What airport is YEG?

Why the code is YEG

Y prefix plus EG for EdmontonG — one of the more transparent Canadian codes.

This is the explanation in general circulation and it is very likely right, but no primary document has been published that settles it. Treated as an account rather than a fact.

The airport

IATA code

YEG

ICAO code

CYEG

Airport

Edmonton International Airport

City

Edmonton, Canada

Code origin

The usual account, unverified

It is one of the largest airports in the world by land area relative to its passenger numbers, a consequence of being built far outside a city that then did not grow towards it. The old city-centre airport, closer and much loved, closed in 2013.

The other code, CYEG

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