---
title: "ATH is which airport? Athens"
description: "ATH is Athens International Airport in Athens, Greece. Why the code is ATH and not something you could guess, what LGAV means, and the codes it gets mixed up with."
url: https://atoneplace.net/airport/ath/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What airport is ATH?

**ATH is: Athens International Airport**

Athens, Greece

## Why the code is ATH

The first three letters of Athens.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

## The airport

- **IATA code:** ATH
- **ICAO code:** LGAV
- **Airport:** Athens International Airport
- **City:** Athens, Greece
- **Opened:** 2001
- **Code origin:** Documented

It replaced Ellinikon, which sat on the coast south of the city and closed the day the new airport opened. The old site has been derelict for two decades and its abandoned terminal, by Eero Saarinen, is one of the more photographed ruins in Europe.

## The other code, LGAV

Every airport has two codes. The three-letter IATA code, ATH, is the one on your boarding pass and your luggage tag, and it is assigned for commercial use. The four-letter ICAO code, LGAV, is the one pilots and controllers use, and it is assigned geographically: the first letter or two identify the region, so every airport in the same part of the world shares a prefix. That is why LGAV looks nothing like ATH.

## Common questions

### What airport is ATH?

Athens International Airport, in Athens, Greece.

### Why is Athens's airport called ATH?

The first three letters of Athens.

### What is the difference between ATH and LGAV?

ATH is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. LGAV is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

## Related pages

- [Greece](https://atoneplace.net/country/greece/)
- [The flag of Greece](https://atoneplace.net/flag/greece/)
- [Airport codes in Greece](https://atoneplace.net/airport/in/greece/)

## Sources

- OurAirports — OurAirports (https://ourairports.com/data/) [Public domain]