According to Wikipedia, IATA has several different types of code that can be from one to four characters, but airport codes specifically are always three based on all the sources I mentioned.
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Three letter combinations gives 263=17576 possible codes. Some airports have multiple codes (ARN = STO, for example). I'm just going to guess that there are more than 17576 airports in the world. Are we reusing these codes?
Since the code contains only three letters, the possible combinations are limited and consequently the IATA codes are not unique in some cases, with the same code used to designate two different airports.
IATA assigns a unique two-character code (Airline Designator Code) to all airlines – even the ones that aren't IATA members. It consists of 2 letters or a letter and a digit. For example, AA stands for American Airlines, KL for KLM, 7S for Ryan Air, etc.
ICAO codes have 4 letters because there are so many airports in the world. Usually, the last 3 letters identify the airport domestically, but when searching worldwide you have to use all 4.
Every airport in the world is given a three-letter code from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and a four-letter code from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
With the rapid growth in the aviation industry, in 1947, the identifiers expanded to three letters and LA received an extra letter to become LAX. The letter X does not otherwise have any specific meaning in this identifier.
The IATA updates its regulations every two years. Subsequently, you will need to renew your certification every two years for air shipments and every three years for ground shipments. Failing to renew your IATA certification can result in airlines rejecting your shipments or hefty fines.
This 8-digit IATA Code is used as the industry-wide standard identification by suppliers such as hotel & resort chains, cruise lines, car rental companies, theme parks, rail companies to simplify reservations, sales activities and commission distribution.
In order to do so, IATA codes were created and are made up of a combination of three capital letters. The objective was for each airport to have its own IATA code so it would be unmistakably identified but due to aviation's continuous growth, out of the 20,000 codes there are, about 300 are already repeated.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world's airlines, representing some 300 airlines or 83% of total air traffic. We support many areas of aviation activity and help formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues.?
ICAO airline designatorICAO codes have been issued since 1947. The ICAO codes were originally based on a two-letter system and were identical to the airline codes used by IATA. After an airline joined IATA its existing ICAO two-letter code was taken over as IATA code.
As IATA airlines are somewhat stricter in their requirements than the ICAO Technical Instructions, the DGR specifies more precisely how to prepare a shipment.
IATA Members?From 57 founding members in 1945, IATA now represents some 300 airlines in over 120 countries. Carrying 83% of the world's air traffic, IATA members include the world's leading passenger and cargo airlines.