What is an ICAO Code?

ICAO codes are 4-letter identifiers assigned by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Unlike IATA codes, they have a regional structure where the first letter indicates the region or country.

  • Format: 4 letters (e.g. KJFK, EGLL, RJAA)
  • Structure: First letter = region, second = country
  • Coverage: Every airport with a control tower has an ICAO code
KJFK

K = Contiguous US · JFK = identifier

ICAOIATAAirport NameCityCountry
ICAO Prefix Reference

The first letter of an ICAO code identifies the region:

A — South Pacific
B — Iceland/Greenland
C — Canada
D — Germany
E — Northern Europe
F — Central Africa
G — West Africa
H — East Africa
K — Contiguous US
L — Southern Europe
M — Caribbean
O — Middle East
P — North Pacific
R — East Asia
S — South America
T — Caribbean
U — Russia/CIS
V — South Asia
W — Maritime SE Asia
Y — Australia
Z — China/Mongolia