Airport codes on BGS

[iowahighways]

The eastbound exit BGS at I-235 and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Des Moines was replaced sometime this week with a smaller BGS that intended to abbreviate the name of the Des Moines International Airport as "DSM Airport", its official airport code. Problem is, it was posted as "DMS Airport" instead. Oops. (WHO-TV story) The Iowa DOT is going to overlay the boo-boo with the correct airport code soon.

That said, there were already BGS up at the I-35/IA 5 interchange that had the correct airport code, and have been up for almost two years:


That had me thinking: are there any BGS anywhere else that abbreviate the airport name by using the official airport code? The closest I can think of are the "KCI Airport" signs in Kansas City, but "KCI" isn't the airport code ("MCI" is).

[vtk]

There might be some signs in Columbus for "OSU Airport", rather than Ohio State University Airport and/or Don Scott Field, but it would probably be abbreviated that way even if the airport's code wasn't (K)OSU.

Personally I think this practice should be used almost exclusively on freeway signage, with two exceptions. Approaching an urban area, there should be a sign for the city's main airport, with the full name of the airport, its code, and what exit to look for; subsequent signs should use only the code. Smaller airports which only have one (auxiliary guide) sign on each direction of the nearby freeway might as well use the full airport name on those signs.

[realjd]

There might be some signs in Columbus for "OSU Airport", rather than Ohio State University Airport and/or Don Scott Field, but it would probably be abbreviated that way even if the airport's code wasn't (K)OSU.

Personally I think this practice should be used almost exclusively on freeway signage, with two exceptions. Approaching an urban area, there should be a sign for the city's main airport, with the full name of the airport, its code, and what exit to look for; subsequent signs should use only the code. Smaller airports which only have one (auxiliary guide) sign on each direction of the nearby freeway might as well use the full airport name on those signs.

A few problems with that: many cities have multiple airports, and airports need prominent signage even within a metro area because thr majority of travelers aren't usually driving in from outside the metro area.

[1995hoo]

Signs on I-40 between Raleigh and Durham used to say "RDU Airport." I don't know whether they still do.

Fair number of signs in Maryland refer to BWI by those letters.

I've always found it interesting that signs in New York generally say "Kennedy Airport" instead of "JFK."

[roadman65]

LAX is referred to as such on area BGSes such as I-405 and I-105.

[briantroutman]

Not a BGS, but VMSes in the Bay Area often list "SFO Airport"  or "OAK Airport" . In fact, one on I-80 West in the Berkeley/Emeryville area regularly lists times for both.

I thought I recall a BGS somewhere in the Bay Area that the plane symbol with the airport code in small letters underneath it, but I'm not finding it right away.

[SignGeek101]

They're common in BC:

https://goo.gl/maps/8hU6s

[jakeroot]

They're common in BC:

https://goo.gl/maps/8hU6s

BC seems to be the only place where they receive a special colour (yellow), which is a nice addition IMO.

[corco]

There are signs in Denver (mostly on side streets) for DIA, which is also what it's called in local conversation, though DEN is the actual airport code.

[vtk]

Personally I think this practice should be used almost exclusively on freeway signage, with two exceptions. Approaching an urban area, there should be a sign for the city's main airport, with the full name of the airport, its code, and what exit to look for; subsequent signs should use only the code. Smaller airports which only have one (auxiliary guide) sign on each direction of the nearby freeway might as well use the full airport name on those signs.

A few problems with that: many cities have multiple airports, and airports need prominent signage even within a metro area because thr majority of travelers aren't usually driving in from outside the metro area.

If your city has multiple major airports, you should already be familiar with their FAA identification codes. If you've booked a flight out of an airport, you should have become aware of the airport's FAA identification code through the process of booking (as well as your destination airport and any layovers). If you for some reason don't bother to learn the FAA identification code of the major airport in your city through which you've booked a flight, you probably at least know which part of the city it's in, and you're probably the type of person who doesn't pay attention to the big green signs anyway.

[Rothman]

If your city has multiple major airports, you should already be familiar with their FAA identification codes.

I doubt the general public that flies less than once a year would know the FAA codes for the airports.  Even around here in upstate NY where a lot of people fly out of Newark, you write down "EWR" and get the deer-in-headlights look.

[Pete from Boston]

Signs on I-40 between Raleigh and Durham used to say "RDU Airport." I don't know whether they still do.

Fair number of signs in Maryland refer to BWI by those letters.

I've always found it interesting that signs in New York generally say "Kennedy Airport" instead of "JFK."

When I lived in that area, "Kennedy" seemed to be more commonly spoken than "JFK."  In years since, it has seemed like the more recently-arrived younger folks say "JFK" more.  Funny that various strings of obscenities never overtook either.

[TravelingBethelite]

Here in Connecticut, the (entire) name of the airport is usually displayed. For Bradley, ConnDOT even puts the logo on the BGS's on I-91. (CT has only 2 major airports, Bradley (BDL), and Tweed-New Haven (HVN)). My opinion is that if a city has more than one airport the sign should look something like this:
            ------------------------
             Example City Airports
             _________________
          MacArthur-Downtown 236
             _________________
             Example City Int'l 241
             _________________
and so on, etc. 

[jakeroot]

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

[wriddle082]

Signs on I-40 between Raleigh and Durham used to say "RDU Airport." I don't know whether they still do.

I think they do still.  Going up there Sunday night so I'll confirm then.

Also, in Greensboro, some signs for their airport say "GSO Airport" while other signs say either "GSO-PTI Airport" or "PTI-GSO Airport".  Again, I can try to confirm on Sunday when I travel that way, though I think the dual designation signs are along I-40 and I'll be coming up I-85.

[TravelingBethelite]

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

On that note, does anyone know why (almost?) all of Canada's airport codes begin with 'Y'?

[SignGeek101]

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

On that note, does anyone know why (almost?) all of Canada's airport codes begin with 'Y'?

I think it has to do with an airport code assigned to different regions. Each region gets a letter. Canada's is Y, US is K I believe.

[The Nature Boy]

Personally I think this practice should be used almost exclusively on freeway signage, with two exceptions. Approaching an urban area, there should be a sign for the city's main airport, with the full name of the airport, its code, and what exit to look for; subsequent signs should use only the code. Smaller airports which only have one (auxiliary guide) sign on each direction of the nearby freeway might as well use the full airport name on those signs.

A few problems with that: many cities have multiple airports, and airports need prominent signage even within a metro area because thr majority of travelers aren't usually driving in from outside the metro area.

If your city has multiple major airports, you should already be familiar with their FAA identification codes. If you've booked a flight out of an airport, you should have become aware of the airport's FAA identification code through the process of booking (as well as your destination airport and any layovers). If you for some reason don't bother to learn the FAA identification code of the major airport in your city through which you've booked a flight, you probably at least know which part of the city it's in, and you're probably the type of person who doesn't pay attention to the big green signs anyway.

You'd be surprised. I have a friend who plugged "Detroit Airport" into his GPS and drove to Detroit's municipal airport instead of Detroit-Wayne County International Airport.

People are REALLY REALLY bad at being observant.

[Rothman]

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

On that note, does anyone know why (almost?) all of Canada's airport codes begin with 'Y'?

I think it has to do with an airport code assigned to different regions. Each region gets a letter. Canada's is Y, US is K I believe.

US airports technically start with K, but the K tends to be omitted with commercial airports, which typically passengers only see the last three letters of the code on their baggage.

[sammi]

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

On that note, does anyone know why (almost?) all of Canada's airport codes begin with 'Y'?

I think it has to do with an airport code assigned to different regions. Each region gets a letter. Canada's is Y, US is K I believe.

US airports technically start with K, but the K tends to be omitted with commercial airports, which typically passengers only see the last three letters of the code on their baggage.

You're confusing the three-letter IATA codes with the four-letter ICAO codes. Canadian airports have IATA codes starting with Y, and ICAO codes starting with CY (e.g., YYZ / CYYZ), whereas US airports have ICAO codes starting with K and the IATA codes could be anything. As for why Canadian airports all start with Y, I have no idea.

[Big John]

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

On that note, does anyone know why (almost?) all of Canada's airport codes begin with 'Y'?

I think it has to do with an airport code assigned to different regions. Each region gets a letter. Canada's is Y, US is K I believe.

Actually, USA uses K and Canada uses C for those, to be placed in front of the 3-letter code.

The best explanation I could find for Y usually being the start of the 3-letter code (usually as Z is sometimes used for smaller airports) was found here: http://enroute.aircanada.com/en/articles/this-is-your-captain-speaking-why-do-canadian-airport-codes-start-with-the-letter-y

Last month, I mentioned that the U.S. National Weather Service initially established airport codes. Canada was allotted a "Y"  for all airports associated with a weather office. Codes like YVR for Vancouver and YWG for Winnipeg make sense, but Canada's busiest airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, inherited the intriguing YYZ. Some travel companies use the non-standard YTO to identify Toronto, but it's actually a city code that encompasses not only YYZ but also YKZ (Buttonville Municipal Airport) and YTZ (Toronto City Centre Airport). You may also see the odd "Z,"  such as in ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick. 

[1995hoo]

Personally I think this practice should be used almost exclusively on freeway signage, with two exceptions. Approaching an urban area, there should be a sign for the city's main airport, with the full name of the airport, its code, and what exit to look for; subsequent signs should use only the code. Smaller airports which only have one (auxiliary guide) sign on each direction of the nearby freeway might as well use the full airport name on those signs.

A few problems with that: many cities have multiple airports, and airports need prominent signage even within a metro area because thr majority of travelers aren't usually driving in from outside the metro area.

If your city has multiple major airports, you should already be familiar with their FAA identification codes. If you've booked a flight out of an airport, you should have become aware of the airport's FAA identification code through the process of booking (as well as your destination airport and any layovers). If you for some reason don't bother to learn the FAA identification code of the major airport in your city through which you've booked a flight, you probably at least know which part of the city it's in, and you're probably the type of person who doesn't pay attention to the big green signs anyway.

You'd be surprised. I have a friend who plugged "Detroit Airport" into his GPS and drove to Detroit's municipal airport instead of Detroit-Wayne County International Airport.

People are REALLY REALLY bad at being observant.

Heh. Long before we were married, but after we started dating, my (later) wife booked herself a flight from Dulles to O'Hare to Honolulu. I was getting ready to drive her to the airport and she swore up and down she was flying out of Reagan and refused to check her tickets even when I said I had seen "IAD" on those tickets (this was back before e-tickets were ubiquitous). So I said what can you do and drove her to Reagan......it was rather satisfying to hear her call me grousing that her flight was out of Dulles! (But United put her on a flight out of Reagan and she did make her connection.)

Hearing a woman admit she's wrong is all too rare..... 

[Pete from Boston]

Personally I think this practice should be used almost exclusively on freeway signage, with two exceptions. Approaching an urban area, there should be a sign for the city's main airport, with the full name of the airport, its code, and what exit to look for; subsequent signs should use only the code. Smaller airports which only have one (auxiliary guide) sign on each direction of the nearby freeway might as well use the full airport name on those signs.

A few problems with that: many cities have multiple airports, and airports need prominent signage even within a metro area because thr majority of travelers aren't usually driving in from outside the metro area.

If your city has multiple major airports, you should already be familiar with their FAA identification codes. If you've booked a flight out of an airport, you should have become aware of the airport's FAA identification code through the process of booking (as well as your destination airport and any layovers). If you for some reason don't bother to learn the FAA identification code of the major airport in your city through which you've booked a flight, you probably at least know which part of the city it's in, and you're probably the type of person who doesn't pay attention to the big green signs anyway.

You'd be surprised. I have a friend who plugged "Detroit Airport" into his GPS and drove to Detroit's municipal airport instead of Detroit-Wayne County International Airport.

People are REALLY REALLY bad at being observant.

Heh. Long before we were married, but after we started dating, my (later) wife booked herself a flight from Dulles to O'Hare to Honolulu. I was getting ready to drive her to the airport and she swore up and down she was flying out of Reagan and refused to check her tickets even when I said I had seen "IAD" on those tickets (this was back before e-tickets were ubiquitous). So I said what can you do and drove her to Reagan......it was rather satisfying to hear her call me grousing that her flight was out of Dulles! (But United put her on a flight out of Reagan and she did make her connection.)

Hearing a woman admit she's wrong is all too rare..... 

I have (sort of) learned that the pain of pushing the detail beforehand is much easier than harvesting any pleasure out of being right in a mishap later.  The told-you-sos are much less bankable than the you-saved-my-ass moments.

[jwolfer]

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

Looks a bit like Australia at first glance. Until the roundabout sign shows driving on the right

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

On that note, does anyone know why (almost?) all of Canada's airport codes begin with 'Y'?

I think it has to do with an airport code assigned to different regions. Each region gets a letter. Canada's is Y, US is K I believe.

Actually, USA uses K and Canada uses C for those, to be placed in front of the 3-letter code.

The best explanation I could find for Y usually being the start of the 3-letter code (usually as Z is sometimes used for smaller airports) was found here: http://enroute.aircanada.com/en/articles/this-is-your-captain-speaking-why-do-canadian-airport-codes-start-with-the-letter-y

Last month, I mentioned that the U.S. National Weather Service initially established airport codes. Canada was allotted a "Y"  for all airports associated with a weather office. Codes like YVR for Vancouver and YWG for Winnipeg make sense, but Canada's busiest airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, inherited the intriguing YYZ. Some travel companies use the non-standard YTO to identify Toronto, but it's actually a city code that encompasses not only YYZ but also YKZ (Buttonville Municipal Airport) and YTZ (Toronto City Centre Airport). You may also see the odd "Z,"  such as in ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick. 

[realjd]

A follow-up to the British Columbia discussion ... this is how airports are typically signed at roundabouts (in order from left to right/first to last). Notice the yellow airport code (and try to ignore the junky Street View image quality):

On that note, does anyone know why (almost?) all of Canada's airport codes begin with 'Y'?

I think it has to do with an airport code assigned to different regions. Each region gets a letter. Canada's is Y, US is K I believe.

US airports technically start with K, but the K tends to be omitted with commercial airports, which typically passengers only see the last three letters of the code on their baggage.

You're confusing the three-letter IATA codes with the four-letter ICAO codes. Canadian airports have IATA codes starting with Y, and ICAO codes starting with CY (e.g., YYZ / CYYZ), whereas US airports have ICAO codes starting with K and the IATA codes could be anything. As for why Canadian airports all start with Y, I have no idea.

The ICAO only uses K for continental US airports. San Juan is SJU/TJSJ. Honolulu is HNL/PHNL. Anchorage is AZNC/PANC.