IATA Airport Abbreviations
IATA Airport Abbreviations
[A list with abbreviations and their meaning is shown in two columns.]
[On top left the header reads:] Confused by those airport abbreviations used by your friends who fly a lot?
Just memorize this list!
[On top right an iMessage conversation is shown:] [There is a text in grey, on the left:] I'm flying into EWR tonight, then DTW tomorrow. [Answer (in blue, two message bubbles on the right):] Ok, cool I definitely know what those mean without Googling
[The list:]
AMD Amsterdam TMI Turkmenistan International BAE Beijing LAX Las Angalas ORD Orlando EWR Edwards Air Force Base IAD Idaho (Boise) PHL Pittsburgh JFC Jefferson City SWF Sherwood Forest IUD Washington Dulles KUL Kingdom of Loathing FYI Fayetteville STL Silent Hill LOL Louisville BUF Sunnydale ATL Atalante TBA Tribeca HGM Hogsmeade SMH Smithfield OMW Omaha BLT Baltimore ANC Ankh-Morpork YYY Toronto Downtown HSV Hunstville YYZ Toronto Pearson SAN San Diego MIA Colombo, Sri Lanka SAN San Juan CLT [Censored] SAN San Jose FHQ Fhqwhgads SAN San Francisco FFS Flagstaff Station SAN San Antonio DTF Dartford DWI Delaware International MDW Midway Atoll DFW Down for Whatever PDX Pordlanx DTW Down to Whatever SEA [Indicates Water Landing]

This comic is making fun of the three-letter codes assigned to mostly all airports in the world. These codes are overseen by the IATA (International Air Transport Association) . Some airport codes are very intuitive, taking letters from the city name (e.g., DEN for Denver ). Other codes are somewhat intuitive, taking a letter or two from the nearby city name but adding an additional letter (e.g., LAX for Los Angeles ). Other codes make seemingly no sense at all (e.g., ORD for Chicago's O'Hare International , due to it formerly being named Orchard Field). In many cases, the airport codes appear to have been chosen (or invented) because they are also common abbreviations and acronyms. Randall is obviously confused by these codes, replying to his friend that he definitely knows what those mean without googling, basically revealing that he used Google to search for the codes, and has created a list for us to memorize. In fact, this list is complete nonsense, with some of the "airports" mentioned not even existing, and the existing airports are all paired with the wrong codes, except for Huntsville (HSV) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ).
If we use the table provided, Randall's friend is flying into Edwards Air Force Base and then "down to whatever" -- not a real flight. [ citation needed ] In actuality, the friend is flying into Newark tonight and Detroit tomorrow.
The title text is a pun about the acronym IATA , stating it stands for I nternational A irpor T A bbreviation. This is as wrong as almost everything else here, because the real International Air Transport Association is not an organization only responsible for abbreviations in aviation. This acronym also leads to some redundancy in the title by making the true title of the comic be "International Airport Abbreviation Airport Abbreviations," which might be an example of RAS syndrome .
This comic could be inspired by the recent news about an Indian businessman charged with making a bomb threat at a Mumbai airport claiming he was misheard by a telephone operator while asking for the BOM to DEL flight status.
It may also be a reference to tongue-in-cheek ' teen texting code ' explanations for older generations.
[A list with abbreviations and their meaning is shown in two columns.]
[On top left the header reads:] Confused by those airport abbreviations used by your friends who fly a lot?
Just memorize this list!
[On top right an iMessage conversation is shown:] [There is a text in grey, on the left:] I'm flying into EWR tonight, then DTW tomorrow. [Answer (in blue, two message bubbles on the right):] Ok, cool I definitely know what those mean without Googling
[The list:]
AMD Amsterdam TMI Turkmenistan International BAE Beijing LAX Las Angalas ORD Orlando EWR Edwards Air Force Base IAD Idaho (Boise) PHL Pittsburgh JFC Jefferson City SWF Sherwood Forest IUD Washington Dulles KUL Kingdom of Loathing FYI Fayetteville STL Silent Hill LOL Louisville BUF Sunnydale ATL Atalante TBA Tribeca HGM Hogsmeade SMH Smithfield OMW Omaha BLT Baltimore ANC Ankh-Morpork YYY Toronto Downtown HSV Hunstville YYZ Toronto Pearson SAN San Diego MIA Colombo, Sri Lanka SAN San Juan CLT [Censored] SAN San Jose FHQ Fhqwhgads SAN San Francisco FFS Flagstaff Station SAN San Antonio DTF Dartford DWI Delaware International MDW Midway Atoll DFW Down for Whatever PDX Pordlanx DTW Down to Whatever SEA [Indicates Water Landing]
