Time to Take Off Batman: Airports with Unusual Call Signs

MEDIA RELEASE
12 July 2011

Time to Take Off Batman: Airports with Unusual Call Signs

Kiwis may be more accustomed to Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch, but travellers can also touch down at the likes of Batman, Moron and SIN.

There’s literally a world of unusual names and abbreviations out there when it comes to airports.

“For every Heathrow or Manchester, there are a HAM and a Mafia,” Student Flights area leader, Heidi Janssen said.

“In particular, some of the three-letter IATA airport codes that are in place around the world are likely to bring a smile to the face.

“For example, travellers can actually land at AIR (Aripuna, Brazil), take off from SEA (Seattle-Tacoma, USA) or fly to FLY (Finley, NSW).”

Student Flights has scoured the world’s flight paths to find a selection of quirky airport names and codes.

Batman Airport in Batman, Turkey is a perennial favourite when lists of unusual airport names are compiled.

And naturally, wherever there’s a Batman there’s also a Robin. In this case, Robin is Robin Hood Airport in Sheffield, England.

Tanzania has a Mafia Airport, while Oklahoma has the LAW (Lawton Fort Sill Regional Airport) in its backyard.

Those who believe that airport facilities are a little on the nose, won’t be surprised to know there is a POO Airport (real name Pocos De Caldas Airport) in Brazil. Until it closed in the mid 1980s, there was also a Flushing Airport in Queens, New York.

Mongolia and Argentina both have Moron airports, while the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in West Bengal India was formerly known as Dum Dum.

There’s a privately-owned Beer Airport in Wisconsin, Brest Airport in Brittany, France and Butte airport (real name Bert Mooney Airport) in Montana.

The aviation world has also delivered more than its share of quirky airport codes.

In addition to POO and LAW, there are SIN (Singapore), FAT (Fresno Yosemite), DUD (Dunedin), LAP (La Paz, Mexico), HAM (Hamburg) and MAD (Madrid).

And that’s without even mentioning the obvious code for Japan’s Fukuoka Airport.

Inevitably, there’s TAX (Taliabu, Indonesia). And, if you’re in to politics, you can find the ALP (Nejrab, Syria) and the LNP (Wise Airport, USA).

Inter-galactic flights are on the way, but you can already fly to SUN (Sun Valley, Idaho).

There’s also a CAT (Cat Island Airport, Bahamas), a DOG (Dongala Airport, Sudan) and a PIG (Pitinga, Brazil).

For those seeking holiday romance, LUV (Langgur Airport, Indonesia) may be a good place to visit. Lovers may also fancy Germany’s Sembach Airport, although we won’t divulge its three-letter code.

If you’re planning to pop the question after all that holiday excitement, take off to YES (Yasouj Airport, Iran).

R&R may be on the agenda at NAP (Capodichino, Italy) or BED (Hanscom Field, USA).

If you feel like a drink, try RUM (Rumjatar, Nepal) or ALE (Alpine, USA).

Sporting examples include NBL (San Blas, Panama), NFL (Nas, USA), NRL (North Ronaldsay, UK), MLB (Melbourne, Florida), EPL (Mirecourt, France) and IPL (Imperial Court, USA).

There’s also an AFL (Alta Floresta, Brazil).

For keen texters, there’s no WTF but there is an LOL (Derby Field, USA) and an OMG (Omega Airport, Namibia).

If you’re short of cash while travelling, ATM (Altamira, Brazil), FOC (Fuzhou, China), ANZ (Angus Downs, Australia) or ASB (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) may be good places to visit.

If you’re trying to unravel the mysteries of life, try flying to FAQ (Freida River, PNG).

And if your holiday didn’t quite go to plan, maybe it’s because you visited SUX (Sioux Gateway Airport, Idaho) or DOH (Doha Airport, Qatar).

ENDS