The story behind…the airport code and why Abu Dhabi International Airport is called AUH

You are at the airport, perhaps returning to Abu Dhabi from vacation or work, standing in front of a check-in desk.

Airline staff check your passport, issue a boarding pass and ask you to put your luggage on a carousel.

Finally, the printer buzzes and the luggage tag appears. But why does the label on the bag at Abu Dhabi International Airport say “AUH”?

It’s almost as confusing as Dubai International Airport, known as “DXB”. Where did X come from?

In fact, these strange-looking airport labels make a lot of sense.But you have to know how to crack the code, and in this case the master of the code is the International Air Transport Association — or IATA for short — the world’s trade association for airlines

IATA was established in Havana, Cuba in 1945 to promote cooperation among the world’s airlines. One of its roles is to issue airports with a unique three-letter code, also known as a location identifier, which is printed on luggage tags.

These letters should represent the airport name as closely as possible. So London’s Heathrow is LHR and New York’s John F. Kennedy is JFK.

To avoid confusion, the code never changes. They are also released in date order. That’s when problems can arise.

Abu Dhabi International Airport should definitely be ABU. In addition to being already owned by Khalivan Airport in Indonesia (now known as AA Bere Tallo Airport). So, what about ABD or AUD? These are Abadan Airport in Iran and Aldan Airport in Russia.

So, the next best thing is to code AbU dHabi. Or ah.

Dubai is slightly different. DUB has been adopted by Dublin, Ireland. DBA is Dalbandin of Pakistan. The letter X is often used as a filler letter in airport codes, so DXB was chosen.

Sometimes cities change their names. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport serves Mumbai, but the code BOM is located after Mumbai. Likewise, Beijing Capital International Airport is still PEK after the old name Beijing.

The airport also changes the name after selecting the code. Chicago O’Hare International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, named after Edward “Butch” O’Hare, a famous WWII fighter pilot. But the airport was originally called Orchard Field, so the airport code is ORD, or ORcharD.

Another airport in Dubai is Al Maktoum International Airport. But it is also known as Dubai World Centre, after the wider cargo and logistics hub around the airport, and is given the code DWC.

The arrangement of codes is limited to a mathematical arrangement of three letters, with a maximum possible of 17,576. Currently, IATA says 11,026 codes have been issued.

The UAE has more airport codes you might think. There are 12 in total.

Al Ain International Airport has AAN, Sharjah International Airport is SHJ and Fujairah International Airport is FJR. Ras Al Khaimah International Airport uses RKT because RAK is Marrakech Menara Airport in Morocco.

Al Bateen Executive Airport was the original Abu Dhabi International Airport, opened in 1969. It still uses the code AZI because Abu Dhabi was often written as Abu Dhabi at the time.

Small airports without multiple commercial airlines usually start with the letter X. Sir Baniyas Airport is a popular tourist destination with the airport code XSB.

The others are military air bases. DHF is Al Dhafra Air Base and NHD is Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai.

Of course, knowing the airport code on a luggage tag does not guarantee that it will reach your destination. But at least it shows it’s headed in the right direction.

Updated: August 2, 2022, 6:59 am