Airport Codes Database | IATA Codes by Country

Searchable reference of airports worldwide — IATA codes, city codes, and country codes used in Amadeus, Galileo, and Sabre GDS.

This airport codes database provides a searchable reference of airports worldwide, including airport names, cities, countries, and IATA codes. Use the search box below to find any airport by name, city, country, or IATA code.

Airport codes are the foundation of every airline reservation, ticketing process, flight operation, and Global Distribution System (GDS) command. Whether you’re a travel agent, airline professional, aviation student, or GDS user working with Amadeus, Galileo, or Sabre — accurate airport codes are essential to every booking.

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When You’d Use This Database

These are the four most common situations where a quick airport code lookup saves time or prevents a booking error:

• A passenger gives you a city name, not an airport. If a client says “I need to fly to London,” you must decide whether to quote LHR, LGW, STN, LTN, or LCY — or use the city code LON to return all of them. The database shows you every option for that city.
• You see an unfamiliar code on a ticket or PNR. Amadeus displays airport codes everywhere — in segments, in availability, in fare rules, and in MCT tables. Before you quote or rebook, verify the code matches the city the passenger actually wants.
• You’re checking Minimum Connecting Time. MCT is defined per airport pair, not per city. You must know the exact airport codes to look up the correct connection time — especially at multi-airport cities where a connection between two different airports requires ground transport.
• You’re building a routing for a complex itinerary. Multi-city and round-the-world bookings require you to know which airport serves which destination. Some cities have domestic and international airports that are far apart and cannot be treated interchangeably.

Multi-Airport Cities — The Codes Beginners Mix Up

Some of the most common booking errors come from confusing an airport code with a city code at a multi-airport city. Here are the ones that come up most often in GDS work:

City Code	City	Airports Included
LON	London	LHR, LGW, STN, LTN, LCY, SEN
NYC	New York	JFK, LGA, EWR
PAR	Paris	CDG, ORY, BVA
TYO	Tokyo	NRT, HND
MIL	Milan	MXP, LIN, BGY
ROM	Rome	FCO, CIA
BUE	Buenos Aires	EZE, AEP
SAO	São Paulo	GRU, CGH, VCP
IST	Istanbul	IST (main), SAW (Sabiha Gökçen)
DXB	Dubai	DXB (main), DWC (Al Maktoum)

Note the difference: IST, DXB, and similar city codes are also airport codes — because the primary airport carries the same code as the metropolitan area. When you search with that code, you get flights from the primary airport only. To include secondary airports, search by city name or use the city code if the GDS provides one.

What Is an IATA Airport Code?

An IATA airport code is a three-letter code assigned by the International Air Transport Association to identify airports and metropolitan areas worldwide. These codes are used by airlines, travel agencies, and GDS platforms to standardize flight searches, ticketing, and baggage handling.

Examples include:

• CAI – Cairo International Airport, Egypt
• DXB – Dubai International Airport, UAE
• JFK – John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, USA
• LHR – London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom
• RUH – King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

How Airport Codes Are Used in Amadeus

Airport codes appear in almost every Amadeus command. Here are the four most common examples:

Neutral availability search: Cairo (CAI) → Dubai (DXB) on 25 December

Decode: what city does code CAI belong to?

Encode: what is the airport code for Cairo?

Minimum connecting time at the CAI↔DXB airport pair

The same codes are used in Galileo and Sabre with slightly different command syntax — but the codes themselves are universal across all three GDS platforms.

Airport Code vs. City Code

A common source of confusion for beginners is the difference between an airport code and a city code:

• Airport code – Identifies one specific airport (JFK, LHR, CAI)
• City code – Identifies a metropolitan area with multiple airports (NYC, LON, PAR)

When you search using a city code, the GDS returns flights from all airports serving that city. Using an airport code limits the search to a specific airport.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

These are the three errors that cause the most rebooking work for new agents:

1. Booking a city code when the passenger wants a specific airport. If a client says “London Heathrow,” entering LON will return Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton flights too. Always confirm the airport, not just the city.
2. Assuming a city code exists everywhere. Some cities have multiple airports but no IATA city code — you must search each airport individually. Damascus and several Middle Eastern cities behave this way.
3. Confusing a country code with a city code. “AE” is the country code for the UAE; “DXB” is the airport code for Dubai. They serve completely different purposes in Amadeus commands.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an IATA airport code?
A 3-letter code assigned by IATA to identify airports. Example: CAI for Cairo.

What is the difference between airport code and city code?
Airport codes identify specific airports (JFK), city codes identify metropolitan areas (NYC).

How are airport codes used in GDS?
They form the origin and destination in every flight search, booking, and ticket command.

How often is this database updated?
Regularly, reflecting IATA changes and new airport openings.