Why do Canadian airport codes begin with Y? : NoStupidQuestions - Reddit Metro Oh and the metropolitan codes that came along much later are YTO for Toronto and YMQ for Montreal. one Christmas and I think of a fella in the blue garb going to Montreal. Opinion: The how and Y of worldwide airport codes The reason you see resemblance is because its an "old" airport. Storage or technical access is necessary to create user profiles in order to send advertisements, or to track the user across a website or multiple websites for similar marketing purposes. Construction of two uncountable sequences which are "interleaved". Why Do Canadian Airport Codes Begin With The Letter "Y?" More research definitely needed before publishing. And just when you figure theres a pattern YOW for Ottawa, YVR for Vancouver along comes Montreal (YUL), Edmonton (YEG) and Saskatoon (YXE). January 20, 2022, Peter Thornton - And the answer is no. The FAA (@FAANews) June 25, 2023. Apologies. Using railway station codes as opposed to radio tower identifiers allowed for many Canadian airports to form almost recognizable airport codes. Let us know in the comments below! Can the supreme court decision to abolish affirmative action be reversed at any time? Prior to the formation of the IATA, International Air Transport Authority, (which just so happens to be headquartered in Montral), Canada identified its weather towers with two-letter call signs. . For example, the four digit code for LHR is EGLL. All US airports first ICAO letter is K, so LAX is actually KLAX, SFO is KSFO when using the four letter ICAO code. James, please inform yourself before you start babbling about stuff you clearly dont know. @Flimzy The reason is that 'N' is reserved for Naval locations. In case anyone forgot, this is NOT a dissertation going through its review! @Sean M couldnt agree more. For anyone whos flown, youll know that every airport has a unique three-letter code associated with it. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Why does DFW International Airport charge visitors a, Everything you need to know about ZED travel. YVR, minus the Y leaves VR easier to decipher into VancouveR. The city was under Code Purple for much of . NL - Newfoundland. CYAD. Which brings me to Canada. Type: Medium airport : City: Yakutat: Country: United States: IATA: YAK: ICAO: PAYA: FAA: YAK: Alert Bay: Type: Medium airport : City: Alert Bay: Country: Canada: IATA: YAL: ICAO: CYAL: Sault Ste Marie: Type: Medium airport : City: Sault Ste Marie: Country: Canada: IATA: YAM: ICAO: CYAM: Yangambi Not all Canadian airports start with Y, though most do and certainly all the big ones - eg Bathurst New Brunswick is ZBF - and there are airports outside Canada that start with Y (search for "(Y" on http://aircargotracking.skysthelimitsd.com/air-freight-news/international-airport-codes/ for tons.) The C and K regions (Canada and the mainland U.S.) are the ONLY places where prefixing the letter C/K to the IATA code gives the ICAO. I dont think that would have happened with an airport code if it were just a normal easy-to-remember one. Like Vancouver being "VAN" or Calgary "CAL" or "CGY"? The overwhelming majority of Canadian airports begin with a Y these days, though we did find a few tiny airports like WPC (Pincher Creek Airport) & WNN (Wunnumin Lake Airport) that begin with the rare W prefix. But why y? With due to respect to all people who are criticizing; it is very easy to criticize and find errors! This metropolitan naming method isn't just inherent to Canada. When you consent to allowing these technologies, it permits us to analyze data, like on-site behaviour and unique IDs on the site. Pearson's for example doesn't offer such a history that's why I offered a possible guess at the bottom. Early Canadian airports actually broadcast, in morse code, their two letter code to be used in direction finding. As far as ORD and GEG is concerned one needs to look at individual history of an airport like "ORcharD Field" for Chicago and "GEiGer field" for Spokane. But, there're not enough 2-letter combinations for all the airports, and an additional letter was added. ZCX is not an airport but a command center just outside Washington D.C., that controls the airline traffic into major terminals. How to Use Google Flights to Save Money on Your Next Trip, Compare Canadian Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Greater Moncton Romeo LeBlanc International Airport, Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, 2 Aeroplan Points per dollar on Air Canada purchases, 1.5 Aeroplan Points per dollar on meals and 1 Aeroplan Point per dollar on everything else. Using the YUL logic above, all Canadian airports should start with the letter Y followed by the existing radio call sign, right? All US airports first ICAO letter is K . "All US airports' first ICAO letter is K . ICAO codes are not by country but by region. Rather than each Canadian airport completely renaming their codes to match the name of the airport or city they served, they simply added a 'Y' to the front of each 2 letter code, with the Y indicating that each airport was Canadian. I have always wondered about this and glad to know that at the very least, there are some of us who still appreciate learning something new every day, instead of just bitching about what has been presented. Is there any advantage to a longer term CD that has a lower interest rate than a shorter term CD? BA pilot Mark Vanhoenackers poetic book Skyfaring has a rather lovely chapter on Wayfinding and the 5-letter names marking waypoints, which is similarly intriguing. For example, at the time Montral-Dorvals radio call sign happened to be UL. For the more random letters like YQX for Gander International Airport, try to think of a visual or audible connection. he's updated it now dingits. Your email address will not be published. Flat fields with strong winds evolved into transportation hubs, places of work, and increasingly shopping malls. Canadian Airport Codes. This means almost every Canadian airport has CY as the first two digits of their ICAO code. These were all two letters in length, and werent necessarily an obvious abbreviation of the location name. Quite simply, the Y stands for yes and W is short for without. And NYC is used for all New York City area airports including Newark (EWR). North Americas first airports typically had just two letter codes, usually based on the weather station or radio transmitter where the strip was located. MB - Manitoba. So how and why did they come up with these confusing airport code identifiers? It's fine (even helpful) to be critical, long as you give him examples of his mistakes and suggestions. And that's probably where you learned your objectionable behaviour in the first place. Why do people take the time and complain about a article? Need a Loan or Mortgage? As you can see in these cases, the IATA code is simply the ICAO code minus the first letter. For example my home field is CZBM (Bromont, Quebec). + 5 Reasons to Buy a Life Insurance Policy if You Have Children, + 6 Things Every Parent Should Know About Life Insurance, + How to choose a life insurance policy in Canada, + How to Get Cheap Motorcycle Insurance Quotes, + The Ultimate Guide to Dirt Bike Insurance, + The Ultimate Guide to Motorcycle Insurance, + What Does It Take To Be Pre-Approved For A Mortgage In Canada, + How To Shop For A Mortgage In Canada, Like A Boss, Using Your RRSP To Buy A House: Everything You Need To Know About The Home Buyers Plan, First Time Homebuyers in Canada: Everything You Need to Know Before Making Your Lifes Biggest Purchase, + First Time Homebuyers in Canada: Everything You Need to Know. Canadian airport codes: why the y? - Will Travel For Food You are so pathetic it's unreal. Not to mention the four US airports that begin with their own Y, tasty Yuma (YUM) for example and the anomalies that begin with a Z (ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick). What's the closest airport to the Flatiron District and Chelsea neighbourhood in NY? I'm confused. Some retain the 3 letters in the 4 letters' coding (like LAX->KLAX), some don't (like LHR->EGLL). Since Canada locked up the Y for its radio transmitters, it also locked up the Y for its airport codes. @ Jason - I'm only suggesting Canadian airport codes are harder to remember than other countries airport codes because they are less of an abbreviation of the location or name (with only 2 letters to use), given the mandatory Y. As a meteorologist, I've done a lot of personal research into the history of weather and aeronautical radio stations. Many smaller airports in the US have little resemblance to the city name, too. In order to keep each airport code unique, it makes sense that not all airports can use abbreviations for their names. YAQ. It's related to how "Canada" first got its name. Then how do you explain EGLL<->LHR (and similarly all the rest of European airports)? In fact, most major Canadian airport codes start with the letter Y. Montreal is YUL, Vancouver is YVR, Calgary is YYC, and Ottawa is YOW. Everyone complaining, please go away and read another blog, preferably one you pay for which would then give you a solid reason to complain. New routes, such as Windsor - London - Toronto, kept this pattern (thus QG - XU - YZ). By saying yes to the Y, Canada firmly aligned all its commercial airports with the same letter making it the only major country to assign IATA codes in this style. San Jose, California is SJC. @James I love reading your articles, and find the content you produce to be continually informative and entertaining. Since Canadian airport codes all begin with the letter Y, that only leaves two letters per airport to memorize. The two letters following the Y in Canadian airport codes were originally created to identify old telegram stations on the Canadian National Railway System. Many smaller municipal airports, heliports, and private jet runways have codes beginning with other letters of the alphabet (Mostly W (previously explained: Without), X or Z). Be patient during your travels and remember to be kind.
