I have found a peculiarity in the IATA codes used to identify airlines.
Both BHAir (Bulgaria) and Heli France (France) have the IATA code 8H
.
Any ideas why this is and doesn't this cause problems?
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Sign up to join this communityI have found a peculiarity in the IATA codes used to identify airlines.
Both BHAir (Bulgaria) and Heli France (France) have the IATA code 8H
.
Any ideas why this is and doesn't this cause problems?
It's possible for two airlines to share the same code, under some circumstances. They're usually in different regions of the world. There are only a limited number of two-letter combinations.
In addition, from Wiki:
After an airline is delisted, IATA can make the code available for reuse after six months and can issue "controlled duplicates". Controlled duplicates are issued to regional airlines whose destinations are not likely to overlap, so that the same code is shared by two airlines. The controlled duplicate is denoted here, and in IATA literature, with an asterisk (*).
My working theory is that possibly Heli France has shutdown? I can't find recent references to it...
To back up this theory, it's worth noting that Fly Lappeeenranta also had the same IATA code, but stopped flying in 2010.
so in conclusion, it's entirely possible for airlines to re-use past IATA codes, and also potentially possible for duplicate ones in non-overlapping regions of the world, given the limited set of 2-letter codes ((26+10)^2) = 1296 airlines.