The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published quarterly in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators , are used by air traffic control and airline operations such as flight planning . 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. Flight information regions are also identified by a unique ICAO-code.
24-539: Old Warden Aerodrome ( ICAO : EGTH ) is located 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) east southeast of Bedford , in Bedfordshire , England. The privately owned aerodrome serves The Shuttleworth Collection , which contains a large working collection of vintage aircraft, cars, motor cycles and agricultural vehicles and equipment. ICAO airport code The recommendations for ICAO airport codes were adopted on 24 March 1959, and came into force on 1 October
48-420: A channel divides the mark at the junction is called a "preferred channel mark" or "junction buoy". The mark has the colour and shapes corresponding to the preferred channel with a band of the other colour to indicate it is the other hand mark for the subsidiary channel. In IALA region A where a minor channel branches off to port the mark at the junction would be a red cylinder with a green band. The red cylinder
72-399: A ship into a safe place") and lights are fixed markers that are laterally displaced to allow a mariner to navigate a fixed channel along the preferred route. They are also known as "channel markers". They can normally be used coming into and out of the channel. When lit, they are also usable at night. Customarily, the upper mark is up-hill from the lower (forward) mark. The mariner will know
96-458: A single red sphere for a top mark. It indicates that there is safe water all around it. The usual use is to indicate the start of a channel or port approach. Indicates a newly discovered or created danger that is not yet marked on charts (or in update notices thereto). The mark is used for a short time until the danger is either removed or else marked conventionally with lateral or cardinal marks. The mark has blue and yellow vertical stripes and
120-401: A yellow and blue light. The topmark is a vertical yellow cross. Yellow with an "X" topmark. Used to mark other features such as swimming areas, anchorages, pipelines. The exact reason is marked on charts. A sector light is one which shows different colours depending upon the angle of approach. They are commonly used to indicate the safe channel (white) and show red or green if the vessel
144-425: Is a port hand mark for the main channel, the green band indicates a starboard mark for the minor channel. In IALA region B the colours (but not shapes) are reversed. Cardinal marks warn of a danger (wrecks, shoals, bends, spits etc.) and indicate the safe water past the danger. There are four varieties: north, east, south and west. A north cardinal mark is placed to the north of a hazard and indicates safe water
168-480: Is a pseudo-code, used in flight plans for aerodromes with no ICAO code assigned. ICAO codes are sometimes updated. Johannesburg Airport in Johannesburg , South Africa, for instance, was formerly known as Jan Smuts International Airport, with code FAJS. When the airport was renamed O. R. Tambo International Airport, its ICAO code was updated to FAOR. Some airports have two ICAO codes, usually when an airport
192-642: Is any sort of signal, markers or guidance equipment which aids the traveler in navigation , usually nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids include lighthouses , buoys , fog signals , and day beacons . According to the glossary of terms in the United States Coast Guard Light list , an aid to navigation (ATON) is any device external to a vessel or aircraft specifically intended to assist navigators in determining their position or safe course, or to warn them of dangers or obstructions to navigation. Lateral marks indicate
216-556: Is either cylindrical or conical as appropriate. IALA divides the world into two regions: A and B. Region B is the Americas (excluding Greenland) along with Japan, Korea and the Philippines. Region A is the rest of the world. In region A port marks are red and starboard marks green. In region B port marks are green and starboard red. Where marks are numbered red marks have even numbers and green marks have odd numbers. Where
240-646: Is out of the safe channel. IALA requires the light colours to follow the appropriate region (A or B) colour scheme. There are also other markers that give information other than the edges of safe waters. Most are white with orange markings and black lettering. They are used to give direction and information, warn of hazards and destructions, mark controlled areas, and mark off-limits areas. These ATONs do not mark traffic channels. On non-lateral markers, there are some shapes that show certain things: AtoNs can be integrated with automatic identification system (AIS) . AIS transmitted form an actual aid (buoy, lighthouse etc.)
264-751: Is shared by civilian and military users. Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt , Germany, for instance, has been assigned ICAO code EDDF while Rhein-Main Air Base was assigned ICAO code EDAF until its closure. Sion Airport in Switzerland has code LSGS while its military facilities have the ICAO code LSMS. Brussels Airport in Brussels , Belgium, has the ICAO code EBBR for its civilian facilities, and Melsbroek Air Base has been assigned ICAO code EBMB, even though
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#1732793468520288-580: Is termed a "real AIS AtoN". If it is impractical to equip the AtoN with an AIS transponder an AIS shore station can be assigned to transmit AIS messages on behalf of the AtoN. This is known as a "synthetic ATON". Synthetic AtoNs can be either "monitored synthetic AtoNs" or "predicted synthetic AtoNs". The former have a link between the AtoN so that the AIS station can confirm the AtoNs status. The latter have no link and
312-404: Is to the north of the mark. East, south and west are placed accordingly. Cardinal marks are yellow and black with two cones at top marks. There is no difference between IALA region A and B. Black with a horizontal red band and two black balls as a top mark. The mark indicates a danger (shoal, rock, wreck etc.) which is isolated with safe water all around. Red and white vertical stripes with
336-606: The Jezero Crater on Mars is assigned the special ICAO code JZRO. Codes beginning with I (Ixx and Ixxx) are often used for navigational aids such as radio beacons, while the Q code is reserved for international radiocommunications and non-geographical special use. In Russia , Latin letter X, or its Morse / Baudot Cyrillic equivalent Ь , are used to designate government, military, and experimental aviation airfields in internal airfield codes similar in structure and purpose to ICAO codes but not used internationally. ZZZZ
360-439: The AIS system just predicts that the AtoN is where it should be. If there is no real AtoN (such as for the short term marking of a wreck) then a "virtual AIS AtoN" is used. Each AIS AtoN must have a unique Maritime Mobile Service Identity ( MMSI ) number. Synthetic and virtual AIS AtoNs mark their messages as repeats to indicate that the location of the transmitter is not the location of the AtoN. Lead marks (as in "leading
384-546: The ICAO code indicate the country; the remaining letters identify the airport. ICAO codes are used partly for geographical context. For example, the ICAO code for Heathrow International Airport in London, is EGLL, with its first letters reflecting that it is based in the United Kingdom . On the other hand, IATA codes do not provide geographic reference. For example, LHR, representing Heathrow, does not enable one to deduce
408-536: The United Kingdom, but nearby civilian Port Stanley Airport is assigned SFAL, consistent with South America . Saint Pierre and Miquelon is controlled by France, and airports there are assigned LFxx as though they were in Europe. Kosovo is assigned the code BKxx grouping it with Greenland and Iceland rather than its geographical neighbors which have Lxxx (described below). Jerusalem International Airport
432-482: The edge of the channel. The standards are defined by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). Approaching harbour port a vessel leaves port hand marks to port (left) and starboard hand marks to starboard (right). Port hand marks are cylindrical, starboard marks are conical. If the mark is a pillar or spar shape, then a topmark is fitted which
456-605: The location of the airport LHV with any greater certainty; it is William T. Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania in the United States . There are a few exceptions to the regional structure of the ICAO code that have been historically for political or administrative reasons. RAF Mount Pleasant air base in the Falkland Islands , for instance, is assigned the ICAO code EGYP as though it were in
480-441: The name of the airport or the city it serves, while ICAO codes are distributed by region and country. Far more aerodromes (in the broad sense) have ICAO codes than IATA codes, which are sometimes assigned to railway stations as well. The selection of ICAO codes is partly delegated to authorities in each country, while IATA codes, which have no geographic structure, must be decided centrally by IATA. The first one or two letters of
504-510: The same year. ICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes , the latter of which have three letters and 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. IATA codes are commonly seen by passengers and the general public on flight-tracking services such as FlightAware . In general IATA codes are usually derived from
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#1732793468520528-596: The style LFddnn , where dd indicates the department while nn is a sequential counter. The French Federation of Ultralight Motorized Gliders was formally named the keeper of these codes. Aerodrome de Torreilles in France, for instance, has code LF6651. In Antarctica many aerodromes have pseudo ICAO-codes with AT and two digits, while others have proper codes from countries performing air control such as NZ for New Zealand . Navigational aid A navigational aid ( NAVAID ), also known as aid to navigation ( ATON ),
552-524: The two airports share runways and ground and air control facilities. In small countries like Belgium or the Netherlands, almost all aerodromes have an ICAO code. For larger countries like the UK or Germany this is not feasible, given the limited number of letter codes. Some countries have addressed this issue by introducing a scheme of sub-ICAO aerodrome codes; France, for example, assigns pseudo ICAO codes in
576-691: Was assigned both LLJR (its Israeli persona) as well as OJJR (its Jordanian persona), but the airport itself fell into disuse. In the contiguous United States and Canada, many airports have ICAO codes that are simply copies of their three-letter IATA codes, with the geographical prefix added on (e.g., YEG and CYEG both refer to Edmonton International Airport , while IAD and KIAD both refer to Washington Dulles International Airport ). This similarity does not extend to Alaska (PAxx), Hawaii (PHxx), or U.S. territories. Kahului Airport on Maui , for instance, has an IATA code of OGG and an ICAO code of PHOG. ICAO airport codes do not begin with I or J or X or Q, though
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