Florida airports are numerous. Here's a list of the letter codes for all of them
If you are hungry for some alphabet soup, you've come to the right place.
We have cooked up something fun for you, but it has nothing to do with food. If you didn't know it already, the 21 federalized airports in Florida all have an identification code. One place you can see these codes is on the baggage claim ticket attached to your luggage.
Some of these letter codes make sense based on the location of the airport, and some of the codes based on the airport's location don't make sense. Like why the heck is the code for Orlando International Airport MCO? Read on to find out!
Also known as IATA airport codes, these codes are often based on the first three letters of the airport's city. For example, ATL is the location identifier for the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and MEX is used for Mexico City. The airport codes can also refer to the city's initials – HKG for Hong Kong or SLC for Salt Lake City.
How many airports are there in Florida?
There are more than 60 airports in Florida. Of those, 21 airports are considered "federalized" and have three-letter codes.
What are the letter codes for Florida airports?
Here is a closer look:
DAB (Daytona Beach International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? In 1992 the Daytona Beach Regional Airport was transformed into the Daytona Beach International Airport. The new $46 million airport surpassed the design of the former airport, adding an international terminal and a newly extended 10,500-foot runway to accommodate larger aircraft.
ECP (Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? The airport opened for commercial flights on May 23, 2010, and is the first international airport in the United States designed and built since the September 11 attacks.
(EYW) Key West International Airport
DID YOU KNOW? Aviation history for Monroe County began in Key West when Augustin Parla flew a bi-wing seaplane to Cuba on May 19, 1913. Without a compass to guide him, he left Key West carrying the Cuban Flag that Jose Marti had carried with him during his travels in Florida raising monies for the Cuban cause.
FLL (Fort Lauderdale International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? World War 1 aviator Merle Fogg purchased an abandoned 9-hole golf course that was destroyed in the 1926 Miami hurricane for $1,200 in 1928. On May 1, 1929, the airport officially opened as Merle Fogg Field, with two criss-cross unpaved runways.
GNV (Gainesville Regional Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? Construction of the airport began in April 1940 as a Works Project Administration project.
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JAX (Jacksonville International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? The airport's two runways form a "V" pattern (with the tip of the "V" pointing west).
MCO (Orlando International Airport): What does MCO airport stand for?
DID YOU KNOW? The airport code MCO stands for the airport's former name, McCoy Air Force Base
MIA (Miami International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? Miami International is Florida's busiest airport by total aircraft operations, total cargo traffic and total passenger traffic
MLB (Melbourne Orlando International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? In July 2021, the airport announced a $61 million renovation and expansion, in part to prepare for the arrival of TUI Airways' operations from the United Kingdom.
PBI (Palm Beach International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? Palm Beach International Airport began operations in 1936 as Morrison Field. It was named in honor of Grace Morrison, a key participant in the planning and organization of the airfield.
PGD (Punta Gorda Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? In 1941, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built an airfield on the current airport property as a combat pilot training base for the U.S. Army Air Forces' (USAAF) Third Air Force, naming the facility Punta Gorda Army Airfield. By 1944, the base reached its peak in housing 1,000 personnel, including two squadrons of student pilots.
PIE (St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? The airport is on the west shoreline of Tampa Bay, six miles (10 km) north of St. Petersburg, (the "birthplace of commercial air transportation"). Barely a decade after the pioneer flight of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the first tickets for airline travel were sold by the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line of Tony Jannus to fare-paying passengers.
PNS (Pensacola International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? Despite its name, the airport does not offer scheduled international flights, though chartered international flights are not uncommon. This airport is one of the five major airports in North Florida, and among these is the second largest by passenger count, only behind Jacksonville.
RSW (Southwest Florida International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? RSW stands for Regional Southwest and it serves the Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Naples areas. The airport just celebrated its 40th anniversary. RSW set a passenger record in 2022 with 10.3 million.
SFB (Orlando Sanford International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? Orlando Sanford International Airport started life as Naval Air Station Sanford with the airport codes NRJ and KNRJ. Commissioned on November 3, 1942, the base initially concentrated on advanced land-based patrol plane training. It was used by the United States Navy until it closed in 1969.
SGJ (Northeast Florida Regional Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? In 2016, a new 23,305-square-foot (2,165.1 m2) terminal building was constructed to handle increased passenger service and can accommodate four passenger gates. The terminal building has car rental counters within the facility for Avis, Enterprise and Hertz, and convenient parking lots directly adjacent to the airline terminal.
SRA (Sarasota Bradenton International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? Before the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport was built, both Sarasota and Bradenton had their own airfields: Bradenton's Bradenton Airport and Sarasota's Lowe Field.
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TLH (Tallahassee International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? The airport began as Tallahassee Municipal Airport with a ceremony on April 23, 1961. The flag of the United States was presented to the City of Tallahassee by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I fighter ace and Chairman of the Board of Eastern Airlines.
TPA (Tampa International Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? Tampa International Airport's Landside/Airside terminal was the first of its type in the world. There is a central Landside Terminal where baggage and ticketing functions take place. The Landside Terminal is surrounded by four Airside satellites where airliner embarkment and disembarkment occur.
VPS (Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? Only commercial air traffic is allowed. Non-commercial operations by general aviation and business aircraft must use nearby Destin Executive Airport.
VRB (Vero Beach Regional Airport)
DID YOU KNOW? In 1935 Eastern Airlines started passenger and mail service from Vero Beach,[5] making Vero Beach the smallest little airport in Florida to have airmail service,[2] continuing until about January 1973. By the end of the 1930s the airport got runway lights and radio and teletype machines
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What are the identity letter codes for Florida airports?
