In addition to individual-airport codes, IATA, the FAA, and various booking engines have assigned "metropolitan area codes" which represent several airports serving a metropolitan area. Not every region served with multiple airports is assigned a location identifier, however, nor are all IATA-recognized facilities necessarily included; furthermore, the inclusion or exclusion of a facility may depend on the booking system.
For example, the NYC IATA code, representing the New York City area, includes flights to John F Kennedy International AirportJFK IATA, Newark Liberty International AirportEWR IATA and LaGuardia AirportLGA IATA. In some systems, Westchester County Airport HPN IATA is also included; however, ZYP IATA (New York Penn Station), ISP IATA (Islip Airport), and JRA IATA (West 30th Street Heliport) are generally not.
Booking travel
Metropolitan area airport codes are handy for simplifying flight searches into or out of a region. Some booking engines which include airports based on distance from a point can be tricked into extending the search through use of the city code.
Extra caution is advised when booking connecting flights, however, as the inbound leg may arrive at a different airport from the outbound leg, necessitating a ground transfer that may be costly or time-consuming. In particular, many major cities channel most international flights through one airport and most domestic or short-haul flights into a different one.
Smaller domestic airports are more likely to be served by low cost airlines but that might also force you to re-check your luggage. Ask your airline if they allow interlining tickets — checking your luggage through to the final destination on multiple tickets.
List of airport area codes
This is not a listing of allairport codes; this is a list of those special codes that cover multiple airports. |
Metropolitan areas are organised alphabetically; first by region then by area. Many flight search engines may not recognise all these group codes when making queries.
Asia
Europe
Now only referring to Berlin Brandenburg Airport
- Basel, Switzerland and Mulhouse, France: EAP IATA - This is a special case as all codes refer to (separate areas of) the same airport, which is shared between France and Switzerland. Flights may be priced (and treated) differently depending on the airport code you book. All flights from France to MLH are treated as domestic flights, while flights from France to BSL are not. For search engines that can handle it, EAP should find quotes for both BSL and MLH
- London, United KingdomLON IATA
- London Biggin Hill BQH IATA (small general aviation airfield)
- London CityLCY IATA
- London GatwickLGW IATA
- London LutonLTN IATA
- London HeathrowLHR IATA
- London-Liverpool Street Station (British Rail Terminal for STN) ZLS IATA
- London-Paddington Rail Terminal (British Rail Terminal for LHR) QQP IATA
- London-St Pancras Rail Terminal (Eurostar and British Rail Terminal for LTN) QQS IATA
- London Southend SEN IATA
- London StanstedSTN IATA
- London-Victoria Station (British Rail Terminal for LGW) ZEP IATA
- London-Waterloo Rail Station (former Eurostar) QQW IATA
North America
- Chicago, United States of America- CHI IATA
- Chicago O'Hare InternationalORD IATA
- Chicago Midway International MDW IATA
- Detroit, United States of America- DTT IATA
- Detroit Metro Wayne CountyDTW IATA
- Willow Run/Ypsilanti YIP IATA
- Houston, United States of America QHO - Recognized in Sabre and ITA but not IATA
- Los Angeles, United States of America QLA - Recognized in Sabre and ITA but not IATA
- Miami, United States of America QMI - Recognized in Sabre and ITA but not IATA
- New York City, United States of AmericaNYC IATA
- John F. Kennedy InternationalJFK IATA
- Newark Liberty InternationalEWR IATA
- La Guardia AirportLGA IATA
- Westchester County/White Plains Airport HPN IATA
- San Francisco Bay Area, United States of America QSF - Recognized in Sabre and ITA; elsewhere, QSF IATA represents Ain Arnat Airport in Setif, Algeria
South America
- Buenos Aires, ArgentinaBUE IATA
- Ezeiza International AirportEZE IATA
- Aeroparque Jorge Newbery AEP IATA