We asked you to submit your best words, phrases or sentences made up using IATA airport codes…and you didn’t disappoint. Whilst some of your suggestions were a little rude to share here (it’s a family show) we were impressed with some of your ideas. Here’s a short list of our favorites and the sometimes ridiculous journeys they would create.
1. HEL – YES
A celebratory entry that brings together Helsinki Vantaa Airport (HEL) & Yasuj Airport (YES). Whilst many will be familiar with Helsinki’s airport, Yasuj is an airport serving the city of the same name, located in the Zagros Mountains of southwestern Iran. This journey would be a direct distance of 2,386 miles.
2. FRA – NCE
It’s a ‘nice’ day to take a ride from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) to Nice (NCE). One of the shorter journeys in our list, this trip takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes, with direct flights operated by Lufthansa (LH). Thanks to twitter user @suvarnabhumi787 for the suggestion. There are a lot of place names hidden in IATA codes out there. Also available is DAL-LAS (Dalas Love Field and Las Vegas Harry Reid).
3. MAD – MAN
A perfect trip for lovers of Flamenco and Oasis, this is another regular scheduled flight operated by Iberia (IB), British Airways (BA) and Vueling (VY) from Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) to Manchester Airport (MAN), taking around 2 hours and 35 minutes. For post-apocalyptic movie fans, ‘Mad Max’ is also (nearly) available by combining Madrid Barajas (MAD) with Maxton Airport (MXE) in Robeson County, North Carolina
4. ORD – DIN – ARY
In an anything but ordinary trip, we find ourselves taking the second-longest journey on our list from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport (ORD) to Vietnam’s Dien Bien Phu (DIN) to Ararat Airport (ARY) in Australia. A total distance of 12,832 miles. Suggested by user @aoifesumers on twitter.
5. YOK – OHH – ONO
Starting at Japan’s Yokohama Airport (YOK), we venture North to Russia’s Sakhalin Oblast to find Okra Airport (OHH) before a long eastbound journey to Ontario Municipal Airport (ONO). Total 5,375 miles (It’s easy if you try). Suggestion courtesy of @TheJeffon45.
6. BUS – TRA – PSA – REG – OOD
Ok, deep breath. Here we begin in Georgia at Batumi Airport (BUS), before heading Southeast to Tarama Airport (TRA) in Japan. We then reverse course back to Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport (PSA) in Italy, proceeding a short distance down to Calabria’s Reggio Airport (REG). We finish our journey all the way back in Western Australia at Koodaideri Mine Airport (OOD). An epic journey totalling 16,903 miles. Perhaps bus traps are good after all? Thanks to @jesseliOH on twitter for the suggestion.
7. MOH MAH MIA
Combine Sulawesi’s Morowali Maleo Airport (MOH) with Mahon Menorca Airport (MAH) and Miami International Airport (MIA), and you get one hell of a musical. Here we go again.
Honorable mentions
- HAM-BUR-GER – Hamburg Airport, Burbank Bob Hope Airport, Nueva Gerona Rafael Cabrera Airport. Submitted by @Kain_Aerger.
- DRE-AMS – Drummond Island Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Submitted by @BastiaanSB.
- SNA – CKS – Santa Ana John Wayne Airport, Carajas Airport. Submitted by @Hilary_Wynne.
Got a suggestion? Let us know in the comments.
Cover photo: Nelson Mejia, JetPhotos
![An example full flight summary response from the Flightradar24 API: { "data": [ { "fr24_id": "0987654321", "flight": "SK1415", "callsign": "SAS1415", "operated_as": "SAS", "painted_as": "SAS", "type": "A20N", "reg": "SE-DOY", "orig_icao": "ESSA", "orig_iata": "ARN", "datetime_takeoff": "2023-01-27T05:15:22", "runway_takeoff": "12R", "dest_icao": "EKCH", "dest_iata": "CPH", "dest_icao_actual": "EPWA", "dest_iata_actual": "WAW", "datetime_landed": "2023-01-27T06:15:10", "runway_landed": "27L", "flight_time": 3600, "actual_distance": 1007.74, "circle_distance": 6245, "category": "Passenger", "hex": "4A91F9", "first_seen": "2023-01-27T05:06:22", "last_seen": "2023-01-27T06:18:10", "flight_ended": "true" } ] }](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Flight-summary-API-cover-300x148.jpg)
![An example full flight summary response from the Flightradar24 API: { "data": [ { "fr24_id": "0987654321", "flight": "SK1415", "callsign": "SAS1415", "operated_as": "SAS", "painted_as": "SAS", "type": "A20N", "reg": "SE-DOY", "orig_icao": "ESSA", "orig_iata": "ARN", "datetime_takeoff": "2023-01-27T05:15:22", "runway_takeoff": "12R", "dest_icao": "EKCH", "dest_iata": "CPH", "dest_icao_actual": "EPWA", "dest_iata_actual": "WAW", "datetime_landed": "2023-01-27T06:15:10", "runway_landed": "27L", "flight_time": 3600, "actual_distance": 1007.74, "circle_distance": 6245, "category": "Passenger", "hex": "4A91F9", "first_seen": "2023-01-27T05:06:22", "last_seen": "2023-01-27T06:18:10", "flight_ended": "true" } ] }](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Flight-summary-API-cover-768x378.jpg)
10 Responses
Look at Ararat, Australia’s airport before deciding to fly there from Vietnam. It’s primarily used for gliders.
AUS-TRA-LIA
Austin to Tarama (Japan) to Liangping (China)
FLL – Fort Lauderdale, USA
IGH – Ingham, Australia
TRA – Tarama, Japan
DAR – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
TEN – Tongren, China
TYF – Torsby, Sweden
ORR – Yorketown, Australia
For an epic avgeek journey!
Bof, unless you demand commercial connections this doesn’t seem to be too much of a challenge, there are enough coded airports to spell almost anything.
Just for the taste of it,
WIE – Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Germany
NER – Chulman Neryungri Airport, Russia
SCH – Schenectady County Airport, USA
NIT – Aérodrome de Niort – Marais Poitevin, France
ZEL – Bella Bella (Campbell Island) Airport, Canada
(to be extended along MIT-PRE-ISE-LBE-ERE-NUN-DPE-TER-SIL-ERD-APF-ERL ad lib.)
might be an exhausting trip, but maybe worth it at least for the food.
Anyway, consider yourself lucky that there seems to be no WOF. Otherwise, it might have been just too tempting to challenge you to hop into a private plane and engage in this little holiday adventure:
FLI – Flateyri Holt Airport, Iceland
GHT – Ghat Airport, Libya
RAD – Road Town Seaplane Base, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
ART – Watertown International Airport, USA
WOF
OUR – Batouri Airport, Cameroon
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport – Lajes Airport – Damascus International Airport starts and ends in AMS-TER-DAM!
DAL-LAS like city DALLAS
Here’s one:
MKE-KEE-MOS
IAM – AMA – ZIN
i thought this was really cool
the route is as follows: In Amenas Airport – Rick Husband Amarillo Airport – Interlaken Airport
HEL-NAH (Helsinki-Tahuka Naha)
COT-TON-EYE-JOE (Cotulla La Salle-Tonu-Eagle Greek-Joensuu)
There was question on a BBC quiz show ‘pointless’ a few weeks ago. It was about airport codes that were names. Such as TON, MAN, Ham and BUS. There were 14 answers. I can’t remember them, but some are on here.