London Heathrow (LHR) - United Kingdom Greg Brown June 15, 2014 at 1:50 pm LHR is the best of all the UK airports and compares favorably with other major hubs in Europe. There ares several effective modes to get into central London. Security is effective and termnal 5 has many fun ways to pass time that must be spent waiting. Heathrow Airport Is The Best Harry Armstrong June 8, 2013 at 2:15 pm I love Heathrow Airport and would consider the Airport to be brilliant; I have had no problems with the staff at Heathrow Airport. I will one day hopefully work with Heathrow Airport; I would like to become an Air steward for Virgin Atlantic. This is the closest Airport to me and I Love it! I give them 1000/100 PERCENT! Pretty Good Considering Mike Moore November 30, 2010 at 9:29 pm I have used LHR about 14 times in the last 6 years and yes is crowded, very crowded at times, yes it could be cleaner.

It could be better in many ways but considering the huge number of people that use this airport every day, it pretty good. The best things about LHR are that the signage is really very good, it’s easy to find your way around, and the airport staff are never anything but very helpful and smiling. Getting from one terminal to another can take some time, but it could be much worse, (try Manila International for example). Have a little patience and remember you are in the world’s largest and busiest airport. That considered it’s pretty good. Little Choice Edward Ferrell September 28, 2010 at 11:16 pm 3 stars only because of all the places one can get to from LHR. And it isn’t about a 3rd runway; it’s about customer service. Never enough chairs in T3 or T5 for the number of people, either in the main waiting area or in the gates. T1 is actually OK now that it is used for Star Alliance. For now anyway. Always queues at food shops and not enough seating. Who wants to balance food and drink on your lap in all the hustle an bustle. In T3 it’s all about duty-free shopping.

In T5 it’s absolutely great landside but airside is just like T3: crowded with the same old same old. At best it needs to have UK flights that are feeders only and not point-to-point. And Gatwick is every bit as easy to get to as LHR. Awful September 23, 2010 at 5:19 pm Unorganized Airport Micheal Derek February 4, 2010 at 10:33 pm I hate the airports when they put us on bus to change terminals. Unfortunately, Heathrow is one of them. When I was on the bus, the bus driver purposely drove over Indian workers who were working on the ground and the Indian workers wanted to stop the bus to argue with the bus driver but the driver did not stop. Heathrow Mike Moore June 6, 2009 at 3:39 pm I have used LHR on a large number of occasions and I will continue to use because I have no choice. Yes, it is big and spread out, but getting around is not difficult but could be made easier. The food outlets are varied but very overpriced.

If you are going to be here for some time, bring food with you, doing so will save you lots of money. Huge numbers of retail outlets, again overpriced, but you can pass a lot of time window shopping. Easily the best thing about this airport are the staff. I have nothing but praise for the employees here, very helpful and friendly, never once met a rude staff member here. This airport is functional, Terminal 1 needs to be renovated but considering its size and the number of passengers that pass through it copes very well. 8/10 for the airport. 10/10 for the staff. Not The Best Roberto Perez April 10, 2009 at 2:53 am As air crew I travelled to and seen loads of airports worldwide and I m sorry to say LHR is not anywhere near the best. Too big, too confusing and probably the worst place in terms of connecting flights if you don’t like to walk for miles. That is unless you are flying Star Alliance as all its airline member are at Terminal 1. LHR Juke Dilliway March 16, 2009 at 8:37 pm Never had a problem at Heathrow.

It’s just run by an awful company! Terminal Five is amazing! But LHR has some amazing plans ahead. It’s always a pleasure flying out of Heathrow. Frankfurt was a mess last time and as for CDG, well, speaks for itself. I admit there are better airports, but LHR is an amazing place, it’s huge, it’s busy, it had Concorde!! Home to BA, I love LHR! Ah, Heathrow. . . Stuart Fraser March 9, 2009 at 10:49 pm Compared to other European international airports, such as Frankfurt or Amsterdam’s Schippol, Heathrow is poor. In its defense, it has improved with the opening of Terminal 5, as now there is less traffic going through Terminals 1 and 3, so times spent standing in check-in and security lines has decreased. However, it’s still not great, with the emphasis being on shopping, not flying. If you are using Heathrow as a lay-over to catch a connecting flight, try to book all your flights with Star Alliance partners, as almost all these Airlines are based at the same terminal (Terminal 1).

If you do have to change terminals, try and book flights that leave you a four hour lay-over. Changing terminals can be done in less than four hours (obviously), but by the time you factor in security checks, finding your gate, getting something to eat, etc. four hours would be my recommended stress free time window. If you are getting a domestic flight, prepare yourself for the wait in gate, wait in gate, wait in gate and then mad sprint for boarding when they announce your gate five minutes before boarding. Oh, and domestic flights through Heathrow are very rarely on time. LHR Darryl Hills March 4, 2009 at 8:11 pm I work for BA and no airport can be held responsible for airlines that run late. Unless it is actually down to the airport which is 99% unlikely. LHR is a great place to work. All the staff are competent in doing their work. Yeah, T5 had its problems but that’s what you get for having to employ people who don’t speak English. If you don’t like LHR there are thousands of other airports and air routes to take. It’s your choice look at flight routings before you travel.

If you have no choice then you can either fly, get a train or use a boat. As simple as that. LHR? Avoid It December 16, 2008 at 10:32 am If there is one airport in Europe to avoid that’s LHR. Disgusting! I Love Terminal 5 Chantal Mulders October 20, 2008 at 9:53 am I’m not a very frequent traveller, but I cross over to Europe 1-2 times a year, usually with BA through London. My most recent flight was about a month after the opening of Terminal 5 and I heard a lot about the problems there: baggage, cancelled flights, etc. I was bracing myself for a total mess and I found… the complete opposite. Yes, the other four terminals seem to have been built in the stone age, but Terminal 5 is gorgeous. I took a transfer bus for about 20mins from T4 and walked into T5. Carry-on check was as fast as I have ever seen with very friendly faces.

After this check, you immediately face the notice boards that tell you where your flight will be, BUT not until 45 minutes before departure. Staff was very helpful and personnel in the shops super friendly. Whereas every other airport features people running in all directions, chaos, and mayhem, Terminal 5 is a truly peaceful oasis. I don’t know how the builders did it, but it actually doesn’t feel like an airport terminal with its vast windows and cushy chairs. I’m looking forward to my next flight through Terminal 5. A European Migraine Robert Jap September 4, 2008 at 6:18 am This was the second time I was in Heathrow Airport. The last time was the 1st of August. Under no fault, my flight to Prague was cancelled on Czech Airlines due to technical difficulties from JFK. I have to say JFK is bigger and more efficient. I was dumped off by Virgin Atlantic in Terminal 1 to get a connecting flight in terminal 2 to Czech airlines there. This airport is the most disorganized hot mess I’ve ever seen. My friends from the UK say the same thing.

I had to pass through immigration just to go for a ciggie, and you can’t hear anybody from the construction and all the banging going on. Plus everything is being rerouted in that place, immigration was the only helpful people. But to find anything is impossible, And it’s the shortest European flight from JFK. I tell you this place is A HOT MESS! This London Heathrow Airport it’s a migraine so try to avoid it. LHR Malcolm Mudge July 22, 2008 at 10:26 pm For an international airport it is actually quite disgusting for its quality of service and late flights. Heathrow - Avoid It Scott Downie May 20, 2008 at 9:48 pm I will avoid LHR when flying into Europe at all costs and I still have to traverse it 6 – 10 times a year. It is by far the worst airport anywhere. Iris – the system that is supposed to get you through immigration fast, has only worked 50% of the time over the last year, for me. The security personnel have taken to the reduced carry on baggage rules, like the Taliban on a Jihad.

Its nickname is Thiefrow and it is well deserved. US immigration and security are like shining stars compared with their English counterparts. The recent debacle at the newly opened Terminal 5 is exactly what to expect of LHR, that and a ¼ mile walk (no exaggeration) from the plane to the nearest trolley, which makes life interesting for a mother with two infants and no assistance available from the ground staff. This is from a Brit living in the US and travelling globally, 250k to 300k a year. Deported Christine Mathias December 29, 2007 at 6:08 pm Where to begin? Just make sure you have your documents in order or you will not get in Not even on Christmas :( Heathrow Richard Phillips July 4, 2007 at 8:29 pm Like any major international airport, LHR has its fair share of problems. There is, however, a free high speed train link between the central area (T1,2 & 3) and T4, so transfers between terminals are now a bit more tolerable. I have used the airport many, many times and can honestly say I have never had a problem.

Yes it is overcrowded and yes you can wait a while to get through security, but considering that it has the largest number of international passengers of any airport in the world, I think it does pretty well. Many US travellers moan about it, but LHR is a much more pleasant experience than the likes of JFK. At least if your flight is late, there are pleasant shops to wander around. Also, there can be queues to get on the runway, but none like the ones I have been in on every visit to JFK (over an hour’s wait on my last visit – the crew actually had to shut 3 engines down to save fuel while we waited). UK immigration is by no means perfect, but at least while you are waiting you can use your phone or ipod! Airports Willaim Smith April 17, 2007 at 4:18 pm O.K. there are some complaints about Heathrow. I make anything from 25-50 International flights a year and have done for the past 12 years. I fly into and from Heathrow about 20/30 times a year and find it infinitely better than Miami, about the same as LAX, but not as good as Osaka.

It’s undergoing a face lift and terminal 5 should make it a lot easier for dedicated BA users. At least it’s civilised and whilst the immigration side might be a little on the long-wait side at times it again is better and friendlier than any of the US of A Internationals. 2 1/2 hours queuing in Miami once – if you can’t speak Spanish don’t go there !! I have to travel – it’s my job and whilst I am not all that keen on England at least Heathrow in my opinion is a good airport. Try Frankfurt if you want to sit in an operating theatre, CDG if you want rudeness and to be ignored, West African airports if you want your wallet stolen and Rome if you want chaos! Lost In The Crowd Harry Friedland January 20, 2007 at 7:17 am My mother, at age of 75 and traveling alone, was not assisted on arrival as planned. She wandered off into the crowd, got lost, and was found hours later by a porter, sitting on a baggage trolley (mother, not porter).

She missed her Canada connection and a porter saw to it that she got shipped off to a hotel until another flight could be arranged. At that point, all she wanted to do was come home …. Over-crowded Mark Wealthy December 14, 2006 at 3:38 pm This has to be the worst airport I have used. This airport is too overcrowded. The fact is, half the people (if not more) inside the terminal buildings are NOT actually traveling. As a result, we will be flying to our regular destination from another airport. Avoid Nick Colakovic December 7, 2006 at 3:04 am Terrible airport. Security checkpoints have far too few X-ray machines and metal detectors. For example terminal 4 has only 3 sets of X-ray/Metal Detectors. As a result the queues for the security checks into each terminal are extremely long. There is no coordination between the the security staff and airline to expedite travelers late to their flights through security. The terminals are not linked underground by a automatic tram system, instead a buses are provided which most crawl around the airport. The terminals are mazes that take forever to traverse.

Gates are nowhere near the entrance to the terminals. Instead you most go up an escalator then down another to get to a gate. If you must make a connecting flight make sure you have at least 3 hours between flights. For such a well known international airport it is quite pathetic. All About The Airport November 8, 2006 at 2:20 pm Why is Heathrow airport so important? What other developments has the airport lead to? Avoid For Connections. . . Arrigo Triulzi October 20, 2006 at 10:00 am Connecting through Heathrow, especially if it involves a Terminal change (e.g. T1 to T4) is particularly painful at the moment due to the extra security restrictions. The queues at the Transfer Centre in T1 are abominable unless you have a Business Class ticket and you can use the ‘Fast lane’ (note that you have to join the main queue and then before the first turn in the zig-zag you go straight ahead – normally there are attendants to check that you have a valid ticket there). LHR vs.

LGW October 9, 2006 at 7:26 pm Forget LHR – I now use LGW whenever I can. What a difference! London Heathrow Airport Bobby Mathew September 6, 2006 at 2:09 am A nice airport ot ogle at your favourites. The security check is a concern nowadays. Then, it’s gonna be like this in the future. Very up-to-date, professional, and class airport. Crowded to the core, but you enjoy them to the core, until you lose your baggage. Meet lots of sarcastic Britishers on the way. But the Airport is a class, that’s eons ahead of many other international airports. Crowd Control Doug Bailey August 4, 2006 at 12:11 am Departing from LHR on 1st August ’06, I was reminded of why I avoid this airport if at all possible. The crowds and lines are intimidating. I recommend LGW when it serves your desired destination. Gatwick is still on a human scale. Good For It's Size..

Brian O'Mahoney July 23, 2006 at 11:33 am Heathrow is for all extents and purposes an air city, a maze of automatic walkways, tunnels and terminal buildings. Despite the size issues the staff are cheerful and the service relatively swift and efficient. Check-in is fast considering the number of passengers it accomodates daily. The airport buildings are standard large city fare, windowless and somewhat disorientating. The international departures lounge features an impressive multi-storey shopping complex and several decent restaurants and cafes. For anyone trying to make it from London to Heathrow in a hurry, Heathrow has it’s own tube station on the Piccadilly Line. Very handy at peak traffic times when the roads are heavily congested. Check In London Airport: Information & Pricing For LHR Flights | Expedia Close General LHR Airport Information Fly into London Heathrow Airport, also called LHR, for access to The Big Smoke. Located in London, England, this airport offers both international and domestic flights and is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom. … If you’re looking to arrive or depart from LHR airport via public transportation, you’re in luck.

There are a number of different options, including trains and buses. For train access, the Heathrow Express travels between the airport and London Paddington, while the Heathrow Connect connects to areas in west London and Paddington as well. For bus transportation, there are local buses transporting passengers to west London and Thames Valley, too. Additional transportation includes taxi, coach, and chauffeur services. When it comes to parking at the London, England airport, you have a variety of options to accommodate your travel needs. You’ll find long-term parking, where you can park your vehicle during your trip, in addition to the valet, business, and meet and greet parking services. As for short-term parking, there are lots available for parking up to five hours, while there are also designated picking up and dropping off areas for when you’ve arranged a personal ride. While London is praised for its easy and available transportation, a Heathrow airport car rental can transform your UK trip. With your own wheels, zip around the city center, and then spend a lazy afternoon cruising around the countryside. A rental car can open up your trip to endless opportunities; just remember to drive on the correct side of the road!

The Heathrow airport welcomes you to relax, dine, and shop while you wait for your flight. The LHR terminals present you with a variety of restaurants and quick dining stops to feed you hunger, while the various shops are sure to keep you entertained. Don’t miss out on the Duty-free shops, airport lounges, and spa services either while traveling through the terminals. Read more Read less LHR Flight Status & Terminal Information When flying from Heathrow (LHR), give yourself plenty of time to make your flight because nothing’s worse than running to catch your plane. Getting to the airport early lets you check into your flight, drop off your luggage, pass through the TSA checkpoint, and leisurely arrive at your terminal gate with time to spare. Before you head to the airport though, check your flight time. Check your flight status at LHR to determine if there are any changes in your itinerary. Once you’ve confirmed your LHR flight status, many airlines recommend you arrive at the airport at least two hours early for domestic flights and three hours prior to international flights. London Airport Parking & Transportation Information When you have a flight from Heathrow (LHR), take advantage of the various transportation options available.

If you’ve bribed your friend to drive you the airport, use the convenient curbside drop-off or the short-term parking at LHR. Alternatively, if you prefer to drive yourself, the airport provides safe and secure long-term parking for your vehicle during your trip. Furthermore, you’ll find rental car and taxi services at the airport offering easy and reliable transportation. All Flights from London In the mood for spreading your wings? Allow us to assist you. Below you’ll come across our easy-to-navigate list of flights from London across the world to help inspire your next big trip. Sort through the listed regions and find the perfect destination to fly into from your designated city today. Airport Codes: A history and explanation of airport ABCs Airport ABCs: An Explanation of Airport Identifier Codes This article was published in the journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, Air Line Pilot, in December of 1994. I wrote it, but ALPA holds the copyright and reserves all rights other then you reading it directly on this Internet page. However please feel free to share this page with friends using Facebook or whatever. I do keep this online version updated.

And if you use some of it in your writing, a little link or mention is nice, like ABC News did in their 2010 story . From ABC (Albacete, Spain) to ZRH (Zurich, Switzerland), airports around the world are universally known by a unique three-letter code: the "International Air Transport Association (IATA) Location Identifier" in aviation-speak. It's obviously much easier for pilots, controllers, flight attendants, travel agents, frequent flyers, computers and baggage handlers to say and write ORD than the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois — but how did this practice start, and why are some airport codes easy to understand (ABE and ZRH) while others seem to make absolutely no sense (ORD)? When the Wright brothers first took to the air in 1903, there was no need for coding airports since an airport was literally any convenient field with a strong wind. However, the National Weather Service did tabulate data from cities around the country using a two-letter identification system. Early airlines simply copied this system, but as airline service exploded in the 1930's, towns without weather station codes needed identification.

Some bureaucrat had a brainstorm and the three-letter system was born, giving a seemingly endless 17,576 different combinations. To ease the transition, many existing airports placed an X after the weather station code. The Los Angeles tag became LAX in 1947, Portland became PDX, Phoenix became PHX and so on. Incidentally at the historic sand dune in Kitty Hawk where the first flight occurred the U.S. National Parks Service maintains a tiny airstrip called FFA — First Flight Airport. Many station codes are simply the first three letters of the city name: ATL is Atlanta, BOS is Boston, MIA is Miami, SIN is Singapore, MAD is Madrid, and SYD is Sydney, Australia. The first letter(s) of multiple cities served forms other codes: DFW for Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, MSP for Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, and GSP for Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina. Sometimes the city name lends itself to one letter for each word, such as Salt Lake City (SLC), Port of Spain in Trinidad & Tobago (POS), or Port au Prince, Haiti (PAP). For others, knowing the city had a former name cracks the code.

So we have LED in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), SGN in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), PEK in Bejing (Peking) and BOM in Mumbai (Bombay). Most of the "hard to decipher" identifiers become obvious if one knows the name of the airport rather than the city served. A Louisiana example is ESF, for Esler Field in Alexandra. Orly airport (ORY) and Charles De Gaulle airport (CDG) serve Paris, France, while Tokyo, Japan has the Narita airport (NRT). When you know what the code represents, some curious acronyms become obvious: MSY is the former Moisant Stock Yards in New Orleans, Named for the land where early aviator John Moisant suffered a fatal crash, stock yards that became the Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport. CMH is Columbus Municipal Hangar, BWI is Baltimore Washington International, LGW is London Gatwick, and LHR is London Heathrow! This system of identifying airports caught on quickly and soon expanded to include all radio navigation aids used by pilots. The VOR on the field at ORD sends out the Morse code for ORD.

Recently some VORs not located at the airport of the same name changed identifiers to prevent possible confusion. The clearance "cross 10 miles south of Chattanooga" was confusing when the airport and VOR were five miles apart. FAA surprisingly didn't try to change the name of the city but changed the VOR, resulting in the Chattanooga Airport (CHA) and the Choo Choo VOR (GCO)! All localizer identifiers are prefaced with an "I." Compass locators are assigned a two-letter identifier, normally using the localizer as a base. For example, at ABC the localizer might be IABC, the locator outer marker, AB, and the locator inner marker, BC. (Note, outside the US radio navigation aid naming may be much less formal.) Some special interest groups successfully lobbied the government to obtain their own special letters. The Navy saved all the new 'N' codes. Naval aviators learn to fly at NPA in Pensacola, Florida and then dream of going to "Top Gun" in Miramar, California (NKX). The Federal Communications Committee set aside the 'W' and 'K' codes for radio stations east and west of the Mississippi respectively.

'Q' was designated for international telecommunications. 'Z' was reserved for special uses. The Canadians made off with all the remaining 'Y codes which helps explain YUL for Montreal, YYC for Calgary, etc. (The start of the song YYZ by the band Rush is the Morse code for the letters Y Y Z. Rush is from Toronto.) One of the special uses for 'Z' is identifying locations in cyberspace. What am I talking about? Well, an example is ZCX the computer address of the FAA's air traffic control headquarters central flow control facility. ZCX is not an airport but a command center just outside Washington D.C. that controls the airline traffic into major terminals. The lack of these letters puts a crimp in the logic of some codes: if the city starts with a 'N,' 'W,' or 'K,' it's time to get creative. Norfolk, Virginia, ignored the 'N' to get ORF; Newark, New Jersey, is EWR, Newport News, Virginia, chose to use the name of the airport to get PHF -Patrick Henry Field. Both Wilmington, North Carolina and Key West, Florida followed Norfolk's lead to obtain ILM and EYW.

West Palm Beach in Florida did some rearranging to get PBI -Palm Beach International; Kansas City, Missouri became MKC and more recently the 'new' Kansas City airport chose MCI. (The code for Kansas City International Airport, MCI, was assigned during the early design phase of the airport when the name was going to be Mid-Continent International. Shortly before it opened, Kansas City officials decided to change the name so people would know what city it was in. It was too late to change the code.) The continued growth of aviation world-wide meant that three letter combinations were insufficient to identify every airport. Eventually the system expanded, allowing numbers and four digit combinations; however, an airport served by scheduled route air-carrier or military airlift aircraft always has a code comprising of only three letters. Raleigh, North Carolina, not only has RDU (Raleigh/Durham International), but also the much smaller 5W5 (South Raleigh Airport), W17 (Raleigh East Airport), 2NC3 (Sky-5 helipad), and ONC4 (Wake Medical Center Heliport).

The two-letter, two-number identifiers use the two-letter Post Office or supplemental abbreviation of the State for the two letters: 2ND9 is in North Dakota, 85FL is in Florida, etc. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, known as 49J when it was a general aviation airport, now has airline service and therefore a new airport identifier — HHH. Lacking both 'W' and 'N' Washington National has a code of DCA for District of Columbia Airport. The newer Dulles airport just outside D.C. was DIA (from Dulles International Airport); however, the DIA and DCA were easy to confuse, especially when hastily written in chalk on a baggage cart, scribbled on a tag or a handwritten air traffic control strip, so we are stuck with the backwards IAD. Now one of the rules of the game is "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Houston has HOU for the William P. Hobby airport. The 200 mile rule lead to the airport label of IAH, for the new Intercontinental Airport Houston.

Louisville, Kentucky, already had an airport with the logical code of LOU; therefore, the letters for the new airport had to be something radically different: SDF stands for Standiford Field. The airport ciphers sometimes don't originate with the city or airfield name but with the county in which it resides. Longview/Kilgore in Texas is GGG, from Gregg county airport. The 'W' in Detroit's DTW comes from Wayne county; the 'P' in Greenville's PGV comes from its location in Pitt County, North Carolina. However the John Wayne Airport serving Orange County takes its call letters from the less recognized Santa Ana (SNA). A little more geography cracks the code for CVG, MDT, ABE and GTR. Cincinnati, Ohio, has its airport located in northern Kentucky (look at a map if you don't believe me!); therefore, Cincinnati's ID actually comes from the town of Covington - CVG. Harrisburg International is physically located in Middletown, Pennsylvania (MDT). In Pennsylvania the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem & Easton are served by the ABE airport.

Any Mississippi State Bulldogs' fan can tell you that Columbus, Starkville, and West Point form the Golden Triangle of Mississippi, with airline service at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR). History, rather than geography, solves the puzzle of BNA, TYS, GEG, OGG and MCO. The main airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was named in honor of Col. Harry Berry who helped build it: BNA. Knoxville, also in Tennessee, doesn't have a single letter in common with its tag of TYS; however, a historian would know that the Tyson family donated the land in honor of their son killed in World War I. The current Orlando International Airport stands on the land that used to be McCoy Air Force Base (MCO). Spokane International Airport is coded as GEG in honor of Major Harold C. Geiger, a pioneer in Army aviation and ballooning. Geiger field was renamed in 1960 but the code was not changed. Kahului Airport, Maui, was designated as OGG in honor of aviation legend, and Lihue native, Hawaiian Airlines Capt. Bertram James 'Jimmy' Hogg ( and subject of a nice Air Line Pilot magazine story ).

One of the world's largest airports, JFK, is also one of the very few that changed call letters. A change is rare because an identifier becomes so well known to airline staff that changes are not normally permitted. Interestingly the John F. Kennedy airport's former code also came from the name of the field — IDL for Idlewild airport (itself named for the Idlewild golf course whose land became JFK). If you knew that Fort Myers used to be called SouthWest Florida Regional, the RSW moniker starts to make sense. A code used by American Airlines but never seen by the traveling public is GSW. Pilots spend months at GSW, but no planes land or take-off there. The mystery is solved when you discover that Americans' Flight Academy, with its many simulators and classrooms, is in Ft. Worth on the former site of the Greater SouthWest Airport. A airport that has worked hard to change its given code is Sioux City's Sioux Gateway Airport — SUX. Mayor Craig Berenstein described the SUX code as an "embarrassment". City leaders petitioned the FAA to change the code in 1998 and again in 2002.

At one point the FAA offered the city five alternatives — GWU, GYO, GYT, SGV and GAY — but airport trustees didn't like any of them enough to change. In 2007 the airport made the best of their sucky cipher and started promoting the airport with the slogan "FLY SUX." There are other fun ones. FAT is Fresno, California. DUM is in Dumai, Indonesia, whie Norway's Bodo Airport is BOO. Harbour, Eolie Island, in Italy is ZIP. Headingly, Australia, is HIP. Hot Springs, Arkansas, is HOT. And Willow, Alaska, is WOW. Years ago, entire metropolitan areas were given a code to include many airports; NYC covered New York City and LON signified London. Unfortunately there are no new metropolitan area codes due to the scarcity of letters. These codes provide the ability to quickly look up in a computerized reservation system all the flights to a certain city without using separate codes for each airport. Entering WAS as a designation will give me the next few flights to BWI, IAD and DCA — the Washington, D.C. area.

In fact, three letter codes are so scarce that after a year they can be recycled: when Idlewild Airport became JFK, the old IDL tag was retired then reused for Indianola, Mississippi. Airlines use the three-letter codes internationally in their own network, Sita, for messages such as passenger loads and departure times. World ATC and weather agencies use a separate teleprinter network, the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN), which uses a four-letter "location indicator." Going from large area to actual airport, the first letter relates to the part of the world and the second letter the country. The third letter is a group of airports within that country. Most countries who use this particular convention use a letter to denote the FIR in which the airport is located. So F is Frankfurt FIR in Germany, M is Munich; P is Paris FIR, M is Marseilles. Other ways to use the third letter include identifying a group of airports with a common factor. For example, A was used in Germany for all Canadian and American air force bases. The last letter positively identifies a specific airport.

Thus Aberdeen, Scotland, has the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) location indicator of EGPD — E for Northern Europe, G for United Kingdom, P for Scottish region, and D for Dyce field. Want to figure out LFPG? It's L for southern Europe, F for France, P for Paris FIR, and G for Charles de Gaulle airport. Easy! Some are more easy to remember. The Dominican Republic codes all start with M (Central America) and D (Dominican) and then, well, see if you spot the code for international airports in Santo Domingo (MDSD), La Romana (MDLR), Puerto Plata (MDPP), Punta Cana (MDPC) and Santiago (MDST). So if London Heathrow has two codes — and it does, LHR and EGLL — how come I've heard Chicago O'Hare only called ORD? The answer is unique to the United States and Canada. In the 48 contiguous States the ICAO code is formed simply by adding a "K" to the three letter code (or by adding a "C" in Canada). This explains why international flight plans refer to KORD, KMIA, KJFK, etc.

A meeting of two rules is Key West, the FAA code is EYW (lose the 'K') and the IATA code is KEYW (add a 'K') which works great for KEY West. Other airports within FAA jurisdiction have ICAO codes usually formed by taking two letters from the FAA name and prefixing them with PA for Alaska, PH for Hawaii, or PG for Guam. PT appears to be Pacific Trust Territories (Pohnpei, Yap, Chuuk, etc.), and there are various random other P codes like PWAK for Wake Island. While most U.S. airports have the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, note I didn't say all do. Scenic Sedona Airport in Arizona is assigned SEZ by the FAA and SDX by the IATA. Because for international airlines SEZ is Seychelles International Airport in Mahï¿½, Seychelles. Another is the Hilton Head airport in South Carolina mentioned earlier. It's IATA code is HHH, but it's FAA three letter code is HXD. Instrument pilots are familiar with another type of identifier, not for an airport or navigation aid but simply for a point in space.

Every airway intersection is a five letter, supposedly pronounceable, combination, from AADCO to ZZARP. Just like airports, some fixes are named after towns: close to Raleigh, N.C., are DUHAM (over Durham) and CHAPL (over Chapel Hill) intersections. Some are named after people or events, and others are named just for fun: BORED, BUILT, BUTCH. The excellent book Chasing The Glory, by Michael Parfit, introduces us to the woman who names intersections, Macho Irene. She dreams of some pompous B-747 captain saying, "Roger, will report MUMMI." From LA to DUHAM, identifiers have grown in complexity and are now used as computer codes in vast reservations systems and flight management computers. The latest trend in bag-tagging technology is laser printed bar codes for automated luggage systems. Will # ## # ## ever completely replace DFW? The answer may be found at DIA, the new Denver International Airport which used identifier DVX when the runways opened for testing, but inherited the familiar DEN code when Denver's Stapleton airport closed down. Oh, still wondering about the world's busiest airport, O'Hare International, and its ORD code?

Well once upon a time, before the editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, Colonel Robert McCormick suggested a name change as tribute to pilot Lt. Cmdr. Edward "Butch" O'Hare, United States Navy, there was an airstrip well to the northwest of Chicago with a quaint, peaceful name — Orchard Field. London Heathrow Train Station: Schedules & Station Info -Rail Europe CLOSE At your service. Always. We are available to answer any questions you may have about our European travel products. Answers to our most frequently asked questions can be found in our FAQs . We also encourage you to visit our new online Support Community to interact with Rail Europe staff and other travelers to share information and tips about European rail travel and more. Visit the Rail Europe Support Community . If you prefer you can also contact us by email anytime and we will respond to you as quickly as we possibly can. We also have a dedicated staff to assist with Group Travel. Our Group department is equipped to handle your every need when it comes to group train travel.

So if you've got to put together a terrific package for a group of 10 or more travelers, just call us at 1-800-462-2577 in the United States and Canada or 1-914-682-7456 in the United States and we'd be happy to help. Monday - Friday 9:00am - 5:30pm Eastern Time. London Heathrow Train Station Destinations list | Routes and airlines | Heathrow Compare prices External link, opens in a new tab or window Banned and restricted carriers In January 2006, the European Parliament established a list of airlines that are banned from flying within the European Community. Airports are required to bring this list to the attention of passengers. In March 2006, the European Commission published an initial list of airlines that it considers to be unsafe and which are therefore not permitted to fly passengers or cargo within the European Community. This list will be updated at least every three months. The current list, and further related information, can be found on the European Commission website.

© LHR Airports Limited Heathrow Airport Limited The Compass Centre, Nelson Road, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW6 2GW 0844 335 1801 (Calls cost 7p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge) Heathrow: Welcome to Heathrow Airport Disclaimer View all arriving flights Heathrow Airport Limited and Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited do not verify the accuracy or completeness of this flight information and disclaim any implied warranties with regard to it. Heathrow Airport Limited and Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited shall have no liability for any loss or damage suffered as a result of relying on flight information on this site which may prove to be inaccurate. Heathrow Airport General Information - Airport Guides Network Airport Code LHR Heathrow airport is located 15 miles west of London, the airport has excellent public transport links from central London and all over the rest of the country. Heatrow airport began its life as a small grass airfield that was privately owned. Then in 1946 the Ministry of Civil Aviation took over and the tented terminal was soon replaced, and by 1947 three new runways had been completed.

Today Heathrow is the UK's busiest airport and handles a staggering 64 million passengers per year, and flies to over 170 worldwide destiantions. We hope we have gathered as much useful information as possible about Heathrow airport but are always open to suggestions and recommendations, so if you have any additional information that you think should be displayed on this guide or any corrections or suggestions, please let us know by using our contact form. If you are looking for accommodation within or near this airport please view and compare Heathrow Airport hotel prices on one of our guides. One of the most cost-effective ways to leave your car at the airport for the duration of your trip is compare and book London Heathrow airport parking in advance. Use Airport Parking Shop to find and book the best parking deals. The world's top 100 airports: listed, ranked and mapped | News | theguardian.com Blog home The world's top 100 airports: listed, ranked and mapped Where are the world's busiest airports - and how many passengers passed through them? Get the latest data for the top 100 Where are the world's top 100 airports?

Photograph: PCL / Alamy/Alamy Where are the world's busiest airports? The furore over Heathrow 's immigration wait times has shone a light on the huge numbers of people flying into what is the world's third busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers. Airports Council International compiles data for every airport in the world - and this shows exactly how busy they are. ACI has allowed us to publish its preliminary figures for that top 100 - before they've been officially released. This is how they look. Fullscreen version 3.2bn passengers went through the world's top 100 airports in 2011, 998m of them in Europe and another 989m in North America. The world's very biggest airports have seen big increases in passengers: Heathrow is up 5.1%, Atlanta (the world's biggest) is up 3.3% and Beijing is up 4.5%. The biggest increases came in the new global powerhouses: New Delhi (up 17.8% to 34.7m passengers), Rio (up 17%) up Xiamen in China (up 15.9%).

The figures reflect the state of the world's economic problems too, with 13 of the top 100 airports seeing decreases in passengers, with Tokyo down 20.5%, Athens down 6.7%, followed by two more Japanese airports. London Stansted is down too, according to the data - by 2.9% to 18m passengers But despite the recession, Europe's airport have gone up by an average of 7.4%, compared to a top 100 average change of 5.1% Thanks to ACI, you can get the full data below . What can you do with it? Data summary

Question: Which European airport has the code name LHR?
Answer: London Heathrow