# Useless trivia about IATA airport codes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** vacation-travel\ **Created:** [June 4, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489 "2024-06-04T21:04:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/41 "2024-06-05T16:14:38Z")
I occasionally wonder if someone’s luggage could ever be labelled through Fukuoka to Offutt AFB. I have too much time on my hands. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/42 "2024-06-06T01:33:35Z")
More than once I’ve punched in DAC instead of DCA, but I’ve always caught it before booking a trip to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/43 "2024-06-06T01:49:38Z")
I keep seeing the thread title and thinking this is one of those “Am I The Asshole” threads…or “I _Am_ The Asshole” thread. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/44 "2024-06-06T02:09:00Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > I flew from SEA (Seattle, duh) to HLN (Helena MT) with a stop in GEG (Spokane WA). SEA is Seattle-Tacoma International, or “SeaTac” for short, no matter how much the Port of Seattle keeps trying to push “SEA” as its shorthand name. Personally I think it ought to have been STC, which Google informs me belongs to St. Cloud, which wasn’t built until the '90s whereas SeaTac dates to the '60s. It isn’t even in Seattle, for crying out loud - it’s located in what was formerly an unincorporated area of King County, which later became the city of SeaTac, named for the airport. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/45 "2024-06-06T02:35:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Personally I think it ought to have been STC, which Google informs me belongs to St. Cloud, which wasn’t built until the '90s whereas SeaTac dates to the '60s. This [document](https://stcloudairport.com/DocumentCenter/View/19/Airport-History--Timeline?bidId=) on the St. Cloud Airport’s website says it was built in 1969-70, not the 90s. The current terminal building was built in the 90s; maybe that’s what you’re thinking of. And there was another airport in St. Cloud dating from the 1930s before the current one was built. The old airport may have already been using the STC code. > [@Smapti](#): > > It isn’t even in Seattle, for crying out loud But most airports aren’t strictly in the cities they serve. SFO is only “in” San Francisco in the most technical sense because the city annexed a small strip of land along highway 101 and connected it to the airport. For all intents and purposes it’s in San Mateo. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/46 "2024-06-06T02:36:32Z")
Back when I first started flying a fair bit, starting in the late 60s as a UM (that’s “Unaccompanied Minor”) and then a lot more in the 70s, airport codes were these obscure things mainly known to airline personnel, and passengers only saw them as cryptic three-letter codes on their luggage tags whose meaning wasn’t always clear. It would have been inconceivable to allow a mere passenger to book a flight using airport codes, not that online booking was possible back then anyway. At that time, all major airlines regularly issued little booklets listing all their flights to all destinations, and nowhere did any airport code appear – because why would it? The passenger wouldn’t generally know what it meant anyway. If the destination city had more than one major airport, they might have to indicate which one they flew into, but I think they did this just by spelling out the name of the airport. Those booklets even listed the fares between any two destinations flown by the airline, because fares were regulated and didn’t change much. Those were simpler times! There was another publication that listed the flights for all airlines called the OAG, or “Official Airline Guide”. That one did list airport codes because it was intended to be used by industry insiders like airline staff and travel agents. It was about the size of a small phone book and was issued regularly, probably monthly. Who needed computers when you had paper! 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/47 "2024-06-06T02:42:17Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > This [document](https://stcloudairport.com/DocumentCenter/View/19/Airport-History--Timeline?bidId=) on the St. Cloud Airport’s website says it was built in 1969-70, not the 90s. The current terminal building was built in the 90s; maybe that’s what you’re thinking of. And there was another airport in St. Cloud dating from the 1930s before the current one was built. The old airport may have already been using the STC code. Well, that’s more research than I bothered doing into the matter. “Takoma” and “Tahoma” are both accepted alternate spellings of the Lushootseed name for Mt. Rainier, which gives the city of Tacoma its name. STK, maybe? No, that’s Sterling, Colorado. STH? Nope, that’s Strathmore, Australia. Maybe STM? No, that’s Santarem, Brazil. I guess getting an actual word as an airport name is enough of a cachet to make “SEA” worth it, but I really wish Tacoma were incorporated into the code somehow. Everyone always forgets about Tacoma. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lT4QMN93g9o/maxresdefault.jpg "Thrice All American") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT4QMN93g9o) Also, I was previously wrong about when SeaTac was established - I thought it was the '60s, but upon Googling it, the first landing at SeaTac was in 1944, and the name dates to the previous year, which still definitely predates St. Cloud. ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/48 "2024-06-06T03:35:09Z")
Edmonton International Airport (YEG) marketed itself since 2007 as EIA, and only shifted to embracing YEG as a brand in September 2022. Many regional events had been calling themselves YEGfest and such within Edmonton for years. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/49 "2024-06-06T04:10:35Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I irrationally thought the X in LAX stood for “international”. Not sure why. Turns out X is just a place filler to comply with the 3 letter standard. As A) A pilot, who B) Grew up in aviation, and C) A native Southern Californian, people thinking ‘X’ stood for 'International (because LA_X_), this misconception always made me roll my eyes. I don’t know how many times I corrected people when I was younger. Like, ‘Oh? What’s the ‘O’ in SFO stand for? What do the letters in ‘LAS’ stand for? What does the ‘Y’ in MYF stand for?’ I hope I’m more understanding now. But then, I haven’t heard anyone proclaim erroneous data in a few decades. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/50 "2024-06-06T04:47:18Z")
> [@superwombat](#): > > Edmonton International Airport (YEG) marketed itself since 2007 as EIA, and only shifted to embracing YEG as a brand in September 2022. I remember that. I was living in Edmonton in the mid-2000s, and it was not at all unusual for a friend to say that they were flying out of EIA next week. Now, when I return for various reasons, it’s only ever YEG. Another Alberta city that is trying, unofficially, to change its branding in the same way is Lethbridge. Its airport code is YQL, and occasionally, you’ll hear someone being interviewed on the news referring to the city as YQL. I don’t think that efforts will be successful, since while YEG is easy to pronounce (“yeg,” rhymes with “beg”), YQL is a little more difficult. Though we could have a little fun with it: “Why? Cue 'ell!” ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/51 "2024-06-06T05:08:43Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > (“yeg,” rhymes with “beg”) Also rhymes with “egg” and “yegg”. Dictionary definition of “yegg”: one that breaks open safes to steal ; safecracker; also, robber. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/52 "2024-06-06T05:10:29Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > YQL is a little more difficult. Hmm. Potential to backfire a little… “YQL? More like Nyquil, har har” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/53 "2024-06-06T14:05:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > As A) A pilot, who B) Grew up in aviation, and C) A native Southern Californian, people thinking ‘X’ stood for 'International (because LA_X_), this misconception always made me roll my eyes. I don’t know how many times I corrected people when I was younger. Like, ‘Oh? What’s the ‘O’ in SFO stand for? What do the letters in ‘LAS’ stand for? I’m not getting your point here. San FranciscO. LAS vegas. Since there is no X in Los Angeles, it makes sense to think that stands for International. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/54 "2024-06-06T14:10:08Z")
> The airport’s [IATA airport code](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IATA_airport_code), CMX, has been explained in several ways. According to the airport authority, it stands for Canadian Michigan eXchange,[[10]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houghton_County_Memorial_Airport#cite_note-10) as the airfield would serve as an emergency diversion point for flights from cities like [Toronto](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto) to western Canada. Although the airport does occasionally host weather-related diversions, especially for flights to [Thunder Bay](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_Bay_International_Airport), for the most part the relatively short runway, limited emergency facilities, and less favorable weather compared to nearby [Sawyer International Airport](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawyer_International_Airport) in [Marquette](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquette,_Michigan) mean the latter is preferred. > A second explanation, possibly apocryphal, references the once-common practice of appending “X” to two-character weather station codes, such as seen, for example, in [Los Angeles](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airport)(LAX) and [Portland, Oregon](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_International_Airport) (PDX) - with “CM” in this case referencing nearby Calumet. As of my last pre-‘rona visit, there were only two flights a day from ORD. It wasn’t uncommon for flights to arrive over CMX, circle around a bit, then head back with a plane full of frustrated Yoopers to Chicago to refuel. A few times I used Marquette (MQT) instead but it’s a long drive ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/55 "2024-06-06T14:10:26Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > But most airports aren’t strictly in the cities they serve. SFO is only “in” San Francisco in the most technical sense because the city annexed a small strip of land along highway 101 and connected it to the airport. Same with Denver International. Denver City & County annexed the land under I70 and Peña Blvd and the airport from Adams County. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/56 "2024-06-06T14:11:57Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I’m not getting your point here. People assume ‘X’ stands for ‘International’, and that ‘LA’ stands for ‘Los Angeles’. It follows that they assume ‘SF’ stands for ‘San Francisco’ and that ‘O’ stands for…? Shouldn’t it be called SFX? Yes, ‘LAS’ was chosen because it’s the start of ‘Las Vegas’; but if they are assuming that the _individual_ letters have meanings, then why wouldn’t they assume that Las Vegas would be LVX? The letters _don’t_ mean anything on their own. The _grouping_ of the letters identifies an airport. It just bugged me when people confidently told me that the ‘X’ in LAX _meant_ 'International. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/57 "2024-06-06T14:41:43Z")
The biggest reason not to suspect that the X stands for “international” is that darned near every airport is “international”, or at least every airport that anyone’s ever heard of. You might as well have a letter in the code to stand for “airport”. Well, that, and there’s nothing even remotely close to an “X” in “International”. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/58 "2024-06-06T15:33:38Z")
Well now I think I’m going to start calling it “Los Angeles XtraNational” just to make the X stand for something. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/59 "2024-06-07T07:08:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The biggest reason not to suspect that the X stands for “international” is that darned near every airport is “international”, or at least every airport that anyone’s ever heard of. Ever heard of Coutts/Ross International Airport? Probably not. Its only runway straddles the US/Canada border. The border is pretty much down the centre of the runway: > **[Coutts/Ross International Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coutts/Ross_International_Airport)** > > Coutts/Ross International Airport (FAA LID: 7S8, TC LID: CEP4) is located 0.5 nautical miles (0.93 km; 0.58 mi) west of Coutts, Alberta, Canada and 0.1 NM (0.19 km; 0.12 mi) west of Sweet Grass, Montana, United States. > Ross International Airport is owned by the U.S. state of Montana and is operated by the Montana Aeronautics Division. Its runway is located on the Canada–US border. > The airport is one of six airports that straddle the Canada–US border. The others are Avey Field State Airport, W... No X, though it is obviously international, and certainly not anything that resembles an IATA/ICAO airport designation. Question for @Johnny_L.A and/or @LSLGuy : what is a “LID”? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489/60 "2024-06-07T07:13:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > People assume ‘X’ stands for ‘International’, and that ‘LA’ stands for ‘Los Angeles’. It follows that they assume ‘SF’ stands for ‘San Francisco’ and that ‘O’ stands for…? Shouldn’t it be called SFX? Yes, ‘LAS’ was chosen because it’s the start of ‘Las Vegas’; but if they are assuming that the _individual_ letters have meanings, then why wouldn’t they assume that Las Vegas would be LVX? People have been calling referring to Los Angeles as “LA” since decades before I was born. Nobody says “I live in SF” or “I’m taking a vacation in LV”. > [@Spoons](#): > > Ever heard of Coutts/Ross International Airport? Probably not. Its only runway straddles the US/Canada border. So far as I know, Gibraltar International (which for our purposes is unfortunately not called GBX) is the only airport in the world with a public street intersecting the runway. > **[Gibraltar International Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar_International_Airport)** > > Gibraltar International Airport, previously known as North Front Airport, (IATA: GIB, ICAO: LXGB) is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The runway and aerodrome is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as RAF Gibraltar. Civilian operators use the civilian-operated terminal. National Air Traffic Services (NATS) hold the contract for provision of air navigation services at the airport. > In 2017, the civilian ... > [@](#): > > Winston Churchill Avenue (the main road heading towards the land border with Spain) intersects the airport runway, and consequently has to be closed every time an aircraft lands or departs. The History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports ranked the airport the fifth most extreme airport in the world, ahead of the now-defunct Kai Tak Airport with its infamous right-hand turn approach over central Hong Kong before landing, but behind Princess Juliana International Airport, famous for its low-altitude approaches over a public beach. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-trivia-about-iata-airport-codes/1002489.md?page=4)