At One Place

What airport is SIN?

SIN is
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore

Why the code is SIN

The first three letters of Singapore.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

The airport

IATA code
SIN
ICAO code
WSSS
Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
City
Singapore
Opened
1981
Code origin
Documented

Changi has topped most global airport rankings for a decade and a half. Its Jewel complex holds a 40-metre indoor waterfall and is landside, so anyone can visit without a ticket — which is the point: the airport is treated as a national asset rather than infrastructure.

The other code, WSSS

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

Common questions

What airport is SIN?
Singapore Changi Airport, in Singapore.
Why is Singapore's airport called SIN?
The first three letters of Singapore.
What is the difference between SIN and WSSS?
SIN is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. WSSS is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Official vendor product documentation — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked