# 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:** 3
**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, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/41 "2011-02-23T23:52:14Z")
Oh, and the X on LAX and PDX was added in the 20’s, when there got to be too many radio beacons for the old 2-letter codes. Only later did the beacon codes get applied to the airports they were located on. And, there are no (major at least) US airport codes starting with N, because those codes were reserved for Navy bases. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/42 "2011-02-24T00:13:33Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > That has taken root in Albuquerque (ABQ) and “The ATL”, Atlanta, too. I don’t know how long this has applied to other cites, but the city of Atlanta has been refered to as ATL in music for…well, over a decade, I think. For example, Outkast refers to Atlanta (their hometown) as the “land of ATL” [way back in 1994](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIUzq7X020A). [Warning: YouTube link] (ETA: Right about 1:13, if anyone cares.) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/43 "2011-02-24T00:25:38Z")
I work for a company with presences in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia. We often use PHL referring to Philly, to go with NYC. Only in writing, though, and usually only in emails or other casual communications. Actually, just an hour ago I was thinking about the fact that I refer to “Philly” and not “PHL” in tweets, which is one place saving three letters can actually make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/44 "2011-02-24T00:36:47Z")
I’ve thought of another theory as to the popularity of using PDX for Portland. There seems to have been a mass influx of outsiders moving here in the last decade or so. The airport is the first thing they see. They probably started it. I never heard it as a kid growing up here. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/45 "2011-02-24T00:40:54Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > 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 my family, BWI rhymes with peewee. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/46 "2011-02-24T00:48:31Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > However, I see Dallas/Ft. Worth often referred to as “the Multiplex” Metroplex. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/47 "2011-02-24T00:51:44Z")
I don’t think that airports codes are necessarily being referenced when ATL, SLC, STL, HOU, MIA etc. are used. Even PHX and SFO could simply be abbreviations that happen to match the airport codes. They’re all just good abbreviations, which is why they were chosen as the airport codes to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/48 "2011-02-24T01:06:23Z")
I’m an airline manager. I live with airport identifiers bouncing around my brain all day long. I’ll use identifiers as shorthand in emails to industry colleagues, but I don’t use them when talking out loud. And I don’t use them when writing or talking to non-industry people. Because that would sound geeky. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/49 "2011-02-24T01:50:13Z")
> [@Critical\_Mass](#): > > I’m an airline manager. I live with airport identifiers bouncing around my brain all day long. > > I’ll use identifiers as shorthand in emails to industry colleagues, but I don’t use them when talking out loud. And I don’t use them when writing or talking to non-industry people. Because that would sound geeky. Heh, it’s funny how much alphabet soup there is in Airlinespeak. “I need to check this PNR for SSRs in case there’s a UNMR headed for D12.” Took me 2 years to get used to it all. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/50 "2011-02-24T16:05:23Z")
I usually use MSP to describe the larger metropolitan area of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Most people refer to it as the Twin Cities, of course, but I’m a rebel. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/51 "2011-02-24T16:14:23Z")
People do it for Barcelona, but the code is slightly shorter than the city’s name and, when said in Catalan, it sounds almost like the city’s name said in Catalan (_BCN… besaena… barsalona_). I hear Saragossa’s code mispronunced as _cegecé_ (CGC, the actual code is ZGZ, _zetagezeta_) - again, _cegecé_ is shorter than the town’s name; people sometimes use the code not as shorthand for the city but for what it really means, “Saragossa’s airport” (“hey, man, where you coming from?” “from cegecé, my sister was taking a plane there” “ah, from z-g-z :p” “😛 back atcha, yeah”). And then you get the ones which can be pronounced: BIO is shorter than Bilbao :); people being asked “what airport are you flying into?” may answer MAD-rid as if it was two words, which is also a joke on what used to be Madrid’s typical speaking pattern…´ Heh. I just searched and the code CGC is for an airport in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/52 "2011-02-24T20:08:37Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Pity us poor Canadians: YYZ, YVR, YUL, YAM… Well, upon arrival at the Vancouver airport from the US, passengers are “welcome(d) to why-vee-are.” That could apply to the airport or the city. > [@Critical\_Mass](#): > > I’m an airline manager. I live with airport identifiers bouncing around my brain all day long. > > I’ll use identifiers as shorthand in emails to industry colleagues, but I don’t use them when talking out loud. And I don’t use them when writing or talking to non-industry people. Because that would sound geeky. > [@Athena](#): > > Heh, it’s funny how much alphabet soup there is in Airlinespeak. “I need to check this PNR for SSRs in case there’s a UNMR headed for D12.” Took me 2 years to get used to it all. Same here. 20 years with DL reservations and I \*\*still \*\*try to decode license plates when driving down the road. :rolleyes: Now I’m in a completely unrelated industry with totally unrelated alphabet soup, some just close enough to be confusing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/53 "2011-02-24T20:15:34Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Pity us poor Canadians: YYZ, YVR, YUL, YAM… Bit of trivia, the intro to the Rush song ‘YYZ’ is actually the letters Y Y Z in Morse. -.—.----.. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/54 "2011-02-24T20:28:43Z")
IND = Indianapolis. Not big on the creative, us here in the mid of west. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/55 "2011-02-26T20:50:57Z")
Yeah, nobody ever refers to Montreal (the city) as YUL; if a TLA is required, it’s Mtl. Does anyone ever call Chicago ORD? ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/56 "2011-02-28T07:05:20Z")
I worked as a travel agent for about a year and a half and during that time I thought of every damn city by its airport code. This was 1990-91 — I could probably name 100’s from all over the world. Pretty useless information now, unless I am booking tickets online, which is rare these days. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/57 "2011-02-28T16:23:56Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I’ve seen this done for PDX, DFW, HOU, SFO, MIA, and ATL. > > I was just noticing that the trend seems to be pronounced in the NBA. Both Suns and Hawks have their airport abbreviation on their floor/uniforms (at least some of the time). Do the Trailblazers? Okay, watching Lakers-Thunder last night – floor had a big OKC painted on it. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/58 "2011-02-28T16:48:21Z")
Des Moines is always DSM. There’s even a TV station KDSM. To be fair, this is a city that is not that much more interesting than its airport. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/59 "2011-02-28T18:03:34Z")
I think saying “Jax” for Jacksonville is much more like using “Frisco” for San Francisco than somebody pronouncing the airport identifier which happens to also be JAX. I’m in the airline biz too and we have to be careful about using the airport code as an abbreviation for the city. Lots of ways to get confusion when one person means the airfield itself and the other means the nearby city. I might fly to DFW, but I’ll lay over in Ft. Worth. And yes BWI is pronounced BEEwee, at least in my head. All the various pro sports broadcasters have taken to using 3-letter abbreviations for either team names or, more often, team cities. These often match the airport IDs, but not always. So while watching ESPN you see a ticker that the score is CHI 4 ATL 3, it becomes easier to start thinking of “CHI” or “ATL” as the actual (nick)name of someplace real. Repeat this exposure hundreds of times a day for hundreds of millions of people & pretty soon we’ve got a language change. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363/60 "2011-02-28T18:29:33Z")
If any city really needs an abbreviation, Albuquerque certainly qualifies. I see ABQ popping up in all kinds of contexts. It is tempting to use it forms, because there is often not enough space provided. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-a-city-by-its-airport-code/572363.md?page=4)