Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, in Detroit, United States.

What is the difference between DTW and KDTW?

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

What airport is DTW?

DTW is

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

Detroit, United States

Why the code is DTW

DeTroit Wayne, from Wayne County, where it sits.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

The airport

IATA code: DTW
ICAO code: KDTW
Airport: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
City: Detroit, United States
Code origin: Documented

Its McNamara Terminal has a single concourse more than a mile long, served by an express tram, and a tunnel between concourses with a light and sound installation that has become the airport's only tourist attraction.

The other code, KDTW

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

Common questions

What airport is DTW?: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, in Detroit, United States.
Why is Detroit's airport called DTW?: DeTroit Wayne, from Wayne County, where it sits.
What is the difference between DTW and KDTW?: DTW is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. KDTW is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

United States Capital, area, population and currency
The flag of United States Colours, symbols and lookalikes
Airport codes in United States 32 here
What airport is JFK? John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York
What airport is LAX? Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles
What airport is ORD? O'Hare International Airport, Chicago
What airport is ATL? Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta
What airport is MCO? Orlando International Airport, Orlando
What airport is DFW? Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas
What airport is EWR? Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark
What airport is SFO? San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco

Sources

OurAirports — OurAirports (Public domain)

How these figures are compiled and checked