An airport code print rests on three letters, and they do a surprising amount of work. They're the field somebody learned to fly at, the base they flew out of for fifteen years, or the airport they went through once to start something. What an airport code is covers where the codes come from and why most airports carry two of them. To check a code before you type it, use the airport code lookup. Heathrow (LHR), Stansted (STN) and Birmingham (BHX) each have a code page, and Manchester (MAN) and Edinburgh (EDI) are linked in the questions further down.
Heathrow, rendered from the print file: a longer airport name is set smaller to fit its line.
What goes on an airport code print
Four fields, and only the first is required.
Airport code. Set large in navy, centred. The type size is drawn for a short code, so three or four characters sit best.
Airport name. Optional. Printed in capitals on the line beneath the code.
Country. Optional. Joined onto the same line as the airport name, separated by a middle dot.
Coordinates. Optional. The bottom line, printed exactly as you type it.
All four fields filled in for Edinburgh, rendered from the print file an order uses.
Nothing else goes on it. There's no message box, no date field and no room for a quotation, and a page that promised any of those would be describing a product this site has never had. A navy double border frames the lot, and on the paper and canvas formats you can put a faint compass rose behind the type or leave it plain. The mug and the bottle use a different, smaller layout, so the compass rose isn't offered on those.
You see the layout update as you type. Each line is measured against the size you have picked as you go, and if one is too long to print legibly the page says which line to shorten and keeps the add-to-bag button switched off until you do. The same check runs again on the server when you go to pay, so a line that could not be printed cannot be bought however you got to the till.
Airport code print formats: poster, frame or mug
Fewer surfaces than the photographic print, because type needs a layout and not every product has one. Paper takes it, framed or bare. So does canvas, framed or bare, along with the ceramic mug, the steel bottle and a digital download. Metal and plywood carry no text layout, so they are not offered here. On the wall describes each surface, and the formats page carries the live sizes and prices.
The mug's own layout, shown flat: no double border and no compass rose.
Each one is printed to order and arrives in 4 to 9 working days. Delivery inside the UK costs nothing, and the bag shows the same window before you pay.
Can I return an airport code print?
Yes. It is set from our standard list of airports, so you can change your mind up to 14 days after it arrives and send it back unused for a refund; return postage is yours unless it is faulty. If it arrives faulty, damaged or not as described, tell us straight away and we replace it or refund you. A digital file is different: you can cancel within 14 days unless you ask us to send the file at once and confirm you lose that right.
Can I get an airport code as a poster?
Yes. Paper takes the design, framed or bare, and so do canvas, the ceramic mug, the steel bottle and a digital download. Metal and plywood carry no text layout, so they are not offered. On the wall describes each surface.The bottle layout, shown flat. It drops the country.
Which airports can I choose?
You type the code, and three or four characters sit best. If you are not sure of it, the airport code lookup finds it from the airport's name (the lookup includes 1,296 airports), and the name, country and coordinates are filled in from the code for you to check.
What if the airport name is too long for the line?
The page measures every line against the size you picked, names the one to shorten, and keeps the add-to-bag button switched off until it fits. The same check runs again on the server at checkout.
Can I add a name or a message?
No. The template takes a code, an airport name, a country and a set of coordinates. There's no name field on anything this site sells.
Are airport codes 3 or 4 letters?
Both. IATA gives an airport a three-letter code, the one you see when you book, and ICAO gives it a four-letter code for flight plans: Edinburgh is EDI and EGPH. What an airport code is explains the two. The print is drawn for the short one, and three or four characters sit best on its large line.
What is the airport typeface?
We can answer for this print only. Every line on it is set in Archivo Bold, and the preview on this page draws from the same font file the print is made from, so what you type is what prints.
What are the 3-letter airport codes for the UK?
Our airport data, taken from the public-domain OurAirports list, holds 97 UK airports with a three-letter code, among them LHR for Heathrow, LGW for Gatwick, MAN for Manchester, EDI for Edinburgh and BHX for Birmingham. The airport code lookup finds any of them by name.LGW for Gatwick, rendered from the print file.
What are all the airport codes?
IATA assigns them. Its own description of its coding says airlines and booking systems may ask it to assign a location its own three-letter code, and bus and ferry stations can qualify where they connect to air travel. Our lookup covers the 112 UK and Irish airports that have one, plus the major airports worldwide. The print takes whatever code you type, so an airport outside the lookup prints the same.
Does every airport have a different 3-letter code?
IATA gives each location a code of its own. Not every airfield has one, though: of the 1,059 UK airports, airstrips and seaplane bases that OurAirports lists as open, 97 carry an IATA code.
Why do airports have three letter abbreviations?
For booking. IATA says airlines and reservation systems request them to identify a location, which is why the three letters are the ones on a booking. On an international flight plan, pilots file the four-letter ICAO code instead.
What is the 3-letter code for Heathrow airport?
LHR. Its four-letter ICAO code is EGLL. Type LHR in the box at the top of this page and the airport name, country and coordinates fill in from our airport data.
What are some unusual airport codes?
A few UK codes do not start with the airport's own initial. Teesside International is MME, Cornwall Airport Newquay is NQY and George Best Belfast City is BHD. Each one prints like any other code.
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