ICAO CODES

Both ICAO and IATA have their own airport and airline code systems. ICAO uses 4-letter airport codes, and 3-letter airline codes. IATA is scheduled to eventually switch its codes to the ICAO standard.

ICAO is also responsible for issuing alphanumeric aircraft type codes that contain 3 or 4 characters. These codes provide the identification that is typically used in flight plans. An example of this is the Boeing 747 that would use (depending on the variant) B741, B742 ,B743, etc.

ICAO provides telephony designators to aircraft operators worldwide. These consist of the three letter airline identifier and a one or two word designator. They are usually, but not always, similar to the aircraft operator name. Thus the identifier for Aer Lingus is EIN and the designator is Shamrock while Japan Airlines International is JAL and Japan Air . So a flight by Aer Lingus numbered 111 would be written as "EIN111" and pronounced "Shamrock 111" on the radio, while a similarly numbered Japan Airlines flight would be written as "JAL111" and "Japan Air 111".

ICAO Aircraft Registration Prefixes are used to identify the place where the aircraft registers at. For example, B-H is identified as Hong Kong, then we can know that B-HKE is a plane which is registered at Hong Kong. Take another example, D is known as Germany, therefore D-AILS is a plane which is registered at Germany.

Similarly most airlines employ a distinctive and internationally recognized call sign that is normally spoken during radio transmissions as a prefix to the flight number. The flight number is normally that published in their public timetable and appearing on the arrivals and departure screens in the airport terminals served by that particular flight.

Some call-signs are less obviously associated with a particular airline than others. This might be for historic reasons, or possibly to avoid confusion with a call sign used by an established airline.

Finally The ICAO airport code is a four-letter alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The ICAO codes are used by air traffic control and airline operations such as flight planning. They are not the same as the IATA codes encountered by the general public, which are used for airline timetables, reservations, and baggage handling. ICAO codes are also used to identify other locations such as weather stations, International Flight Service Stations or Area Control Centers, whether or not they are located at airports.

Unlike the IATA codes, the ICAO codes have a regional structure, are not duplicated and are comprehensive. In general, the first letter is allocated by continent and represents a country or group of countries within that continent. The second letter generally represents a country within that region, and the remaining two are used to identify each airport. The exception to this rule is larger countries that have single-letter country codes, where the remaining three letters identify the airport.

Top

ICAO Aircraft Registration Prefixes List Mostly European

(for a full list check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_call_sign)

Top

Airline Call Signs Mostly European

(for a full list check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_call_sign)