Large metropolitan areas around the world often have unique codes designated by the IATA to include multiple airports serving the same region. Depending on the booking engine, this can make searching for cheap airfares a much simpler task, especially if travelers are somewhat flexible with their departure and arrival airports. Searching across several airports for award availability can also greatly increase the probability of finding open seats.
While metropolitan area codes often simplify the search process, one frustration is the lack of uniformity and consistency across different booking engines. For example, QSF is recognized in Expedia and Travelocity (Sabre) to represent all three San Francisco Bay Area airports (SFO, OAK, and SJC), but it is alternately recognized as Sétif International Airport in Algeria by Priceline and Orbitz (ITA).
Different OTAs gather their flight database information from a variety of sources, and they can further customize search parameters to suit their own needs. To make the process easier, and to return as many relevant itineraries as possible, many sites now automatically include nearby airports, along with the option for users to filter their results afterwards (e.g. Kayak). I have found that virtually all booking engines now incorporate the largest and most commonly searched-for metropolitan areas, such as London (LON), Tokyo (TYO), New York City (NYC), and Washington D.C. (WAS).
When searching for itineraries with multiple connections, be careful to note if the inbound and outbound flights are using the same airports. If not, costly and time-consuming ground transportation may be required. Also, travelers may need to retrieve non-interlined checked baggage and obtain travel visas in order to enter foreign countries.
Different OTAs gather their flight database information from a variety of sources, and they can further customize search parameters to suit their own needs. To make the process easier, and to return as many relevant itineraries as possible, many sites now automatically include nearby airports, along with the option for users to filter their results afterwards (e.g. Kayak). I have found that virtually all booking engines now incorporate the largest and most commonly searched-for metropolitan areas, such as London (LON), Tokyo (TYO), New York City (NYC), and Washington D.C. (WAS).
When searching for itineraries with multiple connections, be careful to note if the inbound and outbound flights are using the same airports. If not, costly and time-consuming ground transportation may be required. Also, travelers may need to retrieve non-interlined checked baggage and obtain travel visas in order to enter foreign countries.
I was surprised to see a very long list of metropolitan area airport codes included in the Wikivoyage page, which may come in handy for more obscure searches. Some codes, such as Istanbul (IST), Bangkok (BKK), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), and Shanghai (SHA) appear to be identical to specific airports in the region. In these cases, it depends on the individual booking engine whether results correspond to the entire metropolitan area or only to one specific airport. I have tested all of the codes below and included additional notes where they apply:
Asia
- Bangkok, Thailand - BKK
- Suvarnabhumi Airport - BKK
- Don Mueang International Airport - DMK
- Beijing, People's Republic of China - BJS
- Beijing Capital International Airport - PEK
- Nanyuan Airport - NAY
- Jakarta, Indonesia - JKT
- Soekarno - Hatta International Airport - CGK
- Halim Perdanakusuma Airport - HLP
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - KUL
- Kuala Lumpur International Airport - KUL
- Subang Airport - SZB
- Nagoya, Japan - NGO
- Chubu Centrair International Airport - NGO
- Komaki Airport - NKM
- Osaka, Japan - OSA
- Kansai International Airport - KIX
- Osaka - Itami Airport - ITM
- Sapporo, Japan - SPK
- New Chitose Airport - CTS
- Sapporo Okadama Airport - OKD
- Seoul, South Korea - SEL
- Incheon International Airport - ICN
- Gimpo International Airport - GMP
- Shanghai, People's Republic of China - SHA
- Shanghai Pudong International Airport - PVG
- Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport - SHA
- Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan) - TPE
- Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport - TPE
- Taipei Songshan Airport - TSA
- Tokyo, Japan - TYO
- Tokyo Narita International Airport - NRT
- Tokyo Haneda International Airport - HND
- Tehran, Iran - THR
- Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport - IKA
- Mehrabad International Airport - THR
Europe
- Berlin, Germany - BER
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport - BER (Opening 2016)
- Berlin Tegel Airport - TXL
- Berlin Schönefeld Airport - SXF
- Bucharest, Romania - BUH
- Bucharest Otopeni International Airport - OTP
- Bucharest Băneasa Airport - BBU
- Istanbul, Turkey - IST
- Istanbul Atatürk Airport - IST
- Sabiha Gökçen International Airport - SAW
- London, United Kingdom - LON
- London City Airport - LCY
- London Gatwick Airport - LGW
- London Heathrow Airport - LHR
- London Luton Airport - LTN
- London Southend Airport - SEN
- London Stansted Airport - STN
- Milan, Italy - MIL
- Milan Malpensa Airport - MXP
- Linate Airport - LIN
- Moscow, South Korea - MOW
- Sheremetyevo International Airport - SVO
- Domodedovo International Airport - DME
- Vnukovo International Airport - VKO
- Oslo, Norway - OSL
- Oslo Airport Gardermoen - OSL
- Sandefjord Airport Torp - TRF
- Moss Airport Rygge - RYG
- Paris, France - PAR
- Charles de Gaulle Airport - CDG
- Paris Orly Airport - ORY
- Le Bourget Airport - LBG
- Rome, Italy - ROM
- Leonardo da Vinci International - Fiumicino Airport - FCO
- Ciampino - G. B. Pastine International Airport - CIA
- Stockholm, Sweden - STO
- Stockholm Arlanda Airport - ARN
- Stockholm Skavsta Airport - NYO
- Stockholm Bromma Airport - BMA
- Tenerife, Spain - TCI
- Tenerife North Airport - TFN
- Tenerife South Airport - TFS
- Warsaw, Poland - WRW (Not recognized by booking engines)
- Warsaw Chopin Airport - WAW
- Warsaw - Modlin Mazovia Airport - WMI
North America
- Chicago, United States - CHI
- Chicago O'Hare International Airport - ORD
- Chicago Midway International Airport - MDW
- Dallas, United States - QDF (Not recognized by booking engines)
- Dallas Love Field - DAL
- Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport - DFW
- Detroit, United States - DTT
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport - DTW
- Coleman A. Young International Airport - DET
- Willow Run Airport - YIP
- Houston, United States - QHO (Not recognized by booking engines)
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport - IAH
- William P. Hobby Airport - HOU
- Los Angeles, United States - QLA (Sabre, Expedia, Travelocity)
- Los Angeles International Airport - LAX
- Ontario International Airport - ONT
- John Wayne Airport - SNA
- Bob Hope Airport - BUR
- Miami, United States - QMI (Not recognized by booking engines)
- Miami International Airport - MIA
- Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport - FLL
- Palm Beach International Airport - PBI
- New York City, United States - NYC
- John F. Kennedy International Airport - JFK
- Newark Liberty International Airport - EWR
- La Guardia Airport - LGA
- Westchester County Airport - HPN
- San Francisco, United States - QSF (Sabre, Expedia, Travelocity)
- San Francisco International Airport - SFO
- Oakland International Airport - OAK
- Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport - SJC
- Toronto, Canada - YTO
- Lester B. Pearson International Airport - YYZ
- Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport - YTZ
- Washington D.C., United States - WAS
- Washington Dulles International Airport - IAD
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport - DCA
- Baltimore / Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport - BWI
- Buenos Aires, Argentina - BUE
- Ministro Pistarini (Ezeiza) International Airport - EZE
- Aeroparque Jorge Newbery - AEP
- Rio de Janerio, Brazil - RIO
- Antônio Carlos Jobim (Galeão) International Airport - GIG
- Santos Dumont Airport - SDU
- São Paulo, Brazil - SAO
- São Paulo / Guarulhos International Airport - GRU
- São Paulo / Congonhas Airport - CGH
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