[OSM-talk] how are runways related to an airport/aerodrome

[Simon Hewison]

Madhav Vodnala wrote:
> This is a good idea. Is ICAO code same as the airport code as identified 
> by US DOT?.

ICAO codes are international, and cover all licenced airfields 
worldwide. They are four letters long.

Those DOT codes seem to be the same three letter codes as the IATA codes 
(which passengers and travel agents book tickets with), and in the USA, 
you can easily convert IATA to ICAO codes by prefixing with the letter 
K, so LAX becomes KLAX. Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers use ICAO codes.

In the rest of the world, it's not so easy, so EGLL is LHR = London 
Heathrow. (E tends to denote Europe, so EG = Europe, Great Britain). 
Someone once told me there was some reasoning behind the name of the 
ICAO codes, but it escaped me, and they couldn't name it at the time. 
France is LF (La France), Germany is ED (Europa Deutschland). eg . FRA = 
EDDF = Frankfurt am Main

--
Simon Hewison