Plain English Meaning

A four-letter code used around the world to identify a specific airport. In the lower 48 states, you usually just put a 'K' in front of the airport's three-letter code.

Full Definition

Standardized four-letter location codes assigned by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to identify airports and other aeronautical facilities worldwide. In the contiguous United States, ICAO identifiers are formed by adding the prefix 'K' to the existing three-letter FAA identifier (for example, the FAA identifier DFW becomes the ICAO identifier KDFW). Alaska uses the prefix 'PA' and Hawaii uses 'PH'. ICAO identifiers are used in flight plans, international operations, and most flight planning systems.

Context Anchor

Seen in airport information, instrument charts, weather briefings, flight planning, and databases.