Airport City Codes

Industry Codes/Abbreviations

Due to the great volume of information used in the airline industry, all airlines have typed upon standard codes and formats for the transmission of airline information and messages.

When passengers make their flight reservations, they provide information which enables us to better serve them. This includes items such as the number of people traveling together, special meals requested, special assistance required, etc. This information is then transmitted to the Flight Attendants (and other offices) through a teletype message called the Special Passenger Information List (SPIL).

The following list, while not complete, contains the most frequently used codes.

ASST Assist assistance PSGR Passenger
TVL Travel, traveling UNMR unaccompanied minor
ND Needs, needed PLZ Please
FA Flight Attendant WBBB Will be boarded by
WBMB Will be met by BDG Boarding
CTCH Contact home LCL Local
DAPO Do all possible VGML Vegetarian meal
KSML Kosher meal BSCT Bassinet
SFML Seafood meal SMKG Smoking
WCHR Wheelchair THRU Through
TWOV Travel without visa RET Return
RQ Request, requested BBML Baby Meal
CHML Child Meal ASL Aisle
NSML Low-Sodium meal FMR Flight movement record
NIL Nothing INTO International
CONX Connection ETA Estimated time of arrival
ETD Estimated time of departure CDT Central Daylight Time
EST Eastern Standard Time MDT Mountain Daylight Time
CST Central Standard Time PDT Pacific Daylight Time
MST Mountain Standard Time DSRS Desires
PST Pacific Standard Time ADV Advise
HST Hawaiian Standard Time BUKH Bulkhead
INF Infant NOSM No smoking
Geographical Codes U.S. State Codes

AK Alaska MT Montana
AL Alabama NC North Carolina
AR Arkansas ND North Dakota
AZ Arizona NE Nebraska
CA California NV Nevada
CO Colorado NH New Hampshire
CT Connecticut NJ New Jersey
DC District of Columbia NM New Mexico
DE Delaware NY New York
FL Florida OH Ohio
GA Georgia OK Oklahoma
HI Hawaii OR Oregon
IA Iowa PA Pennsylvania
ID Idaho RI Rhode Island
IL ILlinois SC South Carolina
IN Indiana SD South Dakota
KS Kansas TN Tennessee
KY Kentucky TX Texas
LA Louisiana UT Utah
MA Massachusetts VT Vermont
MD Maryland VA Virginia
ME Maine WA Washington
MI Michigan WI Wisconsin
MN Minnesota WV West Virginia
MO Missouri WY Wyoming
MS Mississippi

Canadian Province Codes

AB Alberta
BC British Columbia
MB Manitoba
NB New Brunswick
NF New Foundland
NS Nova Scotia
NT Northwest Territories
ON Ontario
PE Prince Edward Island
QC Quebec
SK Saskatchewan
YT Yukon Territory

City Codes and Exercises

All cities served by scheduled airlines have a three-letter code that is assigned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These codes enable reservation agents, customer service agents, operations personnel and Flight Attendants to perform their jobs much quicker. Because we use city names often, it is more efficient to write SFO or TPE, instead of San Francisco, California or Taipei, Taiwan. City codes also enhance the uniformity of the airline industry. MSP on tickets, baggage tags and teletype messages means Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota worldwide.

As a Flight Attendant you must be able to:

1. Recognize all cities served by your airline and affiliate carriers.

2. Write the code for each city served by your airline.

City codes can be broken into five categories:

1. Codes which consist of the first three letters of the city’s name.

Example: OMA-Omaha Nebraska.

2. Codes which closely resemble the city’s name.

Example: PHX-Phoenix, Arizona.

3. Codes derived from the city or airport name.

Example: TYS – Knoxville, Tennessee; Tyson Field Airport. BWI – Baltimore, Maryland; Baltimore-Washington International airport.

4. Codes of airports that serve more than one city.

Example: DFW-Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.

5. Codes which fit into no pattern at all — irregular codes.

Example: MSY-New Orleans, Louisiana.

The domestic airport or city codes that you find here are universal for all flight attendant training courses

Domestic City Codes

Alabama
BHM Birmingham
DHN Dothan
HSV Huntsville/Decatur
MGM Montgomery
MOB Mobile/Pascagoula,MS
MSL Muscle Shoals

Alaska
ANC Anchorage
BAR Barrow
FAI Fairbanks
JNU Juneau
KTN Ketchikan
OME Nome
FAI Fairbanks

Arizona
PHX Phoenix
TUS Tucson

Arkansas
FSM Fort Smith
LIT Little Rock

California
LAX Los Angeles
ONT Ontario
SAN San Diego
SFO San Francisco
SJC San Jose
SMF Sacramento
SNA Orange County

Colorado
ASE Aspen (seasonal)
COS Colorado Springs
DEN Denver
EGE Vail
HDN Steamboat Springs (Hayden)

Connecticut
BDL Hartford,CT/Springfield, MA

District of Columbia
DCA Washington-National
IAD Washington-Dulles

Florida FLL
Fort Lauderdale
RSW Fort Meyers
JAX Jacksonville
MIA Miami
MCO Orlando
TPA Tampa
PBI West Palm Beach
SRQ Sarasota/Bradenton
VPS Fort Walton Beach

Georgia
ATL Atlanta
SAV Savannah

Hawaii
HNL Honolulu
OGG Kahului
MKK MolaL

Idaho
BOI Boise
ID Idaho Falls
LWS Lewiston
PIH Pocatello

ILlinois
MDW Chicago-Midway
ORD Chicago – O’Hare

Indiana
FWA Fort Wayne
IND Indianapolis
SBN South Bend

Iowa
CID Cedar Rapids
DSM Des Moines
SUX Sioux City

Kansas
ICT Wichita

Kentucky
SDF Louisville

Louisiana
BTR Baton Rouge
MSY New Orleans

Maine
PWM Portland

Maryland
BWI Baltimore

Massachusetts
BOS Boston

Michigan
A2O Kalamazoo/Balile Creek
DTW Grand Rapids
LAN Lansing
MBS Saginaw/Bay City/Midland
TVC Traverse City

Minnesota
DLH Duluth, MN/Superior, WI
MSP Minneapolis/St. Paul
RST Rochester

Missouri
MCI Kansas City
STL St. Louis

Mississippi
GPT Gulfport/Biloxi

Montana
BIL Billings
BZN Bozeman
FCA Kalispell
GTF Great Falls
MSO Missoula

Nebraska
OMA Omaha

Nevada
LAS Las Vegas
RNO Reno

New Mexico
ABQ Albuquerque

New Jersey
EWR Newark

New York
ALB Albany
BUF Buffalo/Niagara Falls
HPN Westchester Co./White Plains
JFK New York (Kennedy)
LGA New York (La Guardia)
ROC Rochester
SYR Syracuse

North Carolina
CLT Charlotte
RDU Raleigh/Durham
GSO Greensboro

North Dakota
BIS Bismarck/Mandan
FAR Fargo, ND, Moorhead, MN
GFK Grand Forks
MOT Minot

Ohio
CLE Cleveland
CMH Columbus
CVG Cincinnati
DAY Dayton

Oklahoma
OKC Oklahoma City
TUL Tulsa

Oregon
PDX Portland

Pennsylvania
ABE Allentown
MDT Harrisburg
PHL Philadelphia
PIT Pittsburgh

Rhode Island
PVD Providence

South Carolina
GSP Greenville/Spartanburg

South Dakota
FSD Sioux Falls
RAP Rapid City

Tennessee
BNA Nashville
MEM Memphis
TYS Knoxville

Texas
AUS Austin
DFW Dallas/Fort Worth
HOU Houston (Hobby)
SAT San Antonio

Utah
SLC Salt Lake City

Virginia
ORF Norfolk
RIC Richmond

Washington
SEA Seattle/Tacoma
GEG Spokane

Wisconsin
GRB Green Bay
LSE La Crosse
MSN Madison
MKE Milwaukee

City Codes and Exercises

Codes consisting of the first three letters of the city’s name

SEA Seattle, WA DAY Dayton,OH
MEM Memphis, TN ANC Anchorage, AK
OMA Omaha, NE MOB Mobile, AL/Pascagoul~ MS
FAR Fargo, ND/Moorhead, MN STL St. Louis, MO
BIS Bismarck/Mandan, ND ROC Rochester, NY
ALB Albany, NY LAS Las Vagus, NV
MIA Miami, FL SAN San Diego, CA
ONT Ontario, CA HOU Houston, TX
CLE Cleveland, OH TUL Tulsa,OK
BUF Buffalo, NY PIT Pittsburgh PA
RAP Rapid Cit, SD SYR Syracuse, NY
LAN Lansing, MI ATL Atlanta, GA
IND Indianapolis, IN AUS Austria TX
BOS Boston, MA LIT Little Rock, AR
Codes derived from the city/airport name

PHX Phoenix,AZ ICT Wichita, KS
DSM Des Moines, IA BHM Birmingham, AL
PHL Philadelphia PA BTR Baton Rouge, LA
GRR Grand Rapids, MI PVD Providence, RI
SBN South Bend, IN MSO Missoula, MT
TPA Tampa FL BZN Bozeman MT
FWA Fort Wayne, IN GTF Great Falls, MT
OKC Oklahoma City,OK RST Rochester, MN
GPT Gulfport/Biloxi, MS GFK Gland Forks, ND
TUS Tucson,AZ MOT Minot, ND
HSV Huntsville/Decatur, AL CID Cedar Rapids, IA
HNL Honolulu, HI SMF Sacramento, CA
EWR Newark, NJ SLC Salt Lake City, UT
ORF Norfolk, VA DLH Duluth, MN/Superior, WI
HDN Steamboat Springs (Hayden), CO MKE Milwaukee, WI
TVC Traverse City, MI FLL Fort Lauderdale, FL
RSW Fort Myers, FL GRB Green Bay, WI
Codes of cities with more than one airport

If a city has more than one airport, it is important to indicate the airport the flight is going to or departing from. The following are some examples of cities with multiple airports.

New York City La Guardia LGA
J.F. Kennedy JFK
Newark EWR

Washington, D.C Dulles International IAD
Washington National DCA

Chicago O’Hare International ORD
Midway MDW
Airports serving more than one city

DFW Dallas/Fort Worth, TX MOB Mobile, AL/Pascagoul, MS
BDL Hanlord/Springfield, CT SEA Seattle/Tacoma, WA
SRQ Sarasota/Bradenton, FL MBS Saginaw/Bay CityIMidland
GPT Gulfport/Biloxi, MS DLH Duluth, MN/Superior, Wi
MSP Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN BUF Buffalo/Niagara Falls, NY
BIS Bismarck/Mandan, ND FAR Fargo, ND/Moorhead, MN
Other City Codes

CMH Columbus OH SRQ Sarasota, FL
CVG Cincinnati, OH BNA Nashville, TN
FSD Sioux Falls, SD MSY New Orleans, LA
MCI Kansas City, MO MCO Orlando, FL
PDX Portland,OR GEG Spokane, WA
TYS Knoxville, TN BDL Hanlord, CT
LAX Los Angeles, CA SDF Louisville, KY
VPS Ft. Walton Beach FL SJC San Jose, CA
ORD Chicago, IL
The code for Columbus, Ohio, is CMH. This is taken from the letters of the city and state, Columbus, Ohio. The airport serving Columbus is Port Columbus International Airport.

The code for Cincinnati, Ohio, CVG, is taken from the name of the airport which is located across the Ohio River in Covington, Kentucky. The airport serving Cincinnati is named the Greater Cincinnati Airport.

The code for Kansas City International Airport is MCI. In this case, the airport is actually setting two states: Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri.

The airport serving Knoxville, Tennessee is Tyson Field. Therefore, the code for Knoxville is TYS. Likewise, Bradley Field is the name of the airport in Hartford/Springfield and the code is BDL. Chicago O’Hare International Airport is named after Orchard Field (ORD).

Some cities use a military airport and the code is derived from the names of the city and the airport. Examples: Orlando, Florida-McCoy Field-MCO; Washington, D.C. – International airport Dulles IAD; Washington D.C. National airport-DCA.

The code for Sioux Falls, South Dakota is FSD, derived from the airport name, Joe Foss Field. Another easy way to remember the code is Falls South Dakota.

Ft. Walton Beach, Florida is served by the airport called Valparaiso. The code is VPS.

Some cities use the alphabet at random for their code. These include:

New Orleans, LA BNA
Nashville, TN MSY

Canada
Alberta YYC Calgary
YEG Edmonton
British Columbia YVR Vancouver
Manitoba YWG Winnipeg
Nova Scotia YHZ Halifax
Ontario YOW Ottawa
YQT Thunder Bay
YYZ Toronto
Quebec YUL Montreal
YQB Quebec
Saskatchewan YQR Regina
YXE Saskatoon

The Caribbean
Antigen ANU Leeward Island
Cayman Islands GCM Grand Cayman, B.W.I
Jamaica MBJ Montage Bay
Netherlands Antilles Sal St. Maarten
Providenciales PLS Turks and Caicos Islands
Puerto Rico SJU SanJuan

Mexico
ACA Acapulco
CUN Cancun
CZM Cozumel
MEX Mexico City
PVR Puerto Vallarta
SJD San Jose De Cabo
ZIH Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo

Asia
Guam Island GUM Guam (Agana)
Japan KIX Osaka (Kansas)
NRT Togo (Narita)
NGO Nagoya
FUK Fukuoka
People’s Republic of China SHA Shanghai
HKG Hong Kong
PEK Beijing
Philippines MNL Manila
Saipan SPN Saipan, Marina Islands
Singapfire SIN Singapore
South Korea SEL Seoul
Taiwan TPE Taipei
Thailand BKK Bangkok

Europe
England LGW London (Gatwick)
Germany FRA Frankfurt
France CDG Paris (Charles de Gaulle)
The Netherlands AMS Amsterdam

India DEL New Delhi
BOM Mumbai