Why is Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport's IATA code CVG?

Growing up and getting all my ratings at "Sunken Lunken" I thought everybody knew that.😁

Thanks for the article and all the comments! I love reading about the history of airports and how they received their respective IATA codes. Lunken Field, LUK (now Cincinnati Municipal Airport) was the main airport for the Cincinnati area until 1947-ish. While Cincinnati struggled with flood free lands to expand, politics and residents not wanting an airport near them, Boone and other county officials in Kentucky petitioned Congress and received federal monies to build the now known Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport, CVG. It started with 4 runways. According to reports the airport was in an unincorporated area with Covington being the closest. Now many say it's closest to Hebron. I remember when the area was open fields! The major expansion took place in 1980's. I also remember CMH (named from Columbus Municipal Hanger), John Glen International Airport vied to obtain the "Delta" hub. It ended up in CVG, but Columbus did get quite a large Delta business increase. A few years ago before COVID, I flew a direct flight on Delta CVG to AUS (it was only direct at the time in my area). CVG is a beautiful airport and I felt the parking was great considering other airports. The only downside is the traffic. I also remember LCK (formerly Lockbourne Army Airfield), then Rickenbacker International Airport. It too has an interesting history. One thing is certain, these airports sure have changed quite a lot since I was a kid! Still changing too, like taking a crop dusting airport field and turning it into the busiest airport in the world - ATL. Amazing!

Very interesting story... Thanks for Sharing it... Good info, Having worked the airline industry and private flying myself, I had always wondered that.

Could it be for Covington, Kentucky?

The airport is owned by the Kenton County Airport Authority, but physically located in Boone County. So there are are all sorts of ways to confuse folks.

Growing up in No Ky and being an airport brat, my father was General Manager there in the 60's and 70", I must agree with bbabis, I thought everybody knew that HAHAHA. Always get a kick out of the "newbies" who say "what am I doing in Kentucky" ? Hard to believe somebody from Lexington, which is just 70 mi south, didn't know this.

According to the website https://airportcod.es/#, The Northwest Florida airport in Panama City is "ECP" because originally the airport wanted the three-letter code TFB for “The Florida Beaches”, but it was already taken. When going through a list of available codes, the selection group joked ECP could stand for “Everyone Can Party” and it stuck.

Next up: MSY, MCO, MCI, BWI, SDF, and RSW.

Because the airport is located in the municipality of Covington, KY

Worked there in 1960-61 for AA. Pre-jet eras with having Electra's, DC-7's, Dc6's, Convair 240's and a daily DC-6 freighter.

I remember my first trip to CVG for a meeting in Cincinnati, grabbing my rental car and seeing the first "Welcome to Kentucky"road sign and thinking "Uh-Oh".This was 20 years before cell phones and nav systems.

Tokyo - NRT, Seoul - ICN, Chicago - ORD to name a few others.

The fun part is, the airport is in Hebron, KY, not Covington.

My two favorites that not a lot of people know the origin story for are MCO and LCK.

I so remember landing at CVG and the arrival PA we gave was "Welcome to the Greater Cincinnati Airport at Covington, KY." I also remember the landing was difficult. AA lost an aircraft there in the 1960s.

CVG stands for the nearest Northern Kentucky city at the time the airport was establised: Covington.

And of course, other strange identifiers will be mentioned. My fave is MCO - Orlando I was an Air Force Base - McCoy. After it was civilianized, it was McCoy Jetport.
And who could forget BJC - Rocky Mountain Regional near Denver. It is if course, Broomfield/Jefferson County!

I lived in Mack, OH as a little kid. Final approach went right past the house. All kinds of good stuff flew by back in the day. Connies, 880/990s, 707s DC-4/6/7s etc. One of my first flights out of there was an AA Electra to New York.

Interesting. I always wondered why my old regional airport in St. Catharines/Niagara was CYSN and YCM. Why not YSN? Nobody I've asked, knows.

This one is always good for some headscratching: Hilo Airport, HI = ITO. ;-)

understand

This is news? These haven't changed since tail dragging days for the most part. And Denver is NOT DIA; it has always been DEN.