Gaya International Airport has been unsuccessful in changing its GAY airport code.
India’s civil aviation ministry rejected the request even though it’s been deemed “offensive” by Bharatiya Janata Party politicians. According to the government, IATA codes can only be changed for safety reasons, but that is not true. While IATA codes are generally meant to be permanent,
- Baltimore went from BAL to BWI and New York Idlewild went from IDL to JFK!
- Under Saddam Hussein, Baghdad International Airport used Saddam’s name and code SDA After the 2003 U.S. occupation, this was changed to BGW.
Gaya is considered a sacred city, and a pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists. Gautama Buddha obtained enlightenment nearby. But just wait until they BJP politicians learn the 3-letter airport code for Kochin International Airport in Kerala, India…
Credit: Rashid_Jorvee via Wikimedia Commons
Meanwhle, “LGBTQ rights activists argue that the call to change the airport code is a symptom of homophobia.”
Enilria points out,
Fukuoka (FUK) attempted to change to FUN in 2019 and failed. Interestingly, the GAY airport opened in 2002. Prior to it being assigned, the GAY code was unused. In 1998 and 2002 Sioux City (SUX) attempted to change their own airport code, also because politicians (the Mayor of Sioux City) thought the IATA code was uncomfortable and embarrassing.
Indeed, Sioux City was actually offered the GAY code before Gaya, but declined the honor. Better to just lean into it, Fly SUX!
- Airport codes beginning with N are reserved for naval air stations
- Codes beginning with W and K are reserved to avoid confusion with radio stations which is why MCI – Kansas City International – isn’t KCI (but local media refers to it frequently as KCI)
- Some airports kept National Weather Service codes when moving to 3 letter codes, and added an X (PDX, LAX, PHX)
- Two airports within the same region cannot have the same first and second, or second and third letters. The idea is to avoid confusion between DCA and IAD, IAH and HOU, DFW and DAL, etc.
- The FAA has 3 letter codes that are usually the same as IATA codes, but in the case of Phpenix Mesa Gateway the IATA code is AZA but that’s not what the FAA uses. The FAA code, used for general aviation, is IWA.
While it’s difficult to change an airport code, not only complying with the rules above but also making sure the code isn’t taken, it’s something that’s certainly been done.
However when Fresno Air Terminal (FAT) changed its name to Fresno Yosemite International, to market the airport as a gateway to Yosemite National Park, they were unsuccessful in getting their code changed to FYI. They can call themselves FYI if they wish, of course, even if it’s not used officially.
Denver (DEN) isn’t DIA, but local media refers to it as DIA. Why on earth I sometimes see Orlando news media referring to MCO as ‘OIA’ though I do not understand.
I’ve always been amused by airport codes, possibly because I lived in Fresno (FAT) for a time. I always wanted to ticket an itinerary from Fresno, California to Fukuoka, Japan. Or from Fresno to Pensacola, Florida.
@1990 indeed, only saw the reports about the United meltdown after I landed.
Getting stuck in Philly last week aside, I’ve had some good luck.
Last summer my family went to Europe and luckily we took Condor and escaped the Delta meltdown. Some of the extended family members got caught in the aftermath though.
I once had an itinerary booked from Hailey, Idaho (Sun Valley) to San Diego on Alaska: SUN-SEA-SAN.
What do the proponents even want to change it to? GYA is already taken with Guayaramerín Airport in Bolivia. Anything else would have to be different enough no longer trigger a ready reference to Gaya. It sounds like they want to change from something that a few people find offensive to something that everyone would find confusing.
@IsaacM — Woohoo! Glad you made it.
@InLA — You might be one of the few people who actually read the post and took the alleged ‘controversy’ seriously. The rest of us were mostly sharing fun airport codes. GOT any? (Gothenburg Landvetter Airport in Sweden). Or maybe, we should re-LAX… (Los Ang…, well, I hope you knew that one!)