The Weirdest Airport Codes You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
From FUN and OMG to SUX and YUM — discover how some airport codes ended up being unexpectedly funny, weird or completely confusing.
If you think the code for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is odd, wait until you see some of the other three-letter codes out there. Some of them are unintentionally hilarious, others downright confusing — and all of them make for great trivia.
🤪 Why Do Some Codes Seem So Weird?
Not all airport codes follow a neat pattern. While many are straightforward (e.g., ATL for Atlanta, SIN for Singapore), others come from legacy systems, historical quirks, or simply the lack of available combinations. For example:
- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) assigns three-letter codes globally, and often the result is more about allocation than logic.
- Some codes stick even when city or airport names change.
- Others are simply coincidental or humorous in English (even if they stood for something harmless in another language).
These oddities make them perfect for a quiz game, and a fun blog post.
🛫 Top 10 Weird and Funny Airport Codes
| Code | Airport | Why it’s odd |
|---|---|---|
| FUN | Funafuti International Airport (Tuvalu) | Because your holiday starts with "FUN" — the code for the main airport in this island nation |
| SUX | Sioux Gateway Airport (USA) | Residents embraced the unfortunate code and turned it into a branding joke |
| BOO | Bodø Airport (Norway) | Sounds spooky — like a ghost airport |
| PEE | Perm International Airport (Russia) | Looks goofy to English speakers, though innocent in context |
| YUM | Yuma International Airport (USA) | Makes you think of food rather than flying |
| LOL | Derby Field Airport (USA) | "Laugh out loud" — but it’s a real airport code |
| DAD | Da Nang International Airport (Vietnam) | "DAD" on your ticket — makes you wonder if mom or dad is flying |
| BAT | Batman Airport (Turkey) | Not for superheroes, but the city really is named Batman |
| EEK | Eek Airport (USA) | Pronounced like a startled "eek!" — exists in Alaska |
| USL | Useless Loop Airport (Australia) | The name of the place is "Useless Loop" — truly memorable |
🌍 Why It Matters & Why You Should Care
While these codes are silly or strange, they’re also embedded in the very system that keeps global aviation working: flight plans, baggage routing, airline systems. Even a code that seems like a joke plays its part in a serious network. So when you play our game, you’re interacting with this weird, wonderful world of aviation identifiers.
🎮 Ready to test your airport‑code knowledge?
Play our Guess the Airport game →
Can you spot the weird one before the code shows up?
