Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

What is the difference between KUL and WMKK?

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

What airport is KUL?

KUL is

Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Why the code is KUL

Kuala Lumpur, taking K, U and L.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

The airport

IATA code: KUL
ICAO code: WMKK
Airport: Kuala Lumpur International Airport
City: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Code origin: Documented

The airport sits in what was a palm-oil plantation, and a section of rainforest was left standing in the middle of the satellite terminal rather than cleared — passengers walk around it. It is 45 km from the city, connected by an express rail link.

The other code, WMKK

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

Common questions

What airport is KUL?: Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Why is Kuala Lumpur's airport called KUL?: Kuala Lumpur, taking K, U and L.
What is the difference between KUL and WMKK?: KUL is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. WMKK is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

Malaysia Capital, area, population and currency
The flag of Malaysia Colours, symbols and lookalikes
Airport codes in Malaysia 1 here

Sources

OurAirports — OurAirports (Public domain)

How these figures are compiled and checked