don’t really think it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t even know what SeaTac’s (airport halfway between Seattle and Tacoma) code is. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/33 "2011-02-23T21:52:14Z")
Tangentially - Here in LA (I’ve never heard anyone use LAX - perhaps because we already have an abbreviation?) two of our secondary airports are both named for entertainment icons: Bob Hope (Burbank) and John Wayne (Orange County) (both with a rightward slant - curious trend in airport naming: Bush, Reagan, Hope, Wayne…(but I digress…(again…:D))). I’ve tried to promote a trend to refer to them as “Bob” and “John” - as in, “I’m flying out of Bob, but I’m coming back into John.” Alas, the meme hasn’t gained traction. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/34 "2011-02-23T22:25:35Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > (I’ve never heard anyone use LAX - perhaps because we already have an abbreviation?) Yeah, around here the \*airport \*is LAX. Why would we “abbreviate” the city by \*adding \*a letter? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/35 "2011-02-23T22:32:28Z")
Pity us poor Canadians: YYZ, YVR, YUL, YAM… ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/36 "2011-02-23T23:09:41Z")
Some people, typically students from elsewhere who come here for college, try to use the airport code for Pittsburgh for the city: PIT. For obvious reasons, this is unacceptable to long-term residents. Not to mention, we’ve had a long-term abbreviation name for the city, which is PGH. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/37 "2011-02-23T23:36:15Z")
Winston-Salem, NC, residents sometimes get peeved that the local airport (Piedmont Triad International) is still GSO, dating I’m sure from a time when it was the Greensboro something-or-other. The airport near Columbia, SC, is CAE, and it is the mark of a true noobie to refer to the town by that code. Every native I know abbreviates Columbia as Cola. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/38 "2011-02-23T23:38:25Z")
Lots of folks refer to Wilmington, NC, where I once lived, as ILM, which is its airport designator. I keep wondering if they are trying to call it Industrial Light & Magic as it is also the home of the 2nd largest US movie studio. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/39 "2011-02-23T23:44:42Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Pity us poor Canadians: YYZ, YVR, YUL, YAM… Yeah, I know, YTF do they do that anyways? (And I’ve heard Toronto the odd time being referred to as “YYZ”, and my city as “YWG”.) I’d say the best example is Sint Maarten, the Dutch Caribbean island famous for (among other things, but germane to the topic) the beach next to the airport where the planes come in at an impossibly low angle over the sunbathers. Airport code is SSX and sometimes is how people refer to the island as a whole (French and Dutch halves). Well, since this fall, Sint Maarten became a separate territory of the Netherlands as the Netherlands Antilles no longer exists. The ISO 3166-1 country code (you know, the code that ccTLDs (like .ca, .de, .au) are based on, among other things) chosen for Sint Maarten was SX. Now, pickings are very, very slim in the “S” range right now, so that might be why they got “SX” (you can count the number of free two letter codes that start with “S” on one hand most likely), and there doesn’t seem to be an official explanation as to why “SX” was chosen (I’ve seen official explanations where the code isn’t blatantly apparent from the country name), but I’m convinced it’s because of the airport code that the island as a whole has taken as a nickname. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/40 "2011-02-23T23:49:33Z")
That has taken root in Albuquerque (ABQ) and “The ATL”, Atlanta, too. But, as an aviation enthusiast, it doesn’t annoy me nearly as much as using telephone area codes. :rolleyes: The Columbus thing dates to when the Avco (formerly Crosley) Network broke up, and WLWC (TV4 Columbus!") needed a change of identity. All they could come up with was to use the airport’s code. Speaking of which, Port Columbus has always been a lame name, even if Lindbergh came up with it. But not as lame as the ball club, the Clippers, referring even more closely to the city’s long maritime trade tradition. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363.md?page=3)