At One Place

What airport is LGW?

LGW is
Gatwick Airport
London, United Kingdom

Why the code is LGW

LondonGatWick, consonants again.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

The airport

IATA code
LGW
ICAO code
EGKK
Airport
Gatwick Airport
City
London, United Kingdom
Code origin
Documented

Gatwick has the busiest single runway of any airport in the world, moving around 55 aircraft an hour off one strip. It has a second runway that is too close to the first to be used simultaneously and serves as a taxiway.

The other code, EGKK

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

Common questions

What airport is LGW?
Gatwick Airport, in London, United Kingdom.
Why is London's airport called LGW?
LondonGatWick, consonants again.
What is the difference between LGW and EGKK?
LGW is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. EGKK 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