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 quarterly 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.
ICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes, the latter of which have three letters and 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. IATA 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. The 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.
The first one or two letters of the ICAO code indicate the country; the remaining letters identify the airport. ICAO codes are used partly for geographical context. For example, the ICAO code for Heathrow International Airport in London, is EGLL, with its first letters reflecting that it is based in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, IATA codes do not provide geographic reference. For example, LHR, representing Heathrow, 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 that have been historically for political or administrative reasons. RAF Mount Pleasant air base in the Falkland Islands, for instance, 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. 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). Jerusalem International Airport was assigned both LLJR (its Israeli persona) as well as OJJR (its Jordanian persona), but the airport itself fell into disuse.
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 U.S. territories. Kahului Airport on Maui, for instance, 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 the Q code is reserved for international radiocommunications and non-geographical special use.
In Russia, Latin letter X, or its Morse/Baudot Cyrillic equivalent Ь, are 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.
ICAO codes are sometimes updated. Johannesburg Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, for instance, was formerly known as Jan Smuts International Airport, with code FAJS. When the airport was renamed O. R. Tambo International Airport, its ICAO code was updated to FAOR.
Some airports have two ICAO codes, usually when an airport is shared by civilian and military users. Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, for instance, has been assigned ICAO code EDDF while Rhein-Main Air Base was assigned ICAO code EDAF until its closure. Sion Airport in Switzerland has code LSGS while its military facilities have the ICAO code LSMS. Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, has the ICAO code EBBR for its civilian facilities, and Melsbroek Air Base has been assigned ICAO code EBMB, even though the two airports share runways and ground and air control facilities.
In small countries like Belgium or the Netherlands, almost all aerodromes have an ICAO code. For larger 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. The French Federation of Ultralight Motorized Gliders was formally named the keeper of these codes. Aerodrome de Torreilles in France, for instance, has code LF6651.[3] In Antarctica many aerodromes have pseudo ICAO-codes with AT and two digits, while others have proper codes from countries performing air control such as NZ for New Zealand.
| Prefix code | Country | |
|---|---|---|
| A – Western South Pacific | ||
| Solomon Islands | ||
| Nauru | ||
| Papua New Guinea | ||
| B – Greenland, Iceland, and Kosovo (European Alternate) | ||
| Greenland | ||
| Iceland | ||
| Kosovo | ||
| C – Canada | ||
| Canada | ||
| D – Eastern parts of West Africa and Maghreb | ||
| Algeria | ||
| Benin | ||
| Burkina Faso | ||
| Ghana | ||
| Côte d'Ivoire | ||
| Nigeria | ||
| Niger | ||
| Tunisia | ||
| Togo | ||
| E – Northern Europe | ||
| Belgium | ||
| Germany (civil) | ||
| Estonia | ||
| Finland | ||
| EG | United Kingdom (and Crown Dependencies) | |
| Netherlands | ||
| Ireland | ||
| Denmark and the Faroe Islands | ||
| Luxembourg | ||
| Norway | ||
| Poland | ||
| Sweden | ||
| Germany (military) | ||
| Latvia | ||
| Lithuania | ||
| F – Most of Central Africa, Southern Africa, and the Indian Ocean | ||
| South Africa | ||
| Botswana | ||
| Republic of the Congo | ||
| Eswatini | ||
| Central African Republic | ||
| Equatorial Guinea | ||
| Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | ||
| Mauritius | ||
| British Indian Ocean Territory | ||
| Cameroon | ||
| Zambia | ||
| Comoros, France (Mayotte and Réunion), and Madagascar | ||
| Angola | ||
| Gabon | ||
| São Tomé and Príncipe | ||
| Mozambique | ||
| Seychelles | ||
| Chad | ||
| Zimbabwe | ||
| Malawi | ||
| Lesotho | ||
| Namibia | ||
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||
| G – Western parts of West Africa and Maghreb | ||
| Mali | ||
| The Gambia | ||
| Spain (Canary Islands) | ||
| Spain (Ceuta and Melilla) | ||
| Sierra Leone | ||
| Guinea-Bissau | ||
| Liberia | ||
| Morocco | ||
| Senegal | ||
| Mauritania | ||
| Western Sahara | ||
| Guinea | ||
| Cape Verde | ||
| H – East Africa and Northeast Africa | ||
| Ethiopia | ||
| Burundi | ||
| Somalia (including Somaliland) | ||
| Djibouti | ||
| Egypt | ||
| Eritrea | ||
| HJ | South Sudan | |
| Kenya | ||
| Libya | ||
| Rwanda | ||
| Sudan | ||
| Tanzania | ||
| Uganda | ||
| J – Mars | ||
| J | Mars | |
| K – Contiguous United States | ||
| Contiguous United States | ||
| L – Southern Europe, Cyprus, Israel, Palestine and Turkey | ||
| Albania | ||
| Bulgaria | ||
| Cyprus | ||
| Croatia | ||
| Spain (mainland section and Balearic Islands) | ||
| France (Metropolitan France; including Saint-Pierre and Miquelon) | ||
| Greece | ||
| Hungary | ||
| Italy (and San Marino) | ||
| Slovenia | ||
| Czech Republic | ||
| Israel | ||
| Malta | ||
| Monaco | ||
| Austria | ||
| Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira) | ||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||
| Romania | ||
| Switzerland and Liechtenstein | ||
| Turkey | ||
| Moldova | ||
| Palestine/Palestinian territories | ||
| North Macedonia | ||
| Gibraltar | ||
| Serbia and Montenegro | ||
| Slovakia | ||
| M – Central America, Mexico and northern/western parts of the Caribbean | ||
| Turks and Caicos Islands | ||
| Dominican Republic | ||
| Guatemala | ||
| Honduras | ||
| Jamaica | ||
| Mexico | ||
| Nicaragua | ||
| Panama | ||
| Costa Rica | ||
| El Salvador | ||
| Haiti | ||
| Cuba | ||
| Cayman Islands | ||
| Bahamas | ||
| Belize | ||
| N – Most of the South Pacific and New Zealand | ||
| Cook Islands | ||
| Fiji, Tonga | ||
| Kiribati (Gilbert Islands), Tuvalu | ||
| Niue | ||
| France (Wallis and Futuna) | ||
| Samoa, United States (American Samoa) | ||
| France (French Polynesia) | ||
| Vanuatu | ||
| France (New Caledonia) | ||
| New Zealand, parts of Antarctica | ||
| O – Southwest Asia, including Gulf States, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan | ||
| Afghanistan | ||
| Bahrain | ||
| Saudi Arabia | ||
| Iran | ||
| Jordan and the West Bank | ||
| Kuwait | ||
| Lebanon | ||
| United Arab Emirates | ||
| Oman | ||
| Pakistan | ||
| Iraq | ||
| Syria | ||
| Qatar | ||
| Yemen | ||
| P – most of the North Pacific, and Kiribati | ||
| US (Alaska) (also PF, PO and PP) | ||
| US (Baker Island) | ||
| Kiribati (Canton Airfield, Phoenix Islands) | ||
| US (Alaska) (also PA, PO and PP) | ||
| US (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands) | ||
| US (Hawaii) | ||
| US (Johnston Atoll) | ||
| Marshall Islands | ||
| Kiribati (Line Islands) | ||
| US (Midway Island) | ||
| US (Alaska) (also PA, PF and PP) | ||
| US (Alaska) (also PA, PF and PO) | ||
| Federated States of Micronesia, Palau | ||
| US (Wake Island) | ||
| R – Japan, S. Korea, Philippines | ||
| Republic of China (Taiwan) | ||
| Japan (Mainland) | ||
| South Korea (Republic of Korea) | ||
| Japan (Okinawa) | ||
| Philippines | ||
| S – South America | ||
| Argentina (including parts of Antarctica) | ||
| Brazil (also SD, SI, SJ, SN, SS and SW) | ||
| Chile (including Easter Island and parts of Antarctica) (also SH) | ||
| Brazil (also SB, SI, SJ, SN, SS and SW) | ||
| Ecuador | ||
| Falkland Islands | ||
| Paraguay | ||
| Chile (also SC) | ||
| Brazil (also SB, SD, SJ, SN, SS and SW) | ||
| Brazil (also SB, SD, SI, SN, SS and SW) | ||
| Colombia | ||
| Bolivia | ||
| Suriname | ||
| Brazil (also SB, SD, SI, SJ, SS and SW) | ||
| France (French Guiana) | ||
| Peru | ||
| Brazil (also SB, SD, SI, SJ, SN and SW) | ||
| Uruguay | ||
| Venezuela | ||
| Brazil (also SB, SD, SI, SJ, SN and SS) | ||
| Guyana | ||
| T – Eastern and southern parts of the Caribbean | ||
| Antigua and Barbuda | ||
| Barbados | ||
| Dominica | ||
| France (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin) | ||
| Grenada | ||
| US (U.S. Virgin Islands) | ||
| US (Puerto Rico) | ||
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | ||
| Saint Lucia | ||
| Caribbean Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten | ||
| Anguilla | ||
| Montserrat | ||
| Trinidad and Tobago | ||
| British Virgin Islands | ||
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | ||
| Bermuda | ||
| U – Most former Soviet countries | ||
| Russia (except as below) | ||
| Kazakhstan | ||
| Azerbaijan | ||
| Kyrgyzstan | ||
| Armenia | ||
| Georgia | ||
| Ukraine | ||
| Belarus and Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) | ||
| Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan | ||
| V – Many South Asian countries, mainland Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau | ||
| India (West India) | ||
| Sri Lanka | ||
| Cambodia | ||
| India (East India) | ||
| Bangladesh | ||
| Hong Kong | ||
| India (North India) | ||
| Laos | ||
| Macau | ||
| Nepal | ||
| India (South India) | ||
| Bhutan | ||
| Maldives | ||
| Thailand | ||
| Vietnam | ||
| Myanmar | ||
| W – Most of Maritime Southeast Asia | ||
| Indonesia (also WI, WQ and WR) | ||
| Brunei, Malaysia (East Malaysia) | ||
| Indonesia (also WA, WQ and WR) | ||
| Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia) | ||
| Timor-Leste | ||
| Indonesia (also WA, WI and WR) | ||
| Indonesia (also WA, WI and WQ) | ||
| Singapore | ||
| Y – Australia | ||
| Australia (including Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Australian Antarctic Territory) | ||
| Z – China, North Korea and Mongolia | ||
| Mainland China (except ZK and ZM) | ||
| North Korea | ||
| Mongolia |