Whenever you travel somewhere by airplane, you must have seen some codes on your ticket. For example, if you are going from Delhi to Mumbai, then you must have seen DEL-BOM (ie Delhi and Mumbai). These are letters. This is a special type of code. What does these codes mean? We will talk about this in detail. But, earlier it is important to know that till now you used to see BOM code while flying from Delhi to Mumbai. At the same time, now a new code is also going to be recorded. Over time, India is on the path of development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Navi Mumbai International Airport in Mumbai on 30 September. This airport has been given the NMI code. Let us now know the full story of these codes, what is their importance and how they are given.
Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate
The first phase of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 September. The central government had set several deadlines for the inauguration of the airport – 1 January, January 31, March 31 and June 2025. Finally, in July this year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the airport and set the last date for 30 September.
Code story
You may not have seen carefully while traveling, but a code is written on your ticket. Have you ever wondered what these three-four letters mean? Why is it written? Or how are they released? Imagine that there are so many airports in the world and each has a different code. Let’s understand the interesting story of the code …
Code of some airports
City Airport Code Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport BOM Kolkata Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport CCU Chennai International Airport Maa Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport Del Bangalore Kempagowda International Airport BLR BLR Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyd Ahmedabad AMD AMD International Airport Jai Patna Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Pat Srinagar Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport SXR
Aadhaar card is made for all citizens in India. All of you have a specific number in the Aadhaar card. A number that will not be in any other Aadhaar card in the whole country. Its purpose is to make your Aadhaar card unique and different from the Aadhaar card of other people. The same thing applies with the airport. There are many airports in the world. There are many airports in India too. A specific code is used to ease the identity of all these airports to be easily understood. So that any kind of confusion between countries and cities can be avoided. The codes of the airport are seen on the tickets related to tickets and baggage tags to the passengers. They are also used by air traffic controllers and pilots.
Who gives the code?
ICAO and International Air Transport Association (IATA) are two official organizations that release airport codes, but their code varies. Each official airport in the world is given to three-desert code from IATA, such as (DEL) and four-axis code, such as Damam/King Fahd International Airport of Saudi Arabia, which is one of the largest airports in the world. The ICAO code, also known as the location indicator, consists of four-deserts codes that pilot and air traffic controllers use their charts, on-board systems and communication.
The IATA code, also known as IATA Location Identifier, contains three-deserts which are used to identify airports. In fact, the IATA airport code is often based on the first three letters in the city of the airport. Just as DEL is used for Delhi, Ahmedabad (AMD) is used.
Why are these codes given?
Identification- Each airport has a specific code, allowing it to be immediately identified in any corner of the world.
Tickets and boarding passes – This code is written on flight tickets, boarding passes and luggage tags to find out from which airport the flight is leaving or where the flight will go.
Pilot and Air Traffic Controller – Pilot and Air Traffic Controllers use these codes in charts, systems and communications to avoid illusion.
International Standards – Due to having a single system worldwide, airports of all countries are easily connected to each other.
Fast and easy information – Smaller codes are easier than speaking the name of the entire airport, such as DEL Saying, Indira Gandhi International Airport, is smaller than being Delhi.
Gaya Airport Code Dispute
There is a very interesting story of this code. These codes show from which airport you are traveling from which airport. However, there was a dispute in the country regarding this code. BJP MPs were angry at the code of Gaya in Bihar. He raised the matter in Parliament. Actually, Gaya’s code is Gay. He was unhappy with this code.
BJP leader Bhim Singh questioned whether it was true that the code of the Gaya International Airport is ‘Gay’, which people consider socially and culturally humiliating and uncomfortable. He also asked whether the government is considering changing the ‘Gay’ code name to create a more respectable and culturally appropriate code. In response to this question
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Muralidhar Mohol said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that the three-desert IATA code given to the airport is considered permanent.
These codes are changed only under special circumstances, that too usually in cases related to air safety.
He said that these codes are usually based on the first three letters of the name of the place where the airport is located.
The minister also stated that earlier also the Gaya airport code was requested to change the code, but the IATA has clarified that under its rules (resolution 763), the code can only be converted into exceptional circumstances.
