Amid GAY airport row, a look at other unusual codes across the world

ON aug 5, A BJP MP took exclusion to the aerodrome cypher of Gaya International airdrome. The code ‘GAY’ was “socially and culturally” offensive, according to Bhim Singh who sought that the government change it to a “more respectful and culturally appropriate” one.The government replied that it received such requests in the past. Air India had even approached trade body IATA for a change, which did not blink, citing Resolution 763 that bars airport code changes unless deemed extremely essential.Truth is GAY is not the only airport code that is not music to some ears. Take the case of COK, the airport code for Kochi International Airport.While IATA has banned SEX or GUN, airport codes can be funny or offensive depending on how one looks at it. The code for Madrid, the capital of Spain, is MAD.What about DIK? That is the code for Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport in the US.What about FUK? No way!There is actually. Fukuoka Airport’s IATA identifier turns out to be FUK. There is a BUM and a POO as well.Butler Memorial Airport in the United States is identified as BUM while Brazil’s Pocos De Caldas regional airport goes by POO. PEE is assigned to Russia’s Perm International Airport while the Sioux Gateway Airport in the US has SUX as its code.Animal lovers will be pleased because Cascais Municipal Aerodrome in Portugal is CAT for short and Dongola Airport in Sudan has been allocated DOG. An airport in Cuba, the Frank Pais Airport’s code is HOG.Foodies need not be disappointed because there is plenty here. St. Peter Clearwater airport in Florida has PIE as code while Yuma International (Arizona) Airport’s code is YUM.There’s also something for fans of texting slangs. The Derby Field Airport at Lovelock in the US uses IATA code LOL, Funafuti International Airport in Tuvalu uses FUN as its three-letter code and Omega airport in Namibia has gone with OMG. A small airport in Mauritania named Letfotar airport has MOM as its IATA code while DAD is for Vietnam’s Da Nang Airport’s IATA. Safford Arizona is SAD and Finland’s capital Helsinki is HEL. The latter one is the butt of jokes, especially on Friday the thirteenth.How are airport codes assigned?The assignment of location-based codes is laid down in Resolution 763 of IATA. The code has to be unique and can be assigned to an airport or an intermodal transportation terminal such as a bus stand or train station.The procedure involves selecting an unassigned code using the first three letters of the location’s name. This applied to older airports such as Delhi (DEL) or Mumbai (BOM, after its old name BOMBAY).The second method involves choosing an unassigned combination, preferably starting with the first letter of the location’s name (Eg: BLR for Bengaluru and HYD for Hyderabad).Airport codes are not always related to the name of the city. Examples: Canadian airports such as Toronto (YYZ), Vancouver (YVR) and airports in India like Mangalore (IXE) and Aurangabad (IXU).IATA codes are only issued based on a commercial airline’s request to IATA and usually the first airline flying to the location requests the code. Airport coding first began in the 1930s and moved to three-letter codes in the 1940s.Is it possible to change an airport code?What about the BJP MP’s request to change a code? Assigned three-letter location identifiers are typically considered permanent. They are almost never changed. Only a strong justification, primarily concerning air safety, can be the driver for change.In the case of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where the older airports shut down for scheduled commercial operations. And the code was placed on the new airports.There have been—rare—instances of change in airport codes. A recent change happened at Kazakhstan's capital Astana. The Nursultan Nazarbayev International airport at Astana, operated with IATA code TSE, which was based on its former name Tselinograd. In 2019, the city’s name was changed from Astana to Nur Sultan and a request was made to change the airport code. It was subsequently changed to NQZ.As fate would have it, the city’s name reverted to Astana in 2022 while the airport code continues to be NQZ.