International Civil Aviation Organization

The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.

ICAO codes are used by air traffic control and airline operations such as flight planning. They differ from IATA codes, which 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. Most travelers usually see the IATA code on baggage tags and tickets and the ICAO code 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.

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.

Source: http://searchairportcodes.com/international-civil-aviation-organization-airport-code

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International Air Transport Association

An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The characters prominently displayed on baggage tags attached at airport check-in desks are an example of a way these codes are used.

The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by IATA headquarters in Montreal. The codes are published biannually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory.Most countries Use four-character ICAO codes, not IATA codes, in their official aeronautical publications.

IATA also provides codes for railway stations and for airport handling entities. A list of airports sorted by IATA code is available. A list of railway stations codeshared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak, SNCF French Rail, and Deutsche Bahn is available. There is also a separate List of Amtrak station codes, three-character codes used by Amtrak for its railway stations in the United States and Canada.

Source: http://searchairportcodes.com/international-air-transport-association-airport-code

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