An IATA code is a short code used to identify airports and airlines in air travel.
IATA stands for International Air Transport Association, which maintains standardized codes used in the air transport industry.
Why Are IATA Codes Used?
Imagine a boarding pass having to repeatedly display the full names of the airline and airports instead of short codes. It could make the information more crowded and harder to scan quickly.
IATA codes provide a short and structured way to identify airlines and airports, making important travel information easier to display and understand.
Airport IATA Codes
Airport IATA codes generally consist of three letters.
- Lucknow Airport — LKO
- Bhubaneswar Airport — BBI
- Delhi Airport — DEL
- Mumbai Airport — BOM
Airline IATA Codes
Airlines also have IATA codes, generally consisting of two characters.
- IndiGo — 6E
- SpiceJet — SG
- Air India — AI
- Vistara — UK
Why Is an IATA Code Important for Travellers?
Travellers commonly see IATA codes while booking flights, checking flight status, and on tickets, boarding passes and baggage tags.
They are especially important when a destination has more than one airport.
For example, Goa has:
- GOI — Dabolim Airport
- GOX — Manohar International Airport
Similarly, Bangkok has:
- BKK — Suvarnabhumi Airport
- DMK — Don Mueang International Airport
Therefore, travellers should check the airport IATA code before booking, particularly when a city has multiple airports.
Example
The boarding pass below shows both an airline IATA code and airport IATA codes.
On the boarding pass:
- 6E 6521 — 6E is the IATA code for IndiGo
- LKO — Lucknow Airport
- BBI — Bhubaneswar Airport
The route is shown as LKO → BBI.
This is a simple example of how IATA codes can make flight information compact, structured and easier to identify.
