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.
22-489: Retford Gamston Airport ( ICAO : EGNE ) is a small English airport, located 2 NM (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) south of Retford and close to Gamston , Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire . It is used mainly for small private aircraft as well as a base for several private flying schools. Two AOC -holders, IAS Medical and Diamond Executive Aviation , are also based on the airfield. Retford (Gamston) Aerodrome has
44-458: A CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P783) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Gamston Aviation Limited). Gamston airport was originally built as a Royal Air Force aerodrome with three runways in a triangular configuration (of which only one remains in common usage), and came into service in December 1942. It was part of
66-553: A lap speed of close to 90 mph. For his efforts Gerard won the golden ’ Kenning Trophy ’. Why racing ceased in 1951 is unclear but perhaps, there were strong rumours of the return of the Royal Air Force . Diamond-Executive Aviation operates an on-demand air-taxi operation under EU-OPS AOC approval GB2339 using Diamond DA42 TwinStar aircraft ICAO airport code The recommendations for ICAO airport codes were adopted on 24 March 1959, and came into force on 1 October
88-408: A new role; night training for Wellington bomber crews. By October 1944, Gamston was transferred to No. 7 Group RAF , Bomber Command. A month later No. 3 Aircrew School transferred from RAF Shepherds Grove . 1945 saw the disbanding of No. 3 Aircrew School and the arrival of No. 30 Operational Training Unit transferred from RAF Hixon , Staffordshire with more Wellington bombers. After the end of
110-480: 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
132-751: 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
154-606: 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
176-527: The RAF Flying Training Command as well as a satellite to RAF Ossington , 8 mi (13 km) to the south. In May 1943 the field was transferred to No. 93 Group RAF , Bomber Command Training. In June the same year No. 82 Operational Training Unit arrived with Wellington Mk. III and Mk. X bombers, Miles Martinets (used as target tugs ) and Hawker Hurricanes . A year later the unit became No. 86 Operational Training Unit with
198-560: The Second World War all training ceased and the airfield was closed. In May 1953 Gamston reopened as a satellite for nearby RAF Worksop and No. 211 Advanced Flying School RAF (later No. 4 Flying Training School) was based there, flying Gloster Meteors and de Havilland Vampires . The airport is today owned and operated by Gamston Aviation Limited which purchased the operation in July 1993. In 1975 gliding activities began on
220-646: The Sheffield & Hallamshire Motor Club . Reference was also made to improved amenities. Proceedings opened with a couple of sport car races over five laps on a shorter 1.9 miles circuit. The first of which saw Colin Chapman winning in one of his Lotus . Main event of the day was the 50-lap Formula Libre race, won by Bob Gerard in his 2-litre ERA who led from flag to flag. His only opposition appears to have come from Dennis Poore 's Alfa Romeo until it had plug troubles. Lap times were around 77secs, indicating
242-546: 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
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#1732791829739264-536: 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
286-516: The car test track. Between closing in 1945 and re-opening in 1953, some motor racing took place in 1950 and 1951, organised by the Nottinghamshire Sports Car Club . It would appear that motor racing first took place at Gamston on 7 August 1950 on a 2-mile track. Main event of this meeting was a non-championship Formula One race in its inaugural season, which was won by David Hampshire in a Maserati 4CLT-48 . He also set
308-404: The fastest lap at 74.4sec (96.77 mph). On 19 August 1950, Formula One made its second and last (non-championship) appearance for the 1st Sheffield Telegraph Trophy , which was won by Cuth Harrison driving an ERA . However, the following year, huge crowds attended meetings on Whit Monday (14 May 1951), and ‘ Autosport ’ of 27 July 1951 carried a report of a meeting run the previous weekend by
330-605: 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
352-587: The motor testing. In June 2022 the main runway 03/21 was closed in order to reduce the width of the runway, as well as create a car test track running parallel to the runway. During this construction phase, runway 14/32 was used as the main runway, having been repainted and put into regular use for the first time since the gliding club left in 2005. The main runway reopened in September 2022 as runway 02/20, with an upgraded lighting system. It has been reduced in length/width from 1683m x 30m to 1199m x 23m to accommodate
374-441: 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
396-510: 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
418-578: 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 . Cuth Harrison Thomas Cuthbert Harrison (6 July 1906 – 21 January 1981)
440-524: 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
462-474: The western side of the airfield, using runway 15/33 (now 14/32). Gliding ran alongside powered flying activities for almost 20 years until the gliding club were asked to move away from the airfield in 2005, after safety concerns due to the proximity of powered flights to the gliders. In 2021 the airport was bought by Thatcham Research, in order to carry out motor industry testing on the site. Thatcham said that aviation activities would continue at Gamston alongside
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#1732791829739484-691: 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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