Zurich Airport, in Zurich, Switzerland.

What is the difference between ZRH and LSZH?

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

What airport is ZRH?

ZRH is

Zurich Airport

Zurich, Switzerland

Why the code is ZRH

ZuRicH, consonants.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

The airport

IATA code: ZRH
ICAO code: LSZH
Airport: Zurich Airport
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Code origin: Documented

Zurich operates under one of the strictest noise regimes in Europe, including a German restriction on approaches over southern Germany that forces different runway configurations at different times of day. The result is an airport whose runway in use is dictated partly by another country's law.

The other code, LSZH

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

Common questions

What airport is ZRH?: Zurich Airport, in Zurich, Switzerland.
Why is Zurich's airport called ZRH?: ZuRicH, consonants.
What is the difference between ZRH and LSZH?: ZRH is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. LSZH is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

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

Sources

OurAirports — OurAirports (Public domain)

How these figures are compiled and checked