airport code

noun

plural airport codes

: a unique series of usually three or four letters assigned to an airport for easy identification

The airport code assigned to Chicago O'Hare International Airport by the International Air Transport Association is ORD.

There are two primary types of airport codes: IATA (International Air Transport Association) codes and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) codes. Additionally, FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) LIDS, Location Identifiers, are assigned to airports in the United States and consist of a combination of three or four characters that include letters and numbers.

—Julia Lauria-Blum

Word History

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined above