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

# What airport is MCO?

**MCO is: Orlando International Airport**

Orlando, United States

## Why the code is MCO

McCoy Air Force Base, the Strategic Air Command base the civil airport was built alongside.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

## The airport

- **IATA code:** MCO
- **ICAO code:** KMCO
- **Airport:** Orlando International Airport
- **City:** Orlando, United States
- **Opened:** 1981
- **Code origin:** Documented

The base was named for Michael McCoy, a colonel who died in a B-47 crash nearby in 1957. The Air Force left in 1975, the civil terminal opened in 1981, and the code outlived the base by decades. Travellers routinely assume MCO is a typo for ORL — which is a different, much smaller Orlando airport that still exists.

## Codes people book by mistake

| Code | What it actually is |
| --- | --- |
| ORL | Orlando Executive, a general-aviation field close to downtown. Not where any airline will take you. |
| SFB | Orlando Sanford International, 30 miles north, used by low-cost and charter carriers. A different airport entirely. |

## The other code, KMCO

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

## Common questions

### What airport is MCO?

Orlando International Airport, in Orlando, United States.

### Why is Orlando's airport called MCO?

McCoy Air Force Base, the Strategic Air Command base the civil airport was built alongside.

### What is the difference between MCO and KMCO?

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

### Is MCO the same as ORL?

No. ORL is orlando Executive, a general-aviation field close to downtown. Not where any airline will take you.

## 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 DFW?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/dfw/)
- [What airport is EWR?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/ewr/)
- [What airport is SFO?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/sfo/)
- [What airport is LGA?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/lga/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)