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Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, despite the fact that their
official name or its official spelling or transliteration is now different:
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in India: BOM for Mumbai (formerly Bombay), CCU for Kolkata (formerly
Calcutta), and MAA for Chennai (formerly Madras);
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in China: PEK for Beijing (formerly Peking), TAO for Qingdao (formerly
Tsingtao), and CAN for Guangzhou (formerly Canton). The older IATA codes follow
Chinese postal romanization, introduced in 1906, officially abolished in 1964 and in
use well into the 1980s, while gradually superseded by Pinyin.
in Indonesia: TKG for Bandar Lampung (formerly Tanjung Karang), UPG for Makassar
(formerly Ujung Pandang). In addition, when the Enhanced Indonesian Spelling System was
introduced in 1972, a few older IATA codes retained the previous spelling: BTJ for Banda
Aceh (formerly Banda Atjeh), DJJ for Jayapura (formerly Djajapura).
in Russia: LED for St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), GOJ for Nizhny Novgorod (formerly
Gorky), SVX for Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk), KUF for Samara (formerly Kuybyshev),
OGZ for Vladikavkaz (formerly Ordzhonikidze) and others;
in Kazakhstan: TSE for Astana (formerly Tselinograd), SCO for Aktau (formerly Shevchenko),
GUW for Atyrau (formerly Guryev), DMB for Taraz (formerly Dzhambyl);
in Turkmenistan: KRW for Türkmenbaşy (formerly Krasnovodsk); CRZ for Türkmenabat
(formerly Chardzhev);
in Ukraine: VSG for Luhansk (formerly Voroshilovgrad);
in Vietnam: SGN for Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).
in Kyrgyzstan: FRU for Bishkek (formerly Frunze);
in Tajikistan: LBD for Khujand (formerly Leninabad);
in Moldova: KIV for Chișinău (formerly Kishinev);
in Montenegro: TGD for Podgorica (formerly Titograd).
Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, such as
Chicago's O'Hare, which is assigned ORD, based on its old name of Orchard Field, before it was
expanded and renamed O'Hare in the mid-1950s. Similarly, Orlando International Airport uses
MCO, based on the old McCoy Air Force Base, which was converted to joint civilian/military use
and renamed Orlando Jetport at McCoy in the early 1960s and finally Orlando International in the
early 1980s. Other airport codes are similarly not immediately obvious in origin, and each have
their own peculiarities. Nashville uses BNA, Knoxville uses TYS, and Kahului (the main gateway into
Maui) uses OGG, while Spokane International Airport goes by GEG. Most of these are named after
individuals. In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata's KIJ,
Nanchang's KHN, Pyongyang's FNJ, and Kobe's UKB.
A - Z of Flight
May 2017
www.alliance-airways.net
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