Travel Glossary · Air Travel
IATA Airport Code
Definition
IATA Airport Code: An IATA airport code is a three-letter code assigned by the International Air Transport Association to identify an airport, such as LAX for Los Angeles International.
IATA codes are the shorthand you see on boarding passes, bag tags, and flight searches. The International Air Transport Association assigns them, and they are separate from the four-letter ICAO codes that pilots and air traffic control use (LAX is KLAX to ICAO). Some codes mirror the city name; others are historical, like ORD for Chicago O’Hare, a nod to the airport’s original name, Orchard Field.
IATA also issues metropolitan codes that group several airports, such as LON for London’s airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, or NYC for New York. Searching a city code shows every airport at once, but double-check where you land and where you depart: a Heathrow arrival and a Gatwick departure means a long cross-town transfer.
When we build an itinerary, airport codes are how we confirm every routing is correct to the letter. Look up any code with our airport code finder.
Example: PPT is Tahiti’s Faa’a International Airport, BOB is Bora Bora, and JNB is Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International.
Go deeper
- Travel ToolkitAirport Code FinderSearch about 5,600 airports worldwide by city or three-letter code. Find codes like PPT for Tahiti, BOB for Bora Bora and NBO for Nairobi in a few keystrokes.
- Travel GuidesHow to Get to Tahiti from the U.S.: Flights, Routes and ConnectionsHow to fly to Tahiti from the U.S.: nonstop flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco, flight times, arrival times and connecting to Bora Bora and Moorea.
- Corporate TravelBusiness Flight Booking for Companies and ExecutivesBusiness flight booking from a Los Angeles corporate travel advisor: smarter fares, tracked ticket credits, and one person handling every change.
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