You take the low road, I’ll take the high code.
Ever wonder what distinguishes a flight to Melbourne, Australia, from one to Melbourne, Canada? Or how you can be sure you have a plane ticket to Birmingham, England, and not Birmingham, Alabama? Luckily, there’s a few letters we can thank for that. In fact, just three little letters do a whole heap of work!
You’ve probably seen airport codes on your plane tickets before – like SYD-BNE or MEL-LAX – and may not have thought twice about where they come from. There’s no official naming convention – it might be the first three letters from the destination name, an acronym, a geographical reference, or even a traditional name. OMG! [Also known as Omega Aiport in Namibia 😉]
With thousands of airports around the world, the International Air Transport Association (or IATA) was tasked with the important job of defining the world’s airport codes – and even update the official list twice a year.
But would you notice if they made a change? How well do you fare when it comes to your knowledge of airport codes? Take this 15-question quiz to find out
