Definition
KAVL is the four-letter ICAO location identifier for Asheville Regional Airport, a public-use airport serving Asheville, North Carolina. In the United States, ICAO identifiers for most airports are formed by prefixing the three-letter FAA identifier (AVL) with the letter K. The airport is referenced in FAA instrument procedure charts and training materials as an example of approach and radar operations.
Plain English
KAVL is the official code that identifies Asheville Regional Airport in flight plans, charts, and air traffic communications. The K at the front marks it as an airport in the contiguous United States.
Context Anchor
Seen on instrument procedure charts, radar approach examples, and FAA handbook figures where the airport for the procedure must be identified clearly.
Derivation
The K prefix comes from the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) system, which assigns each country a letter block for airport codes. K covers the contiguous 48 states. AVL is the original three-letter FAA identifier for Asheville. Putting them together gives the worldwide-unique code KAVL.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots reference this code when receiving radar vectors or approach clearances to the airport.
Intuition Check
Do not treat KAVL as a radio frequency, runway, or approach name. It is the airport identifier for Asheville Regional Airport.
Example Sentence 1
We filed KCLT direct KAVL at 8,000 feet for the training flight into Asheville.
Example Sentence 2
Weather at KAVL was below VFR minimums so the pilot requested an ASR approach.