AIRPORT CITY CODES USA LIST HOW TO
AIRPORT CITY CODES USA LIST CODE

When the former New Orleans Municipal Airport on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain needed to be expanded in the late 1930s, the city looked for a larger piece of land further from the city.

AIRPORT CITY CODES USA LIST CODE

You'll be able to impress your fellow New Orleans flyers if you can share the story of how Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport came to use the code of 'MSY.' Related: Reviewing the new Conrad Hotel in Los Angeles John Moisant and New Orleans (MSY) As the number of airports rapidly increased in the 1940s, IATA had to add an extra letter to existing airport codes to make room for new codes.įor the sake of simplicity and not to confuse pilots or passengers with new letter combinations, IATA added an 'X' to the end of the existing codes for Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland and a number of smaller airports. expanded from two to three letters.Īt the time, airports used the National Weather Service codes for cities - in this case, with the logical 'LA' and 'PD' designations. In fact, the 'X' for LAX and PDX is merely an arbitrary placeholder, created by IATA in the 1940s when airport codes in the U.S. The Phoenix code finishing with an 'X' seems logical, but the other airport codes seem pretty random. You may wonder where the 'X' comes from in the codes for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and Portland International Airport (PDX).

AIRPORT CITY CODES USA LIST HOW TO

Related: How to get to Montreal using points and miles Los Angeles (LAX), Phoenix (PHX) and Portland (PDX)

Montreal's radio station code happened to be 'UL,' so the airport started using 'YUL,' a code that remains to this day. So, in the early 1940s, Canadian airports adjusted their IATA codes to either include a 'Y' (which stood for 'Yes' as confirmation that a weather station radio tower was nearby) or 'W' (a shorthand for 'Without' to indicate the lack of a radio tower) at the beginning. As air travel increased, incoming pilots would radio the stations to request help for navigating flights.Īt the time, airports used two-letter codes, but with the uptick in air travel came a need to more efficiently streamline the navigation process. In the 1930s, Canada built a nationwide network of weather reporting stations, which were each given a two-letter radio calling code. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. I would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. Why is it that Canadian airports like Montreal-Trudeau begin with 'Y'? A brief Canadian history lesson will help us get to the bottom of this decision. Like Toronto Pearson Airport's use of 'YYZ' and Vancouver International Airport's use of 'YVR,' the Montreal airport's use of 'Y' to start its IATA code initially seems like an odd pick.

Montreal-Trudeau International Airport's 'YUL' abbreviation is another puzzling code choice. Related: 11 must-do activities when visiting Chicago Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) As a result, it continues to be how the airport is abbreviated. Originally called Orchard Field Airport after a nearby farming town, O'Hare's 'ORD' code was assigned when this former name was still in use.ĭespite the Chicago City Council voting in 1949 to rename the airport after Edward 'Butch' O'Hare, a local Medal of Honor-winning naval fighter pilot who died in World War II, the airport's existing IATA code carried over. SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES O'Hare International Airport (ORD)Ĭhicago's O'Hare International Airport at least starts with an 'O' like its IATA code and perhaps refers to the main part of its name by using 'R,' but where does the 'D' at the end come from? To get to the bottom of this code, we'll need to turn to the airport's history. Airport train at O'Hare International Airport (ORD).

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