LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Airport Codes
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Note: All US Airport Information comes from the AIS ATA-100 database. That DB is updated every quarter; therefore, the airports listed in this database should be current as of the DB active date shown on the 'About DB...' screen.
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Some airport codes have become part of the common lexicon. Everybody knows JFK and LAX. But do you know why LAX, PHX and PDX end in X? And do you know why all the Canadian airports start with Y? And can you explain why the New Orleans airport code is MSY?
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When the Wright brothers first took to the air in 1903, there was no need for coding airports since an airport was literally any convenient field with a strong wind. However, the National Weather Service did tabulate data from cities around the country using a two-letter identification system. Early airlines simply copied this system, but as airline service exploded in the 1930's, towns without weather station codes needed identification. Some bureaucrat had a brainstorm and the three-letter system was born, giving a seemingly endless 17,576 different combinations. To ease the transition, existing airports placed an X after the weather station code. The Los Angeles tag became LAX, Portland became PDX, Phoenix became PHX and so on. Incidentally at the historic sand dune in Kitty Hawk where the first flight occurred the U.S. National Parks Service maintains a tiny airstrip called FFA—First Flight Airport.
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You'll notice this code on the tag placed on your baggage when you check it. For instance, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is abbreviated as PHX. But not all abbreviations are as obvious. Halifax's airport is YHZ! Check out this list of airport codes to find your next destination.
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Three letter codes are used throughout the travel industry and indicate a place, city or airport, such as LAX for Los Angeles and JFK for John F Kennedy airport in New York. You will become familiar with many three letter codes (they are used through this whole course), but you should never guess what they stand for. Some three letter codes are obvious and easy to remember:
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Most of the "hard to decipher" identifiers become obvious if one knows the name of the airport rather than the city served. A Louisiana example is ESF, for Esler Field in Alexandra. Orly airport (ORY) and Charles De Gaulle airport (CDG) serve Paris, France, while Tokyo, Japan has the Narita airport (NRT). When you know what the code represents, some curious acronyms become obvious: MSY is the former Moisant Stock Yards in New Orleans, CMH is Columbus Municipal Hangar, BWI is Baltimore Washington International, LGW is London Gatwick, and LHR is London Heathrow!
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