The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published quarterly in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators , are used by air traffic control and airline operations such as flight planning . ICAO codes are also used to identify other aviation facilities such as weather stations , international flight service stations or area control centers , whether or not they are located at airports. Flight information regions are also identified by a unique ICAO-code.
29-769: The Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center ( ICAO : KZLA , FAA LID : ZLA ) is an air traffic control center located in Palmdale, California , United States . Located adjacent to United States Air Force Plant 42 and the Palmdale Regional Airport , it is one of 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) operated by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Los Angeles ARTCC controls en route air traffic over southern and central California , southern Nevada , southwestern Utah , western Arizona , and portions of
58-695: Is velodrome , an arena for velocipedes . Αεροδρόμιο is the word for airport in Modern Greek, which transliterates as aerodromio. In British military usage, the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War , and the Royal Air Force in the First and Second World Wars , used the term—it had the advantage that their French allies, on whose soil they were often based, and with whom they co-operated, used
87-549: Is "a defined area on land or water (including any buildings, installations, and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure, and surface movement of aircraft." The word aerodrome derives from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr), air , and δρόμος (drómos), road or course , literally meaning air course . An ancient linguistic parallel is hippodrome (a stadium for horse racing and chariot racing ), derived from ἵππος (híppos), horse , and δρόμος (drómos), course . A modern linguistic parallel
116-568: Is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo , passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes include small general aviation airfields, large commercial airports, and military air bases . The term airport may imply a certain stature (having satisfied certain certification criteria or regulatory requirements) that not all aerodromes may have achieved. That means that all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports. Usage of
145-474: Is a pseudo-code, used in flight plans for aerodromes with no ICAO code assigned. ICAO codes are sometimes updated. Johannesburg Airport in Johannesburg , South Africa, for instance, was formerly known as Jan Smuts International Airport, with code FAJS. When the airport was renamed O. R. Tambo International Airport, its ICAO code was updated to FAOR. Some airports have two ICAO codes, usually when an airport
174-465: Is an aerodrome with significant facilities to support aircraft and crew. The term is usually reserved for military bases, but also applies to civil seaplane bases . An airstrip is a small aerodrome that consists only of a runway with perhaps fueling equipment. They are generally in remote locations, e.g. Airstrips in Tanzania . Many airstrips (now mostly abandoned) were built on the hundreds of islands in
203-661: Is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes , floatplanes and amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off. It may have a terminal building on land and/or a place where the plane can come to shore and dock like a boat to load and unload (for example, Yellowknife Water Aerodrome ). Some are co-located with a land based airport and are certified airports in their own right. These include Vancouver International Water Airport and Vancouver International Airport . Others, such as Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre have their own control tower, Vancouver Harbour Control Tower . The Canadian Aeronautical Information Manual says "...for
232-726: Is shared by civilian and military users. Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt , Germany, for instance, has been assigned ICAO code EDDF while Rhein-Main Air Base was assigned ICAO code EDAF until its closure. Sion Airport in Switzerland has code LSGS while its military facilities have the ICAO code LSMS. Brussels Airport in Brussels , Belgium, has the ICAO code EBBR for its civilian facilities, and Melsbroek Air Base has been assigned ICAO code EBMB, even though
261-828: Is the acting air traffic manager. The United States Department of Homeland Security provides security for the ARTCC. The Los Angeles ARTCC is the 10th busiest ARTCC in the United States. Between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022, the Los Angeles ARTCC handled 2,271,937 aircraft operations. A total of 97 airports are located within the Los Angeles ARTCC. Additionally, there are also 8 Terminal Control Centers (TRACON): Bakersfield, High Desert, Nellis, Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, Southern California , and Yuma. ICAO airport code The recommendations for ICAO airport codes were adopted on 24 March 1959, and came into force on 1 October
290-599: The Jezero Crater on Mars is assigned the special ICAO code JZRO. Codes beginning with I (Ixx and Ixxx) are often used for navigational aids such as radio beacons, while the Q code is reserved for international radiocommunications and non-geographical special use. In Russia , Latin letter X, or its Morse / Baudot Cyrillic equivalent Ь , are used to designate government, military, and experimental aviation airfields in internal airfield codes similar in structure and purpose to ICAO codes but not used internationally. ZZZZ
319-551: The Pacific Ocean Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), with the exception of military airspace and lower-level airspace controlled by local airport towers and Terminal Control Centers (TRACON). The Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center was established on March 15, 1937, being the fifth ARTCC established in the United States. The Los Angeles ARTCC was originally located in Burbank . In 1943, it
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#1732851388894348-616: The Pacific Ocean during the Second World War. A few airstrips grew to become full-fledged airbases as the strategic or economic importance of a region increased over time. An advanced landing ground was a temporary airstrip used by the Allies in the run-up to and during the invasion of Normandy , and these were built both in Britain, and on the continent. A water aerodrome or seaplane base
377-506: The cognate term aérodrome . In Canada and Australia, aerodrome is a legal term of art for any area of land or water used for aircraft operation, regardless of facilities. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) documents use the term aerodrome , for example, in the Annex to the ICAO Convention about aerodromes, their physical characteristics, and their operation. However,
406-535: The ICAO code indicate the country; the remaining letters identify the airport. ICAO codes are used partly for geographical context. For example, the ICAO code for Heathrow International Airport in London, is EGLL, with its first letters reflecting that it is based in the United Kingdom . On the other hand, IATA codes do not provide geographic reference. For example, LHR, representing Heathrow, does not enable one to deduce
435-525: The United Kingdom, but nearby civilian Port Stanley Airport is assigned SFAL, consistent with South America . Saint Pierre and Miquelon is controlled by France, and airports there are assigned LFxx as though they were in Europe. Kosovo is assigned the code BKxx grouping it with Greenland and Iceland rather than its geographical neighbors which have Lxxx (described below). Jerusalem International Airport
464-755: The early aerodromes obsolete. The unimproved airfield remains a phenomenon in military aspects. The DHC-4 Caribou served in the United States military in Vietnam (designated as the CV-2), landing on rough, unimproved airfields where the C-130 Hercules workhorse could not operate. Earlier, the Ju 52 and Fieseler Storch could do the same, one example of the latter taking off from the Führerbunker whilst completely surrounded by Soviet troops. In colloquial use in certain environments,
493-584: The location of the airport LHV with any greater certainty; it is William T. Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania in the United States . There are a few exceptions to the regional structure of the ICAO code that have been historically for political or administrative reasons. RAF Mount Pleasant air base in the Falkland Islands , for instance, is assigned the ICAO code EGYP as though it were in
522-452: The most part, all of Canada can be an aerodrome", however, there are also "registered aerodromes" and "certified airports". To become a registered aerodrome, the operator must maintain certain standards and keep the Minister of Transport informed of any changes. To be certified as an airport the aerodrome, which usually supports commercial operations, must meet safety standards. Nav Canada ,
551-441: The name of the airport or the city it serves, while ICAO codes are distributed by region and country. Far more aerodromes (in the broad sense) have ICAO codes than IATA codes, which are sometimes assigned to railway stations as well. The selection of ICAO codes is partly delegated to authorities in each country, while IATA codes, which have no geographic structure, must be decided centrally by IATA. The first one or two letters of
580-506: The same year. ICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes , the latter of which have three letters and are generally used for airline timetables , reservations, and baggage tags. For example, the IATA code for London 's Heathrow Airport is LHR and its ICAO code is EGLL. IATA codes are commonly seen by passengers and the general public on flight-tracking services such as FlightAware . In general IATA codes are usually derived from
609-522: The style LFddnn , where dd indicates the department while nn is a sequential counter. The French Federation of Ultralight Motorized Gliders was formally named the keeper of these codes. Aerodrome de Torreilles in France, for instance, has code LF6651. In Antarctica many aerodromes have pseudo ICAO-codes with AT and two digits, while others have proper codes from countries performing air control such as NZ for New Zealand . Aerodrome An aerodrome
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#1732851388894638-523: The surface up to FL 600 (60,000 feet). Around 40 percent of the ARTCC's airspace is composed of special use airspace (SUA) which is used by the United States Armed Forces . The ARTCC's airspace is divided into six areas, simply named Areas A through F, which are further subdivided into 20 low level sectors and 16 high altitude sectors. As of 2019, the ARTCC employs over 500 people, 320 of whom are air traffic controllers. As of 2019, Lisa Jones
667-649: The term "aerodrome" (or "airfield") remains more common in Commonwealth English , and is conversely almost unknown in American English , where the term "airport" is applied almost exclusively. A water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes , floatplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off. In formal terminology, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an aerodrome
696-479: The terms airport and aerodrome are often interchanged. However, in general, the term airport may imply or confer a certain stature upon the aviation facility that other aerodromes may not have achieved. In some jurisdictions, airport is a legal term of art reserved exclusively for those aerodromes certified or licensed as airports by the relevant civil aviation authority after meeting specified certification criteria or regulatory requirements. An air base
725-539: The terms airfield or airport mostly superseded use of aerodrome after the Second World War, in colloquial language. In the early days of aviation, when there were no paved runways and all landing fields were grass, a typical airfield might permit takeoffs and landings in only a couple of directions, much like today's airports, whereas an aerodrome was distinguished, by virtue of its much greater size, by its ability to handle landings and takeoffs in any direction. The ability to always take off and land directly into
754-515: The two airports share runways and ground and air control facilities. In small countries like Belgium or the Netherlands, almost all aerodromes have an ICAO code. For larger countries like the UK or Germany this is not feasible, given the limited number of letter codes. Some countries have addressed this issue by introducing a scheme of sub-ICAO aerodrome codes; France, for example, assigns pseudo ICAO codes in
783-447: The wind, regardless of the wind's direction, was an important advantage in the earliest days of aviation when an airplane's performance in a crosswind takeoff or landing might be poor or even dangerous. The development of differential braking in aircraft, improved aircraft performance, utilization of paved runways, and the fact that a circular aerodrome required much more space than did the "L" or triangle shaped airfield, eventually made
812-691: Was assigned both LLJR (its Israeli persona) as well as OJJR (its Jordanian persona), but the airport itself fell into disuse. In the contiguous United States and Canada, many airports have ICAO codes that are simply copies of their three-letter IATA codes, with the geographical prefix added on (e.g., YEG and CYEG both refer to Edmonton International Airport , while IAD and KIAD both refer to Washington Dulles International Airport ). This similarity does not extend to Alaska (PAxx), Hawaii (PHxx), or U.S. territories. Kahului Airport on Maui , for instance, has an IATA code of OGG and an ICAO code of PHOG. ICAO airport codes do not begin with I or J or X or Q, though
841-681: Was moved to Downtown Los Angeles on 7th Street and Flower Street. In 1946, it was again moved to just south of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Inglewood on Manchester Boulevard. On March 1, 1963, the Los Angeles ARTCC was moved to its present location in Palmdale on 25th Street East and Avenue P, being located adjacent to United States Air Force Plant 42 and the Palmdale Regional Airport . The Los Angeles ARTCC controls 177,000 square miles (460,000 km) of airspace over southern and central California , southern Nevada , southwestern Utah , and western Arizona . It controls airspace from
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