Learn what IATA, ICAO and local airport codes mean, which one your task requires, and how to find and verify the correct airport identifier.
Airport codes identify airports in bookings, flight plans, weather reports and air traffic systems. In aviation and real-world flying, three-letter IATA codes usually serve passengers, four-letter ICAO codes serve operations, and some countries use local identifiers. To find the right one, search by airport name, then verify the code type and location.
Which type of airport code do I need?
Use the code required by the system or document rather than assuming every airport has one universal code.
| Code type | Typical format | Main use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA | Three letters | Tickets, baggage tags, airline timetables and passenger searches | LHR |
| ICAO | Four letters | Flight plans, operational systems, aviation weather and many simulator databases | EGLL |
| National or local identifier | Varies by country and may contain numbers | Domestic charts, regulators and smaller aerodromes without an IATA or ICAO code | Varies |
An airport code is an assigned identifier, not necessarily an abbreviation that can be decoded. IATA codes often resemble the airport or city name, while ICAO codes use regional allocations in their opening letters. Historical names and earlier assignments also persist; the story of why Newark uses EWR is a good example.
How do I find the correct airport code?
Search for the exact airport, then match the labelled IATA, ICAO or local identifier to what you are doing.
- Identify the purpose. Use IATA for a ticket or baggage search, ICAO for most operational and simulator searches, or a national identifier when the relevant chart or authority calls for it.
- Search by the full airport name. Our airport database lets you search by name or identifier and compare the listed codes.
- Check the label. Do not treat an entry marked
IDENTor local code as ICAO merely because it contains several characters. A true ICAO location indicator consists of four letters. - Verify the location. Confirm the city, country and airport name. Large cities often have several airports, while codes such as
LONorNYCcan represent a metropolitan area rather than one physical airport. - Confirm operational data. Before real-world flight planning, check the identifier against the current chart or national aeronautical publication. A searchable database is useful for discovery, but it is not an operational authority.
If you specifically need the four-letter identifier, our explanation of how to confirm an airport’s ICAO code covers the common edge cases.
Why are IATA and ICAO airport codes different?
IATA and ICAO codes differ because separate organisations designed them for different users and purposes.
- London Heathrow is
LHRin the IATA system andEGLLin the ICAO system. - New York John F. Kennedy is
JFKfor IATA andKJFKfor ICAO.
Do not create an ICAO code by adding a letter to the IATA code. Adding K happens to work for many large airports in the contiguous United States, but it fails elsewhere and is not a reliable lookup method.
For airport weather reports, the station identifier normally appears near the start of the report. Our METAR identification guide explains how to check that the report belongs to the intended airport.
What if an airport code is missing or looks wrong?
If a code is missing or appears incorrect, first check whether that airport actually has that type of identifier.
- No IATA code: This is normal for many small, private or non-commercial aerodromes. Search with the ICAO or published local identifier instead.
- No ICAO code: Use the official national or local identifier where the system supports it. ICAO-format flight plans may require
ZZZZplus the aerodrome details, subject to local filing rules. - The simulator cannot find it: Older scenery or navigation data may retain a former code after an airport changes identifier. Real-world flying requires the published code; a simulator may require its older database identifier until its data is updated.
- The wrong airport appears: Recheck the country and full airport name. Duplicate place names, nearby reliever airports and metropolitan-area codes cause this mistake frequently.