ICAO Codes
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ICAO Codes
Just one silly question: Are UK ICAO airport codes assigned randomly? Or do they follow a specific order? I have a list of UK codes and I can't seem to get any logic order out of them.
Thank you!
Thank you!
EG is the country/area. So LC = London City and (although I have my doubts about how valid) LF = London Farnborough.
You need to consider that there can be no duplication world wide and that even when an airport is closed it may be approriate to retain the code for a while whilst it is expunged from maps etc or even retained permanantly for navigation purposes. Therefore, while ICAO may prefer codes that mean something (as in the examples) they may have to assign randomly.
Something similar applies to IATA codes. They illustrate that what sounds illogical to you and me may make sense on a more parochial basis. For instance AGP is Malaga. That must be random? Well, no it's Airport General P(someone whose name bagun with P and all in Spanish). In the case of IATA there is one anomaly that I never understood - all (?) Canadian airports start Y. And there are a range of codes used spcifically for non airport communications purposes.
You need to consider that there can be no duplication world wide and that even when an airport is closed it may be approriate to retain the code for a while whilst it is expunged from maps etc or even retained permanantly for navigation purposes. Therefore, while ICAO may prefer codes that mean something (as in the examples) they may have to assign randomly.
Something similar applies to IATA codes. They illustrate that what sounds illogical to you and me may make sense on a more parochial basis. For instance AGP is Malaga. That must be random? Well, no it's Airport General P(someone whose name bagun with P and all in Spanish). In the case of IATA there is one anomaly that I never understood - all (?) Canadian airports start Y. And there are a range of codes used spcifically for non airport communications purposes.
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I seem to recall that it's largely to do with the AFTN. London (London Airport) had a major AFTN centre so airfields linked to it would be EGL?. The London ATCC (EGTT) was another centre so airfield linked there would be EGT?. Heaven knows where EGUF, EGUW are linked to!
It's probably all changed now.
It's probably all changed now.
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Interestingly, I was told the codes for Scotland EGP* series were lettered from the most northerly airfield and then southwards.
However, the code for Kirkwall (Orkney) is EGPA but that for Sumburgh (Shetland) is EGPB.
This is easily explained by the fact that most maps (of the UK) are vertically challenged and the Shetland Islands are often repositioned in the Moray Firth.
However, the code for Kirkwall (Orkney) is EGPA but that for Sumburgh (Shetland) is EGPB.
This is easily explained by the fact that most maps (of the UK) are vertically challenged and the Shetland Islands are often repositioned in the Moray Firth.
Last edited by finncapt; 22nd Nov 2010 at 11:25.
ICAO 4-character codes are very structured.
First character for region of world. E = Northern Europe, along with Germany, Scandinavia etc. L = Southern Europe, France, Spain, etc, so a major worldwide division falls between Britain and France.
Second character for country within region. G = Great Britain, I = Ireland, etc.
Remaining characters are assigned different ways in different countries (so usage was possibly delegated down to national authorities). In Britain, third character is area to no apparent pattern, C = North West, K = South Coast, L = London, P = Scotland etc.
Fourth character, Britain chose to make the same as third character for the major airport within the area. So EGCC = Manchester, EGKK = Gatwick, EGLL = Heathrow. Other airports fitted in, sometimes meaningfully, sometimes not.
EGLC for London City was a happy chance, C in the London area was spare when City opened.
There are different techniques for the last two characters in different countries. Germany for example made the third character for their most significant airports always D, the same as their second character, and the fourth meaningful to the name, thus EDDF = Frankfurt, EDDM = Munich.
USA was, uniquely, given a first character just for itself, K, and then with the remaining three chose (sensibly) to use the same codes as IATA, hence KLAX = Los Angeles LAX.
Canada (bear in mind that ICAO is actually headquartered in Canada, in Montreal) liked the US approach but were assigned region C, country Y (major airports) and Z (minor). So to make their last 3 characters the same in ICAO and IATA all their IATA codes had to start Y. They started off making the remaining 2 characters meaningful for major points (thus CYVR for Vancouver, CYWG for Winnipeg), but were soon running out as new airports opened up, CYTO was indeed the old Toronto code but when the current airport at Pearson opened all they had left was CYYZ. Hence why your bags to Toronto have YYZ on them.
First character for region of world. E = Northern Europe, along with Germany, Scandinavia etc. L = Southern Europe, France, Spain, etc, so a major worldwide division falls between Britain and France.
Second character for country within region. G = Great Britain, I = Ireland, etc.
Remaining characters are assigned different ways in different countries (so usage was possibly delegated down to national authorities). In Britain, third character is area to no apparent pattern, C = North West, K = South Coast, L = London, P = Scotland etc.
Fourth character, Britain chose to make the same as third character for the major airport within the area. So EGCC = Manchester, EGKK = Gatwick, EGLL = Heathrow. Other airports fitted in, sometimes meaningfully, sometimes not.
EGLC for London City was a happy chance, C in the London area was spare when City opened.
There are different techniques for the last two characters in different countries. Germany for example made the third character for their most significant airports always D, the same as their second character, and the fourth meaningful to the name, thus EDDF = Frankfurt, EDDM = Munich.
USA was, uniquely, given a first character just for itself, K, and then with the remaining three chose (sensibly) to use the same codes as IATA, hence KLAX = Los Angeles LAX.
Canada (bear in mind that ICAO is actually headquartered in Canada, in Montreal) liked the US approach but were assigned region C, country Y (major airports) and Z (minor). So to make their last 3 characters the same in ICAO and IATA all their IATA codes had to start Y. They started off making the remaining 2 characters meaningful for major points (thus CYVR for Vancouver, CYWG for Winnipeg), but were soon running out as new airports opened up, CYTO was indeed the old Toronto code but when the current airport at Pearson opened all they had left was CYYZ. Hence why your bags to Toronto have YYZ on them.
Last edited by WHBM; 22nd Nov 2010 at 11:20.
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Heathrow Director is correct about the origin of most of the UK codes. The ICAO designator is also the station's AFTN address and the UK codes are structured as a result of that. The third letter in the UK shows which sub exchange the station was connected to when the AFTN was set up. Generally the sub exchange was located at a Ministry of Aviation unit in the region which in many cases also happened to be the area's main airport. By convention this location has the same 3rd and 4th letter. If you locate those with the same 3rd and 4th letters on a map and draw lines between there and others with the same 3rd letter you'll see it's a hub and spoke arrangement.
Some of the sub exchange letters make sense if you consider the original names of their locations (Hurn, Aldergrove) but some don't (EGCC). Those sub exchanges and in several cases the locations themselves (EGNN) have long since gone but the naming conventions have survived.
There are some oddities, Liverpool springs to mind, but Luton makes some sense if you consider that EGGG is the main UK exchange and that has usually been in the vicinity of Heathrow.
Some of the sub exchange letters make sense if you consider the original names of their locations (Hurn, Aldergrove) but some don't (EGCC). Those sub exchanges and in several cases the locations themselves (EGNN) have long since gone but the naming conventions have survived.
There are some oddities, Liverpool springs to mind, but Luton makes some sense if you consider that EGGG is the main UK exchange and that has usually been in the vicinity of Heathrow.
Also in the UK, some 'third letters' are reserved for military units eg D, U, V, W, X, Y. (examples EGDD - Bicester, EGUN - Mildenhall, EGVO - Odiham, EGWN - Halton, EGXC - Coningsby, EGYM - Marham. No I don't know how Woodvale (EGOW) fits in. They don't seem to have been allocated too logically; f'rinstance at the east end of Salisbury Plain you have Boscombe Down (DM), Netheravon (DN), Upavon(DJ) and Middle Wallop (VP), while in Lincolnshire you have Scampton (XC), Waddington (XW), Coningsby (XC) and Cranwell (YD). Course a lot of miltary ones have become redundant in the last few years, YT (Thorney Island) Bentwaters (VJ) and Coltishall (YC) being examples, whilst consolidation where there were two location indicators has made UF (Farnborough) and UM (Manston) redundant. In some cases such as Bedford (Thurleigh) both oriiginal ones (VW and SV) have been replaced with BF.
