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71 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, August 3, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 28, 2004 Since you asked Airport designators don’t always make sense In September, I will be picking up some English friends at the San Francisco Airport, also known as SFO. I have also flown out of Los Angeles, LAX, and Portland, PDX. Can you enlighten me on what the X’s and O’s mean in these designations? Also, does Medford International Airport have such a designation? — Bob C., Medford You raise an interesting question, Bob, and right at the height of summer vacation season, too. It turns out that the selection of "airport location identifiers," as the codes are known, is a process governed by a string of nearly indecipherable regulations all neatly detailed at www.faa.gov/atpubs/LID/ch1.htm To make a long story short, these pithy abbreviations are assigned to every airport in the world to standardize identification. At one time, the "X" designation marked an international airport, said Medford airport Director Bern Case. That’s no longer true, said L.J., a staff member with the Federal Aviation Administration. United States airport abbreviations are usually strings of three or four letters, often an abbreviation for the location. Hence, the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport is dubbed MFR on tickets and suitcase tags. However, the abbreviations don’t always make obvious sense, L.J. noted. Take Spokane International Airport in Washington. Its abbreviation is GEG because the airport also has been known as Geiger Field. Advertisement And, sometimes, obvious abbreviations are avoided for obvious reasons. "Seattle is SEA," L.J. said. "You wouldn’t think they’d make it SEX." Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times