The Reason Why Canadian Airport Codes Start With Y

For most airports, there appears to be a sort-of logic when it comes to their three letter International Air Transport Association (IATA)–designated shorthand code. New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport's abbreviation is "JFK," for example, coinciding with the airport's namesake, while Miami International Airport takes its IATA code from the first three letters of the city name, "MIA." This is true internationally as well with major hubs like Seoul-Incheon International Airport shortened to "ICN" for the city in which it's located or Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, using "DOH." There is a notable exception to this IATA code logic though, and it affects most of Canada's airports.

Most of Canada's airport IATA code notably start with the letter "Y" despite none of their major airport names starting with the letter. Vancouver International Airport, for instance, is "YVR" while Toronto Pearson is puzzlingly known by its "YYZ" three-letter code. Ironically, YVR is considered one of the best airports in North America, while YYZ is often thought to be one of the most stressful. Those observations aside, their shared unconventional naming scheme has roots in an interesting history of technology and travel. Inherited from weather communication towers, the "Y" in Canadian airport codes used to indicate whether or not a certain airport had a radio station, a vital piece of knowledge for aircraft hoping to land.

Historically, weather towers near airports were assigned a two-letter code, a vestige of when names were communicated via Morse code and therefore necessitated extreme abbreviations. The two-letter weather tower codes (which also served as radio call signs) would indicate the location of a nearby airport, a system that worked well with limited air travel. However, as air travel became more common, the two-letter system, which only allowed for 670 unique code combinations, was swiftly becoming antiquated. In the late 1940s, IATA adopted a three-letter code, allowing for over 17,000 combinations of letters so each airport would have their own and prevent confusion.

In Canada, a national network of weather towers built in the 1930s had all been assigned their respective two-letter codes. Following IATA's lead in the '40s, Canada tacked on a "Y" to their weather tower codes for many of their nearby airports. Y? Well, the Y indicated if the airfield had a radio and/or weather tower that could assist in flight navigation or landing.

Conversely, some weather stations were assigned a "W" at the start of their codes, meaning "without." What you're seeing in today's codes essentially means "yes, Vancouver Airport does have radio and weather communications." That Y prefix stuck, and Canada's airports have that unusual code starter, with the exception of some smaller airports like Shamattawa Airport (ZTM) in Manitoba and Edmonton/Villeneuve Airport (ZVL) in Alberta. Though, some of Canada's smallest airports, like the remote Sable Island largely considered to be a Canadian gem, still follow the "Y" tradition. That one has an airport code of "YSA."

While we call out Canada for their airport codes, there are a number of other odd balls, too. In the U.S., a number of airports carry the suffix "X" in their codes, like LAX (Los Angeles, California). While you may think the "X" stands for something interesting like "international" or "crossing," it was just a placeholder during that initial 1940s IATA coding. The two-letter code for Los Angeles was "LA" at the time, so the added "X" was meant to be a temporary marking, but it stuck.

Other strange codes indicate the airport's locational histories, often referring to the original town, village, or airfield the airport was in or near. This is true for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport — their "CVG" code is a nod to the airport's location near Covington, Kentucky, the closet town in existence at the time of the airport's construction. Today, the airport is technically in Hebron.

Some strange codes refer to old names for the airport. Orlando's "MCO", was formerly the McCoy Air Force Base and retains the IATA code. Newer airports, though, may run into the unique challenge of trying to find a code that doesn't already exist. This was the case for the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City, Florida, which opened in 2010. There weren't many combinations available that indicated the region name, so they opted for "ECP" — a humorous abbreviation for "Everyone Can Party," according to popular lore. At the end of the day, Canada will always have their "Y" as a starting point, even for new airports.