How Airports Get their Three-Letter IATA Codes?

Airports all around the globe are known for their defined three-letter codes which can be seen on bag tags and boarding passes. The full name of the airport can go as long as five words, like Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Speaking, reading or printing such large names can cause inefficiency during operations and drive up expenses. This is where the three-letter IATA (International Air Transport Association) codes come in, they are short and direct and make operations at the airport a hassle-free experience. Instead of saying or printing Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport so many times, the airports can simply refer to it as (ATL). Let us take a look at how airports get their IATA codes. 

The need for such uniform codes arose after the Second World War, when cities began to grow larger and would have multiple airports. For example, London is a city which has multiple airports operating within its jurisdiction, like Heathrow Airport (LHR), Gatwick Airport (LGW), Stansted Airport (STN) and Luton Airport (LTN). 

The Origins of the Code System 

The earliest signs of the code system can be traced back to the infancy days of commercial aviation in the United States. The pilots would refer to the airports with two-letter codes that were used by the National Weather Service to identify cities. As the number of airports in different cities grew and cities began to have multiple airports, this approach became ineffective and problematic. 

The two-letter approach began to grow obsolete as it could only allow for 676 codes, so the adoption of the three-letter code system began rapidly across the globe. We can still see the remnant of the two-letter approach across some airports, for example the Los Angeles International Airport just added another letter to their two-letter code LA, now it is LAX just to follow the guidelines. 

Standardisation of the Code System 

Around the 1960s, IATA took the task of providing these three-letter codes to the airports, also aiming to remove any language barriers in these codes. Although existing codes were rarely changed, only augmented. Whenever a new airport is opened, the airport management authorities put a request to IATA for a three-letter code. Describing the complete system for naming the codes is somewhat complicated, but we can look at a few examples. 

Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) are named after the first three letters of their city names. Some airports are given the codes in the form of their abbreviation like the John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and the Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG). Some airports are also named after the combination of city names and abbreviations like Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). 

In some cases, the IATA codes become part of the common language like JFK airport. Sometimes locals tend to refer to it with other names, like Denver International Airport, commonly called DEN but its code is DIA. 

These codes make operations easier and make the processes hassle-free at the airports for passengers, airport employees and airlines. As the aviation industry expands, the 17000 codes offered by the three-letter system may also prove insufficient and the world might have to look for other alternatives.