Vienna International Airport, in Vienna, Austria.

What is the difference between VIE and LOWW?

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

What airport is VIE?

VIE is

Vienna International Airport

Vienna, Austria

Why the code is VIE

The first three letters of Vienna — the English name, not Wien.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

The airport

IATA code: VIE
ICAO code: LOWW
Airport: Vienna International Airport
City: Vienna, Austria
Code origin: Documented

Another case where the IATA code follows the international name and the ICAO code follows the local one: LOWW starts with LO for Austria and ends in W for Wien. Vienna is a significant hub for eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

The other code, LOWW

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

Common questions

What airport is VIE?: Vienna International Airport, in Vienna, Austria.
Why is Vienna's airport called VIE?: The first three letters of Vienna — the English name, not Wien.
What is the difference between VIE and LOWW?: VIE is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. LOWW is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

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

Sources

OurAirports — OurAirports (Public domain)

How these figures are compiled and checked