---
title: "BOS is which airport? Boston"
description: "BOS is Boston Logan International Airport in Boston, United States. Why the code is BOS and not something you could guess, plus the codes it gets mixed up with."
url: https://atoneplace.net/airport/bos/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What airport is BOS?

**BOS is: Boston Logan International Airport**

Boston, United States

## Why the code is BOS

The first three letters of Boston.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

## The airport

- **IATA code:** BOS
- **ICAO code:** KBOS
- **Airport:** Boston Logan International Airport
- **City:** Boston, United States
- **Opened:** 1923
- **Code origin:** Documented

Logan is three miles from downtown Boston, close enough that a water taxi is a normal way to reach it. The airport is named for Edward Lawrence Logan, a Spanish-American War general who never flew and had no connection to aviation at all; the legislature named it for him a year after his death.

## The other code, KBOS

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

## Common questions

### What airport is BOS?

Boston Logan International Airport, in Boston, United States.

### Why is Boston's airport called BOS?

The first three letters of Boston.

### What is the difference between BOS and KBOS?

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

## Related pages

- [United States](https://atoneplace.net/country/united-states/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [Airport codes in United States](https://atoneplace.net/airport/in/united-states/)
- [What airport is JFK?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/jfk/)
- [What airport is LAX?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/lax/)
- [What airport is ORD?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/ord/)
- [What airport is ATL?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/atl/)
- [What airport is MCO?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/mco/)
- [What airport is DFW?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/dfw/)
- [What airport is EWR?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/ewr/)
- [What airport is SFO?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/sfo/)

## Sources

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