Airport Codes that become your life

[tuppaware]

I've been doing some renovations at home and found these pre cut letters in a shop.
I'm thinking of following it up with LAX and LHR under that , what you think?
Maybe a little mad, but when I wake up I'll know where I am. haha

 

[markis10]

SYD, MEL and BWU would be the three that factor in my life having worked in the tower at all three, and in the rescue coordination centre/ops room at SYD/MEL. Walked to the DJ terminal from the HI in Sydney yesterday, it gave me a good appreciation for how much the place has changed over the years.

 

[kevrosmith]

Definitely not a bad idea. I've woken up a few times in the last year and thought "what city am I in today?" and then "what city am I flying to today?". My list would have to include CNS, BNE, OOL, SYD and more recently PER and KTA. KIX and NAN soon (status run here I come! ). Would love to add MEL and ADL to that... and then some more International destinations. And the letters I'd need to carry around for all this: ABCDEIKLMNOPRSTXY

 

[trooper]

Driving around in Canberra one is constantly made to think of Canadian airports!

(If you weren't aware our number plates start with a Y...:mrgreen

 

[markis10]

Driving around in Canberra one is constantly made to think of Canadian airports!

(If you weren't aware our number plates start with a Y...:mrgreen

Y seems to be associated with more than number plates in Canberra.

 

[clifford]

Yes, the Canadians are very logical.

For example, Vancouver is YVR, Calgary is YYC, and Toronto is YYZ (go figure)...

 

[straitman]

Yes, the Canadians are very logical.

For example, Vancouver is YVR, Calgary is YYC, and Toronto is YYZ (go figure)...

Who suggested that logic needed to have any part in this at any time :?:

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I've been doing some renovations at home and found these pre cut letters in a shop.
I'm thinking of following it up with LAX and LHR under that , what you think?
Maybe a little mad, but when I wake up I'll know where I am. haha

View attachment 3615

Is that a new aircraft model or did it rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes with some help from super glue if you what what I mean?

 

[tuppaware]

Is that a new aircraft model or did it rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes with some help from super glue if you what what I mean?

Superglue !
Although I don't want to go into it too much as the Ex is a member on the forum .

 

[notzac]

For example, Vancouver is YVR, Calgary is YYC, and Toronto is YYZ (go figure)...

I understand it's due to how the IATA airport codes are mapped to ICAO codes in the US and Canada. Someone on FT explains it quite well..:

ICAO codes consist of a two-letter country prefix and a two-letter airport code. Some countries (those with lots of airports) have more than one prefix. The USA has 26 - KA to KZ. Canada has four, CU, CW, CY and CZ. The vast majority of Canadian airports use IATA codes starting in CY.

(There are some that start in CZ. CU and CW are used for special purposes such as airport met offices.)

For most of the world ICAO codes and IATA codes bear no resemblance to each other. LHR is EGLL, AMS is EHAM, CDG is LFPG.

In the USA and Canada, however, IATA codes are based on ICAO codes.

For US airports the IATA code is the ICAO code without the initial K. JFK is KJFK, LAX is KLAX.

For Canadian airports the IATA code is the ICAO code without the initial C. Hence CYOW = YOW, CYYZ = YYZ.

 

[YQY]

Yes, the Canadians are very logical.

For example, Vancouver is YVR, Calgary is YYC, and Toronto is YYZ (go figure)...

My favourite is YQY.

 

[drewbles]

Hrm. Airports that mean something to me...

PER (I'm from PER so even though I refuse to live there any more, it always has a special place in my head/heart).
MEL (Where home really is; I've spent far far far too many hours there, although most here will beat me *glances at munitalP)
SYD (Lived there for 4 years and at one stage did a weekly commute MEL-SYD-MEL just before I moved up there, for 6 months)
LAX T4 (I know that place like the back of my hand, and the walk over to T3 or to/from TBIT)
LAS D Gates (I Love LAS. It's a nice airport, well, the D gates are at least; and I love the planes up/down the escalators!)
SFO (I love SFO International, a really nice airport, and I love San Francisco)

I'd mention LHR, but unfortunately my visits there are infrequent, although I love every visit to London (LHR itself, not so much!)

 

[JohnK]

I guess the 3 important airport codes for me would have to be

SYD (Where I live)
BNE (Where I work)
BKK (Where I like to spend my time away from Australia)

and for sentimental value throw in

KZI (Closest city to where I was born)
SKG (beautiful city and closest major town)
ATH (main airport of country of birth)

 

[adampenrith]

The Canadian conundrum was explained to me as such.

IATA is based in Ottawa - they allocated codes for most airports around the world, and when they went to do the obvious like TNO or VCR or CAL - they discovered that they had already used the sequences, so being polite the IATA chose Y as the prefix for their own country. Hence the majority of Canadian airports have a 3 letter IATA code starting with a Y.

 

[trooper]

The Canadian situation hardly matters... it's not as if the majority of codes are particularly transparent anyway....and they are at least memorable/distinctive.

You have to know about "Orchard Field" to understand why the main Chicago airport is ORD.... and there are many similar ones where the airport NAME is the source of the code, rather than the location. (JFK,FAT).. or where the location itself is not quite the same as the city served (ICN, NRT)

Even funnier are the airport codes that were based on the city name... which has now changed...:mrgreen:

Best examples off the top of the head.... PEK and SGN....

I don't intend commenting on other aspects of the codes.. such as the (classic) ability to go to HEL via SIN...:mrgreen:

 

[trooper]

P.S. I don't know if it has been done here on AFF... but it can be amusing to check ones own initials to see which (if any) airport they might represent...

For me it is Danger Bay in Alaska.... "No scheduled services"

 

[kevrosmith]

Nothing for me on my initials (KSS), well, not in IATA world at least. There's a few KSSx in ICAO world (all US obviously).

KEV is Halli, Kuorevisi, Finland. And KEVY (not that I chose to go by that name :-|) is Summit, Middletown, Delaware, United States.

 

[Fantic125]

My initials are LBW - Long Bawan airport in Indonesia......:shock:

 

[serfty]

Mine Argentinean: Rio Grande Airport

 

[drewbles]

My initials are LBW - Long Bawan airport in Indonesia......:shock:

Well, if we're into that...



Airport Code for my initials: APT