ICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes, which are generally used for airline timetables, reservations, and baggage tags. For example, the IATA code for London's Heathrow Airport is LHR and its ICAO code is EGLL. ICAO codes are commonly seen by passengers and the general public on flight-tracking services such as FlightAware.
In general IATA codes are usually derived from the name of the airport or the city it serves, while ICAO codes are distributed by region and country. Far more aerodromes (in the broad sense) have ICAO codes than IATA codes, which are sometimes assigned to railway stations as well. Selection of ICAO codes is partly delegated to authorities in each country, while IATA codes which have no geographic structure must be decided centrally by IATA.
Structure
Map of world regions classified according to the first letter of the ICAO airport code
Map of countries classified according to the ICAO airport code prefix. Any correspondence between subnational regions and second letter is also indicated.
Typically, the first one or two letters of the ICAO code indicate the country and the remaining letters identify the airport, as indicated by the adjoining figures. ICAO codes provide geographical context. For example, if one knows that the ICAO code for Heathrow is EGLL, then one can deduce that the airport EGGP is somewhere in the UK (it is Liverpool John Lennon Airport). On the other hand, knowing that the IATA code for Heathrow is LHR does not enable one to deduce the location of the airport LHV with any greater certainty (it is William T. Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania in the United States).
There are a few exceptions to the regional structure of the ICAO code made for political or administrative reasons. For example, the RAF Mount Pleasant air base in the Falkland Islands is assigned the ICAO code EGYP as though it were in the United Kingdom, but nearby civilian Port Stanley Airport is assigned SFAL, consistent with South America. Similarly Saint Pierre and Miquelon is controlled by France, and airports there are assigned LFxx as though they were in Europe. Kosovo is assigned the code BKxx grouping it with Greenland and Iceland rather than its geographical neighbors which have Lxxx (described below).
In the contiguous United States and Canada, many airports have ICAO codes that are simply copies of their three-letter IATA codes, with the geographical prefix added on (e.g., YEG and CYEG both refer to Edmonton International Airport, while IAD and KIAD both refer to Washington Dulles International Airport). This similarity does not extend to Alaska (PAxx), Hawaii (PHxx), or US territories. As an example, Kahului International Airport on Maui has an IATA code of OGG and an ICAO code of PHOG.
ICAO airport codes do not begin with I or J or X or Q, though the Jezero Crater on Mars is assigned the special ICAO code JZRO.[1] Codes beginning with I (Ixx and Ixxx) are often used for navigational aids such as radio beacons, while Q is reserved for international radiocommunications and non-geographical special uses (see Q code). In Russia and the CIS, Latin letter X (or its Morse/Baudot Cyrillic equivalent Ь) is used to designate government, military and experimental aviation airfields in internal airfield codes similar in structure and purpose to ICAO codes but not used internationally.[2] ZZZZ is a pseudo-code, used in flight plans for aerodromes with no ICAO code assigned.
Pseudo ICAO-codes
In small countries like Belgium or the Netherlands, almost all aerodromes have an ICAO code. For bigger countries like the UK or Germany this is not feasible, given the limited number of letter codes. Some countries have addressed this issue by introducing a scheme of sub-ICAO aerodrome codes; France, for example, assigns pseudo-ICAO codes in the style LFddnn, where dd indicates the department while nn is a sequential counter. In the case of France, an amateur organisation, the FFPLUM (Fédération Française des Planeurs Ultra Légers, the "French Federation of Ultralight Motorized Gliders"), was formally named the keeper of these codes.[3] In Antarctica many aerodromes have pseudo ICAO-codes with AT and two digits, while others have proper codes from base owner countries such as NZ for New Zealand.
International Civil Aviation Organization (official site)
ICAO Free World Airport and Runway Map (ICAO official site)
Airport IATA/ICAO Designator / Code Database Search (from Aviation Codes Central Web Site – Regular Updates)
"Airport ABCs: An Explanation of Airport Identifier Codes". Air Line Pilot. Air Line Pilots Association. December 1994.
January 06, 2023
icao, airport, code, list, lists, airports, iata, icao, code, confused, with, iata, airport, code, location, indicator, four, letter, code, designating, aerodromes, around, world, these, codes, defined, international, civil, aviation, organization, published, . For a list of ICAO airport codes see Lists of airports by IATA and ICAO code Not to be confused with IATA airport code The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four letter code designating aerodromes around the world These codes as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published in ICAO Document 7910 Location Indicators are used by air traffic control and airline operations such as flight planning ICAO codes are also used to identify other aviation facilities such as weather stations international flight service stations or area control centers whether or not they are located at airports Flight information regions are also identified by a unique ICAO code Flag of the ICAO Contents 1 History 2 ICAO codes versus IATA codes 3 Structure 4 Pseudo ICAO codes 5 Prefixes 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory EditThe International Civil Aviation Organization was formed in 1947 under the auspices of the United Nations and it established flight information regions FIRs for controlling air traffic and making airport identification simple and clear ICAO codes versus IATA codes EditICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes which are generally used for airline timetables reservations and baggage tags For example the IATA code for London s Heathrow Airport is LHR and its ICAO code is EGLL ICAO codes are commonly seen by passengers and the general public on flight tracking services such as FlightAware In general IATA codes are usually derived from the name of the airport or the city it serves while ICAO codes are distributed by region and country Far more aerodromes in the broad sense have ICAO codes than IATA codes which are sometimes assigned to railway stations as well Selection of ICAO codes is partly delegated to authorities in each country while IATA codes which have no geographic structure must be decided centrally by IATA Structure Edit Map of world regions classified according to the first letter of the ICAO airport code Map of countries classified according to the ICAO airport code prefix Any correspondence between subnational regions and second letter is also indicated Typically the first one or two letters of the ICAO code indicate the country and the remaining letters identify the airport as indicated by the adjoining figures ICAO codes provide geographical context For example if one knows that the ICAO code for Heathrow is EGLL then one can deduce that the airport EGGP is somewhere in the UK it is Liverpool John Lennon Airport On the other hand knowing that the IATA code for Heathrow is LHR does not enable one to deduce the location of the airport LHV with any greater certainty it is William T Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven Pennsylvania in the United States There are a few exceptions to the regional structure of the ICAO code made for political or administrative reasons For example the RAF Mount Pleasant air base in the Falkland Islands is assigned the ICAO code EGYP as though it were in the United Kingdom but nearby civilian Port Stanley Airport is assigned SFAL consistent with South America Similarly Saint Pierre and Miquelon is controlled by France and airports there are assigned LFxx as though they were in Europe Kosovo is assigned the code BKxx grouping it with Greenland and Iceland rather than its geographical neighbors which have Lxxx described below In the contiguous United States and Canada many airports have ICAO codes that are simply copies of their three letter IATA codes with the geographical prefix added on e g YEG and CYEG both refer to Edmonton International Airport while IAD and KIAD both refer to Washington Dulles International Airport This similarity does not extend to Alaska PAxx Hawaii PHxx or US territories As an example Kahului International Airport on Maui has an IATA code of OGG and an ICAO code of PHOG ICAO airport codes do not begin with I or J or X or Q though the Jezero Crater on Mars is assigned the special ICAO code JZRO 1 Codes beginning with I Ixx and Ixxx are often used for navigational aids such as radio beacons while Q is reserved for international radiocommunications and non geographical special uses see Q code In Russia and the CIS Latin letter X or its Morse Baudot Cyrillic equivalent is used to designate government military and experimental aviation airfields in internal airfield codes similar in structure and purpose to ICAO codes but not used internationally 2 ZZZZ is a pseudo code used in flight plans for aerodromes with no ICAO code assigned Pseudo ICAO codes EditIn small countries like Belgium or the Netherlands almost all aerodromes have an ICAO code For bigger countries like the UK or Germany this is not feasible given the limited number of letter codes Some countries have addressed this issue by introducing a scheme of sub ICAO aerodrome codes France for example assigns pseudo ICAO codes in the style LFddnn where dd indicates the department while nn is a sequential counter In the case of France an amateur organisation the FFPLUM Federation Francaise des Planeurs Ultra Legers the French Federation of Ultralight Motorized Gliders was formally named the keeper of these codes 3 In Antarctica many aerodromes have pseudo ICAO codes with AT and two digits while others have proper codes from base owner countries such as NZ for New Zealand Prefixes EditPrefix code CountryA Western South PacificAG Solomon IslandsAN NauruAY Papua New GuineaB Greenland Iceland and Kosovo European Alternate BG GreenlandBI IcelandBK KosovoC CanadaC CanadaD Eastern parts of West Africa and MaghrebDA AlgeriaDB BeninDF Burkina FasoDG GhanaDI Cote d IvoireDN NigeriaDR NigerDT TunisiaDX TogoE Northern EuropeEB BelgiumED Germany civil EE EstoniaEF FinlandEG United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies EH NetherlandsEI IrelandEK Denmark and the Faroe IslandsEL LuxembourgEN NorwayEP PolandES SwedenET Germany military EV LatviaEY LithuaniaF Most of Central Africa Southern Africa and the Indian OceanFA South AfricaFB BotswanaFC Republic of the CongoFD EswatiniFE Central African RepublicFG Equatorial GuineaFH Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da CunhaFI MauritiusFJ British Indian Ocean TerritoryFK CameroonFL ZambiaFM Comoros France Mayotte and Reunion and MadagascarFN AngolaFO GabonFP Sao Tome and PrincipeFQ MozambiqueFS SeychellesFT ChadFV ZimbabweFW MalawiFX LesothoFY NamibiaFZ Democratic Republic of the CongoG Western parts of West Africa and MaghrebGA MaliGB The GambiaGC Spain Canary Islands GE Spain Ceuta and Melilla GF Sierra LeoneGG Guinea BissauGL LiberiaGM MoroccoGO SenegalGQ MauritaniaGS Western SaharaGU GuineaGV Cape VerdeH East Africa and Northeast AfricaHA EthiopiaHB BurundiHC Somalia including Somaliland HD DjiboutiHE EgyptHH EritreaHJ South SudanHK KenyaHL LibyaHR RwandaHS SudanHT TanzaniaHU UgandaK Contiguous United StatesK Contiguous United StatesL Southern Europe Israel Palestine and TurkeyLA AlbaniaLB BulgariaLC CyprusLD CroatiaLE Spain mainland section and Balearic Islands LF France Metropolitan France including Saint Pierre and Miquelon LG GreeceLH HungaryLI Italy and San Marino LJ SloveniaLK Czech RepublicLL IsraelLM MaltaLN MonacoLO AustriaLP Portugal including the Azores and Madeira LQ Bosnia and HerzegovinaLR RomaniaLS SwitzerlandLT TurkeyLU MoldovaLV Palestine Palestinian territoriesLW North MacedoniaLX GibraltarLY Serbia and MontenegroLZ SlovakiaM Central America Mexico and northern western parts of the CaribbeanMB Turks and Caicos IslandsMD Dominican RepublicMG GuatemalaMH HondurasMK JamaicaMM MexicoMN NicaraguaMP PanamaMR Costa RicaMS El SalvadorMT HaitiMU CubaMW Cayman IslandsMY BahamasMZ BelizeN Most of the South Pacific and New ZealandNC Cook IslandsNF Fiji TongaNG Kiribati Gilbert Islands TuvaluNI NiueNL France Wallis and Futuna NS Samoa United States American Samoa NT France French Polynesia NV VanuatuNW France New Caledonia NZ New Zealand parts of AntarcticaO Pakistan Afghanistan and many West Asian countriesOA AfghanistanOB BahrainOE Saudi ArabiaOI IranOJ Jordan and the West BankOK KuwaitOL LebanonOM United Arab EmiratesOO OmanOP PakistanOR IraqOS SyriaOT QatarOY YemenP most of the North Pacific and KiribatiPA US Alaska also PF PO and PP PB US Baker Island PC Kiribati Canton Airfield Phoenix Islands PF US Alaska also PA PO and PP PG US Guam Northern Mariana Islands PH US Hawaii PJ US Johnston Atoll PK Marshall IslandsPL Kiribati Line Islands PM US Midway Island PO US Alaska also PA PF and PP PP US Alaska also PA PF and PO PT Federated States of Micronesia PalauPW US Wake Island R Western part of the North Pacific Taiwan South Korea Philippines and Japan RC Republic of China Taiwan RJ Japan Mainland RK South Korea Republic of Korea RO Japan Okinawa RP PhilippinesS South AmericaSA Argentina including parts of Antarctica SB Brazil also SD SI SJ SN SS and SW SC Chile including Easter Island and parts of Antarctica also SH SD Brazil also SB SI SJ SN SS and SW SE EcuadorSF United Kingdom Falkland Islands SG ParaguaySH Chile also SC SI Brazil also SB SD SJ SN SS and SW SJ Brazil also SB SD SI SN SS and SW SK ColombiaSL BoliviaSM SurinameSN Brazil also SB SD SI SJ SS and SW SO France French Guiana SP PeruSS Brazil also SB SD SI SJ SN and SW SU UruguaySV VenezuelaSW Brazil also SB SD SI SJ SN and SS SY GuyanaT Eastern and southern parts of the CaribbeanTA Antigua and BarbudaTB BarbadosTD DominicaTF France Guadeloupe Martinique Saint Barthelemy Saint Martin TG GrenadaTI US U S Virgin Islands TJ US Puerto Rico TK Saint Kitts and NevisTL Saint LuciaTN Caribbean Netherlands Aruba Curacao Sint MaartenTQ UK Anguilla TR UK Montserrat TT Trinidad and TobagoTU UK British Virgin Islands TV Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesTX UK Bermuda U Most former Soviet countriesU Russia except as below UA KazakhstanUB AzerbaijanUC KyrgyzstanUD ArmeniaUG GeorgiaUK UkraineUM Belarus and Russia Kaliningrad Oblast UT Tajikistan Turkmenistan UzbekistanV Many South Asian countries mainland Southeast Asia Hong Kong and MacauVA India West India VC Sri LankaVD CambodiaVE India East India VG BangladeshVH Hong KongVI India North India VL LaosVM MacauVN NepalVO India South India VQ BhutanVR MaldivesVT ThailandVV VietnamVY MyanmarW Most of Maritime Southeast AsiaWA Indonesia also WI WQ and WR WB Brunei Malaysia East Malaysia WI Indonesia also WA WQ and WR WM Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia WP Timor LesteWQ Indonesia also WA WI and WR WR Indonesia also WA WI and WQ WS SingaporeY AustraliaY Australia including Norfolk Island Christmas Island Cocos Keeling Islands and Australian Antarctic Territory Z China North Korea and MongoliaZ Mainland China except ZK and ZM ZK North KoreaZM MongoliaSee also EditAirspace class Class A airport Geocode IATA airport code ICAO airline designators a list of codes International Board for Research into Air Crash Events List of airports by IATA and ICAO codeReferences Edit NASA s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight Index of four character airfield codes in Russia Accueil basulm ffplum info External links EditInternational Civil Aviation Organization official site ICAO Free World Airport and Runway Map ICAO official site Airport IATA ICAO Designator Code Database Search from Aviation Codes Central Web Site Regular Updates Airport ABCs An Explanation of Airport Identifier Codes Air Line Pilot Air Line Pilots Association December 1994 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title ICAO airport code amp oldid 1125414176, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
