Newsletter
ES
Sign in

Aviation glossary

IATA airport code

Also: airport code, three-letter airport code, IATA location identifier

Airports

Three-letter code that IATA assigns to an airport for use on tickets, timetables and baggage tags, such as LHR for London Heathrow.

What it is

These are the codes travellers see on boarding passes and baggage tags: LHR is London Heathrow, MAD Madrid-Barajas, BOG Bogotá El Dorado, MEX Mexico City and EZE Buenos Aires Ezeiza. Many derive from the name of the city or airport, though not always obviously: many Canadian airports begin with Y, as in YYZ for Toronto Pearson.

IATA also assigns city codes that group several airports, such as LON for London or NYC for New York, as well as codes for some railway stations included in reservation systems. Aerodromes without commercial services often have no IATA code, although many do have a four-letter ICAO code, which is the one pilots and controllers use.

On Vuelopedia

On Vuelopedia, an airport page's address is built from its IATA code, or from the ICAO code if it has none, and the page also shows the ICAO code.

Airports

Related terms

ICAO airport codeFour-letter code under the ICAO system that identifies an aerodrome in flight plans, air traffic control and weather reports, such as EGLL for London Heathrow. IATATrade association representing a large share of the world's airlines, which sets common commercial and operational standards for air transport. TerminalAirport building where passengers check in, pass through controls, wait for their flight, board and collect their baggage on arrival. Scheduled serviceFlight or series of flights operated to a published timetable, open for sale to the public and repeated systematically between two or more points.
Whole glossary

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). IATA airport code. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/iata-airport-code

MLA

“IATA airport code.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/iata-airport-code. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “IATA airport code.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/iata-airport-code.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) IATA airport code. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/iata-airport-code (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_iata_airport_code,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{IATA airport code}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/iata-airport-code},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/iata-airport-code}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/iata-airport-code |title=IATA airport code |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}

Explore the encyclopedia

Homethe record of every aircraftAirlinesdocumented fleetsModelsfrom the Airbus A220 to the Boeing 747Compareup to three aircraft, side by sideManufacturerswho builds the aircraft, and their enginesIVCA Rankingair quality, from 0 to 100Newsthe latest from the recordsOn this dayaviation, day by dayVideosone aviation story a day, on videoAirportsthe world's leading onesAccidentswhat every accident changedTimelinethe whole century, 1903 to todayPeoplewho made all of this possibleOn Screenwhen the airliner was the plotTriviaa daily aviation challengeMemoriesa name in an aircraft's historyPresspress releases and Vuelopedia in the mediaYour profilesign in or create your accountAboutwhat Vuelopedia is and who makes it