# IATA Airport Code Key: `geography.transportation.iata_code` International Air Transport Association airport code (3 letters). Identifies airports for flight bookings and schedules (e.g., JFK, LAX, CDG). Page: Samples: `JFK`, `LAX`, `CDG`, `LHR`, `NRT` ## Use it Shell ```shell finetype infer -i 'JFK' --mode column # → geography.transportation.iata_code ``` DuckDB ```sql SELECT ft_infer('JFK'); -- → 'geography.transportation.iata_code' ``` Cast template: {col} is your column ```sql UPPER(CAST({col} AS VARCHAR)) ``` ## Background ### Origin An IATA airport code is a three-letter code defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IATA_airport_code) The rules for assigning IATA location identifier codes are laid down in IATA Resolution 763.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA states that the main objective of Resolution 763 is to ensure that each three-letter code is unique.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) The IATA airport code is administered by IATA's headquarters in Montreal, Canada.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IATA_airport_code) IATA airport codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IATA_airport_code) According to IATA, airport coding first began in the 1930s, when airlines typically chose their own two-letter codes.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA says that by the late 1940s there were too many airports for the number of two-letter codes available, and the system shifted to three-letter codes.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) Los Angeles International Airport was originally just LA and became LAX in 1947, according to IATA.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA stepped in during the 1960s, when the airlines decided they needed a standardised process to avoid confusion.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA came to manage the codes on behalf of the industry as the trade association for the global airline industry, following the formation of airline working groups.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) When choosing a new code, IATA's first choice is an unassigned code using the first three letters of the location's name.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA's second choice for a new code is an unassigned combination, preferably starting with the first letter of the location's name.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA says the convention of Canadian codes beginning with Y dates back to the pre-WW II era and is believed to be related to two-letter identifiers for weather stations or radio location beacons.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA notes that the Y convention for Canadian airports is no longer automatically observed.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) The United States Navy reserved codes beginning with N, which is one reason Newark, New Jersey has the irregular code EWR.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IATA_airport_code) ### Use IATA location codes are issued only on a commercial airline's request, and usually the first airline flying to a location requests its code.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA describes its three-letter location codes as used for strictly commercial airline purposes, while ICAO four-letter codes serve flight operations and cover both commercial and non-commercial airports.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) When a file mixes three-letter and four-letter airport codes, treat the three-letter values as IATA and the four-letter values as ICAO rather than forcing one pattern on the whole column. (Meridian's view) IATA says assigned three-letter location identifiers are considered permanent and are almost never changed.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) Washington Dulles International Airport's designator was changed from DIA to IAD to avoid confusion with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) There are over 17,000 possible code combinations, of which approximately 11,300 are currently assigned, according to IATA.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) IATA assigns approximately 40-50 new location codes annually.[[2]](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) Matching the pattern of three capital letters is not enough to prove a value is a real code, so validate against a current reference list as well. (Meridian's view) IATA's airline and airport code search on iata.org is an official source for codes assigned by IATA.[[3]](https://www.iata.org/en/publications/directories/code-search/) ### Where you'll meet it The OpenFlights airport database carries a 3-letter IATA code field for each airport, null if not assigned or unknown.[[4]](https://openflights.org/data.php) The OpenFlights route database records each route's source and destination airport as a 3-letter IATA or 4-letter ICAO code.[[4]](https://openflights.org/data.php) ## Sources 1. [IATA airport code - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IATA_airport_code) — secondary source 2. [IATA Location Codes](https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-iata-location-codes) — organisation 3. [IATA - Codes - Airline and Airport Codes Search](https://www.iata.org/en/publications/directories/code-search/) — organisation 4. [OpenFlights: Airport and airline data](https://openflights.org/data.php) — dataset ## How it's detected Transform uppercases. 3-letter code. Examples: JFK (New York), LAX (Los Angeles), CDG (Paris), LHR (London), NRT (Tokyo).