Identify an Airport with Its ICAO Code
It may be important for you to know how the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) codes work because every airfield in the world has its own ICAO code--and every airfield has a unique code. Whether if you get lost or if you only don't know how to navigate, the structure of the ICAO codes allows you to find out your position.
Steps
- Know what each letter stands for.
- The first letter of the ICAO code "splits" the world into multiple sections. These are, for example, "K" for the United States or "E" for the northern half of Europe. So the first letter only allows you to know about where you are.
- The second letter of the code describes the nation in which the airfield is located. For example, "EG" shows that the airfield is located in Great Britain. Remember that there is no guarantee that the second letter equals the first letter of the nation the airfield is located in. You see, danish airfields for example have "EK--"-callsigns.
- The third letter of the code represents the flight information regions (FIR) mostly - so in Austria the airport of Salzburg has the ICAO code "LOWS" - "LO" represents Austria, "W" shows, that the airport is located in the Vienna FIR, and "S" only represents Salzburg.
- The fourth letter equals the first letter of the airport in most cases.
Tips
- In the most cases the airport code allows you to find out your location, in some cases it is not possible. Then you should look after landmarks to orientate, or you may contact the ATC, but most of these small airports are not equipped with air traffic controls all time.
