At One Place

What airport is BCN?

BCN is
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport
Barcelona, Spain

Why the code is BCN

BarCeloNa, consonants.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

The airport

IATA code
BCN
ICAO code
LEBL
Airport
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport
City
Barcelona, Spain
Code origin
Documented

El Prat is hemmed in by the sea on one side and a protected wetland on the other, which is why its expansion has been argued over for two decades. The ICAO code LEBL uses the older name Llobregat, from the river delta the airport sits on.

The other code, LEBL

Every airport has two codes. The three-letter IATA code, BCN, is the one on your boarding pass and your luggage tag, and it is assigned for commercial use. The four-letter ICAO code, LEBL, 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 LEBL looks nothing like BCN.

Common questions

What airport is BCN?
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, in Barcelona, Spain.
Why is Barcelona's airport called BCN?
BarCeloNa, consonants.
What is the difference between BCN and LEBL?
BCN is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. LEBL is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

Related pages

Sources

  1. OurAirports — OurAirports (Public domain)

How these figures are compiled and checked