✈️ The Maddening Mess of Airport Codes! ✈️

- Thank you, Bonnie Bees, for making this video possible: / cgpgrey
Related Videos
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+ Social Security Numbers: • Your Social Security C...
Special Thanks
+ William Raillant-Clark, ICAO Communications Officer: www.icao.int/secretariat/Secr...
+ Tom Ratcliffe: www.yhmdesigns.ca/
+ Dave English: www.daveenglish.com/
+ Michael Culhane: www.acceleratedaviation.com/
+ Graeme Peppler: www.aviationpublishers.com/
+ Canadian Aviation Historical Society: www.cahs.com/
+ Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation: ingeniumcanada.org/
+ Perry Flint, IATA Head of Corporate Communications, USA: www.iata.org/
Patreon Executive Producers
Bobby, Bob Kunz, Andrew Bereza, Rebecca Wortham, Nevin Spoljaric, Donal Botkin, BN-12, Andrea Di Biagio, George Lin, Katie Scheper, Jeromy Johnson, David Tyler, iulus, Xueqi, Richard Jenkins, Phil Gardner, Martin, Steven Grimm, Andrew, Colin Millions, Henry Ng, Tim Stumbaugh, Alex Simonides, Jason Lewandowski, David White, shannon cherng, سليمان العقل, Nicholas Welna, rictic, Bogdan Toma, Brian Tillman, Chad Bramwell, jill hoffman, Nicolas Dedual, Nancy Flores, Meekay, Anthony Paolilli, Dennis Dimka, Daniel Kwak, Derek Bonner, Mikko, Orbit_Junkie, Nick Muggio, William Sasko, Darn, chrysilis, Drago175, Eliri Santana DeHendrick, Freddi Hørlyck, John Rogers, Rhys Parry, Veronica Peshterianu, Peter Lomax, John Lee, Maxime Zielony, and Elizabeth Keathley
Music & Sound
+ David Rees: www.davidreesmusic.com

[@worstedwoolens]

I love how stick figure Grey has evolved from a classroom teacher into a complete menace to polite society.

[@twistedtachyon5877]

I think StickGP Grey prefers "retiree".

[@3rix]

¿Por qué no los dos?

[@SaltpeterTaffy]

One thing remains the same: a captive audience.

[@rambysophistry1220]

You say that like polite society somehow deserves to not be menaced after such egregious nonsense on its behalf.

[@weimaranerstudio7974]

You’re one of my favorite KZbinrs

[@arpitjain2591]

Grey and airports, a never ending battle

[@ferrum1776]

An airport named Tiffany

[@electrikpikachujm69]

I know 😏

[@chanr9531]

A never ending battle for a lot of us too 😂

[@54321jcc]

@@ferrum1776 Apparently the Ta’if Regional Airport of Ta’if, Saudi Arabia goes by TIF.

[@zachychu9675]

It’s no longer a battle, at this point it’s a war

[@Fabben1]

Finnair had a long standing gag of operating flight 666 to HEL (Helsinki) and even taking off on Friday the 13ths.

[@Halio70]

I feel like with every CGP video we get, we see him descend further into madness. I blame Tiffany.

[@mariapaulagl]

We ALL blame Tiffany

[@bryanekers3472]

Tiffany is totes to blame.

[@Nadia1989]

Damn you Hearne!

[@averytheaxolotl5689]

No, we dont blame Tiffany, we blame Hearne

[@1224chrisng]

He's a Fan of Theophania

[@GermaphobeMusic]

I feel like CGP Grey is on the brink of starting his own airport

[@879PC]

Too bad CGP is already taken

[@20quid]

@@879PC I wonder if Grey has ever been to Chittagong.

[@alexanderharrison7421]

I think he's about to start his own Standards Organization for Literally Everything

[@summsauce9784]

would be the best airport

[@dragonbretheren]

What is this? An airport for bees?

[@atakoranodonbrachiosaurus1209]

"but that's a story for another time" is essentially a death sentence to an interesting topic at this point

[@Miss_Trillium]

As someone still wanting a follow up to Part 0 of reservations, I can confirm

[@kingeragon2100]

How to politely “nope” out of a rabbit whole.”

[@NOT_A_ROBOT]

@@kingeragon2100 hole*

[@reubenm.d.5218]

Reservations. Forever in our hearts.

[@SquintyGears]

to be fair he already spent 8 months to make sure CY had a logical origin...

[@bryanekers3472]

As a life-long Montrealer, I'm pleased that Grey took the time to put a number of recognizable Montreal landmarks in the IATA office windows.

[@praneeshpal8677]

Not a resident of Pyongyang, but same can be said for the landmarks and airport details shown in the FNJ part.

[@givelbs]

this has probably been said before in a more elegant fashion, but Grey's sentence structure is just amazing. Almost every sentence is alliterative and rhyming... it all flows beautifully.

[@shadowpaw7722]

Reminds me of Dr. Seuss' books.

[@WouldntULikeToKnow.]

Pure poetry

[@unfinkintsugi]

I fall asleep to him talking since it's flow is so beautiful.

[@QueenMonny]

​​@@WouldntULikeToKnow.I wouldn't call it poetry. His speech is very eloquent. But poetry (to me) is gibberish. Grey, however, is perfectly transparent. It's probably what made/makes him such a great teacher and why his videos are so popular. He conveys information in a way that is engaging and easily understood.

[@amateraceon5202]

I know Grey has said he picks his videos well in advance and spends a lot of time researching, but part of me likes to think he just had a REALLY bad airport experience that led to the boarding video, the runway video, AND this video all at once

[@semineestefanescu7460]

Yes

[@lucasok1185]

dullus

[@MartyFox]

And the DON’T DIE video, I’d imagine

[@benjaminjohnson6476]

Thats what i want to believe about it

[@muhilan8540]

Dulles

[@kalamari3288]

I love the idea of Grey just diverting flights and lecturing to random people on planes.

[@theburningtoastmonsterofur7028]

Hi

[@ianmcgregor576]

@@hazelon1283 it all depends on how you go about it. A cool fact or two and I’m interested, but 10 minutes of talking and I’m thinking I want to respond to a text but don’t want to seem rude

[@TheGoukaruma]

Real GCPG Grey avoids to talk to strangers when possible. He is no smalltalk guy.

[@FelixAmark]

i also like to belive its the same person in everyone of these videos that grey always happens to stumble upon

[@RonsarLo]

If it wasn't for interacting with people, he'd totally do it too

[@loupgarou95]

My favorite airport code is MCO, the code for the Orlando, FL International Airport. Legend says it stands for Mickey's Corporate Office. It doesn't, but the idea is quite fun.

[@necroslair]

The airport formerly known as McCOy Field…

[@malignantcrow16]

“All are coded so companies can communicate clearly and concisely complicated connections to carry their customers, and their bags.” -CGP Grey, 2022

[@notawesomebread]

I need a 2 hour CGP video where all of the side notes and exceptions are thoroughly explained

[@notsaying7838]

@@skorp5677 Wait, really? Damn.

[@ShroudedWolf51]

@@notsaying7838 Yep. The behind the scenes commentaries are pretty dang neat.

[@robertaylor9218]

Won’t be enough time

[@RTomassi]

I need a 3 hour CGP video explaining the side notes and exceptions from your 2 hour video :)

[@zakr1187]

@@skorp5677 where are the yt ones?

[@rickwemd6618]

I really love the fact that Grey continues to accidentally roast Social-Security Number in both airport-themed videos

[@FlyingBunnycorn]

Yes, "accidentally"...

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

[@NoriMori1992]

"Accidentally"?

[@Thot-Slayer-420]

there are no accidents

[@oculicious]

my dream is to be trapped next to cgp on a plane as he rambles obsessively about whatever rabbithole he has dug himself into at the time.

[@zanwrightmfwr756]

Yo same. 2 hour flight becomes 15 minute flight

[@QueenMonny]

Needs to be a longer amount of time. An oceanic voyage on a ship with sails. Thank you. That way he can really delve and you (me) can really learn.

[@lauramitchell1924]

As a new Ham Radio operator, I can tell you that Morse Code is alive and well.

[@gregorystoike]

Welcome to the hobby!

[@blainewheaton9679]

I always love the little hints of madness that leak through whenever CGP tell us about something that really *should be* simple, but isn’t

[@HistoryNerd808]

I think agencies slowly losing their minds is appropriate as well. The fact that he made ICAO and IATA really tired, confused, and overwhelmed bureaucrats is just so perfect.

[@RepOfAntarctica]

Exactly, like when he asks the FCC why they overlapped the K & W radio stations in the middle of the US, & for that brief second an old lady with the skirt "ITU" appears, alluding that they had something to do with it, but he didn't have time to tell us at the moment, either foreshadowing a later topic in the video or another one altogether.

[@firewoodloki]

W for East W for Without Weather

[@FurryWrecker911]

The more I learn about history, the less confidence I have in letting people run things. The best eye openers are the stories police, firefighters, and paramedics have to tell. There are people out there who think fire extinguishers work via pulling the pin and throwing it. I have worked with system engineers for military trainers that can't even find the headlight controls or the hood release in their own car. These are the people that build and decide how our infrastructure works. Failing upward is real, and the more people you meet in life and the more perspectives you see from them will make you realize how it's a miracle we made it as far as we have.

[@rubenstoltz-skea4726]

@@FurryWrecker911 are you serious about the fire extinguisher thing because if so we are doomed (SarcasmButAtTheSameTimeNotReally)

[@ozboz1995]

When Grey revealed he had been trying to find out Y for 8 months, just had me crying. The never ending rabbit hole trying to find order in madness is the epitome of this channel.

[@LouisOnAir]

And yet we still don't know why some of them start with W instead

[@shade8962]

@@LouisOnAir he explained it. something to do with weather control being present I believe. Y if the tower is there, and W if it's not. something like that

[@perpetrin]

I'm waiting now for the 45 minutes long video explaining Y, just like for the Tiffany problem. I'm sure we will be for a ride !

[@Peacewind152]

Hilarious thing is, in ground school I was told about the Y vs W story. I really hope Grey releases a footnote video about it because I want to know!

[@MravacKid]

His own fault really, he can't leave well enough alone and *needs* to go dig deeper. :)

[@seanjones7854]

Toronto International Airport's IATA code gave birth to the song YYZ by Rush. The main riff is YYZ in Morse code. Also one of the most dangerous airports in the world, Toncontin International in Honduras, has the rather appropriate IATA code TNT

[@vmkunnari]

There used to be Finnair flight AY666 from Copenhagen to Helsinki HEL until 2017. And yes, Helsinki is taking everything out of their IATA-code HEL.

[@sabikikasuko6636]

Gotta love CGP Grey's unwaivering commitment. You have that content creators open a video epicly with "This video, spent 3 months in the making" and everyone is like "thank you for your hard work!!!" and then you have Grey just casually throwing in, without warning or a care in the world, "this single fact that's a 30th of the video took 8 months to nail down" and everyone's like "damn, cool".

[@richardpike8748]

... *Tiffany*

[@Kas_Styles-Akuma]

This

[@ckelley8275]

I just love the facial expressions of the poor passengers who become unwitting participants on Grey's exploits during these educational traveling videos. They're always like, "Why me?!" and "Somebody, help me!" 😂

[@sploog]

I like to think it's the same guy every time that has to put up with grey indoctrinating them in a cult, venting about some poem that wasn't about tiffany, tried bringing onto a pirate crew, and on and on...

[@tails183]

I feel the same way about comments with emojis.

[@RainbowFlowerCrow]

@@tails183 🙄😒

[@nulnoh219]

It's like the magic school bus teacher, but kidnapping unwitting learners.

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

[@holgerj.440]

When the focus came to the Y and instantly the random xylophone started playing "Oh Canada..." it made me smile and am unable to stop, yet. The details of these videos are gold!

[@zmathpanda]

I remember I had a problem with this. I accidentally put BHM (Birmingham, US) and not BHX (Birmingham, UK), and I booked a hotel ticket. Luckily everyone was kind and I was able to get a free flight back, and no extra fees for the hotel.😊

[@tetrik6499]

Can't wait to be serenaded by an overwhelming amount of information

[@05council73]

Same

[@TheGirlWithTheHatJackHat_]

Me tooo!

[@aplila]

And to be bombarded by but billions of beautiful, bodacious alliterations 👍🏻

[@Stlwartheart14]

I am still confused, but I think thats in the spirit of the video

[@TheGirlWithTheHatJackHat_]

Yeah...

[@AhmadLad]

Being trapped with CGP Grey on a long flight would be an entertaining yet daunting experience. 😂😂

[@heydashcake]

Fight?? Oh no...

[@AhmadLad]

@@heydashcake Once the adrenaline started rushing, It was fight or flight... and I was slightly courageous 😂

[@zimidiaz1015]

Grey makes learning fun, i would love to be stuck on a flight with him

[@pnutz_2]

I saw him talking to the guy in the seat and had immediate Flying High flashbacks

[@redyau_]

Not really. He'd just be listening to plane noises on his sound cancelling headphones, praying you leave him alone.

[@kipchickensout]

we went on some Spanish flight booking site because my parents want to fly there, and were planning the trip back. The site automatically translated to german so instead of getting them to HAM for Hamburg, it translated it literally as SCHINKEN

[@reedcspurling]

Someone's probably already commented this, but the "J" for "Jezero airfield" was specifically added for the 'Ingenuity' Mars Helicopter when it began its flights. It landed with the Perseverance Rover, and the two vehicles are now working together but usually some distance apart.

[@demoaccount3409]

This is the exact comment I was looking for

[@octo-pops]

Now I need another CGP Grey deep dive video on the madness he spiralled into while researching Canadian airports

[@jtiza]

"Someone dead ruined my life, again... AGAIN" runtime: 1:58:20

[@jasonbennett7002]

True but Tiffany set a high bar for descent into madness.

[@aclonymous]

@@jtiza canada ruined my life

[@aroryboreallen]

Hit me up in YYC

[@edgardobeltran3823]

It's the Brittany Tiffany madness all over again

[@ArmageddonAngel]

I remember my cousin, who is slightly overweight, was traveling with her bags and they had FAT on it. She thought they were mocking her but it turns out that she had stopped in Fresno and their code is Fresno Air Terminal.

[@thunderb00m]

Mocked by her own ticket 😔

[@linux2647]

They’ve wanted to change this for years to be FYI (Fresno-Yosemite International (yes international, with only flights to Mexico)) but apparently FAA rules state changes aren’t allowed unless the the airport physically moves. The only time I’m aware of that is when Denver International built a whole new airport and moved everything

[@Frank_144]

slightly overweight in your country is extremely obese everywhere else

[@luisenriqueperezperez3193]

@@linux2647 Oh yes, the For Your Information airport

[@ta144]

@@linux2647 St. George, UT built a whole new airport...but kept the same airport codes.

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

I never before thought of the ocean as "that terrifying empty abyss" that I have flown over but courtesy of this vid, have successfully added a new fear to my collection.

[@toyztoyz2000]

As a pilot I found this video more informitive than I had ever imagined. The stuff they do not teach in class that should be tought!

[@thomaslusignan762]

As an architecture nerd from Montréal, the fact the IATA and ICAO buildings were both accurately drawn and that y'all acknowledged they're right next to each other just delighted me. Thanks!

[@Saucialiste]

*squee in Montrealease* Le squee! Le squee

[@froggywam]

I walk by the IATA building quite a bit, I didn't it was its headquarters, also had no idea what the organization did

[@bryanekers3472]

Did you recognize all the landmarks in the windows? There's 1000 de la Gauchetiere, the Olympic Stadium, the BNPS ("Batman") building and at least a dozen others.

[@vincentzhi9555]

11:18 "if you dont have a system, you won't have exceptions" this resonated with me on a spiritual level

[@XDRosenheim]

No rules? No one to stop you.

[@tommyfrerking]

Interesting information: I grew up on a beautiful set of lakes in NW Iowa (Calhoun County) named Twin Lakes and we had a radio station on the lake I lived on (N Twin). Remarkable for how few people lived on the lake. Their call letters were cleverly chosen: KTLB Keep Twin Lakes Beautiful

[@vale.antoni]

7:11 He actually continues calling the Jersey side airport "Ewark" and it very much checks out

[@Fejszi]

As a Hungarian, I would like to tell you Grey, that I feel kind of honored by the fact that you used our language as the example with the suitcase

[@theunnamed9031]

Timestamp: 12:18

[@obvious_giraffe8386]

Szia !!!

[@VHenrik007]

Hello, honfitársaim!

[@illesmateorion]

Akkor nem csak én szúrtam ki, oké :D

[@DerSenat]

and as a German, i feel honored that he used our language as an example here: 1:50

[@custosnox]

The early days, US airports only had two letter codes. When they expanded to three, they tacked an x to the end of a lot of the existing codes. This is why you have airports like LAX and PDX.

[@shammydammy2610]

Weirdly, our closest airport has an X in it. It's a newer airport, not in the US. I guess the 'obvious' three letters for it were probably already taken so they took the two middle ones and planted an x on the end.

[@jobblejosh9713]

Also be careful with BHM, for Birmingham. Which is Birmingham Alabama, not Birmingham UK (Which is BHX). Just so you don't start assuming airports with X that could be american are.

[@shammydammy2610]

@@jobblejosh9713 Yeah, the airport I'm referencing is Bajio International (BJX), central Mexico.

[@stella-vu8vh]

I always wondered why people referred to portland or shorthand as PDX, but assumed it was simply because other things existed, like LAX, and i guess i was right! Huh. How about that?

[@rogerdotlee]

in addition, the x stands for international

[@CoryDAnimates]

You know a travel KZbinr is going to leverage that last part and make a video of going to all those IATA code airfields in real life.

[@leojei]

I feel so special being a Canadian from how many times CGP Grey calls out Canada in this video.

[@fartherout.1046]

I love how these scripts almost flow like poetry with the tiny alliteration that feed into one another

[@C.I...]

Until he said "mahwngling" like he's an english aristocrat or something.

[@Matrixpandagamer]

@@C.I... He is like Dr. Seuss

[@matthewkreps3352]

I'm like 26% sure it's an OCD thing.

[@jordanwardan7588]

I find it really conspicuous and distracting, its like when the cuts in a youtube video essay sync with the background music for me. it takes me out of the immersion and reminds me that this was created by a group of people who all thought they were doing something cool

[@JohnnyTromboner]

@@jordanwardan7588 I mean.. did they not?

[@kylemcewen8474]

As a CY Canadian who flew through CGP in Bangladesh this week - this video absolutely made my day.

[@1rdwn]

Me too, I'm from Bangladesh

[@ianm408]

Why?

[@rat_king-]

@@ianm408 he's called cgp grey... figure the rest out

[@ianm408]

@@rat_king- I was asking Kyle the Canadian, why. It was a play on words. Go figure.

[@rat_king-]

@@ianm408 Y? would have been better

[@Tony.H03]

I was so excited about the accuracy of Schiphol down to the actual NS double decker trains! Such detail! And then I noticed the pin is in BELGIUM.

[@SinHurr]

Going to need an Animaniacs-style song down of every airport code.

[@crossoverepisode]

Im learning to carbon date CGP grey videos. Now due to the recent airport related videos, you can tell that grey got very interested in airport science about 2 years and 9 months ago.

[@webbowser8834]

IIRC that was roughly when his big trip to America to research Indian Reservations happened (incidentally, that's also when his not well thought out but still productive trip to Tekoi testing facility happened)

[@gavinrushing12]

Absolutely brilliant!

[@GoErikTheRed]

@@webbowser8834 which resulted in the two Tekoi videos (plus corrections), as well as a brief* obsession with tumbleweeds which spawned a video, plus a visit to a weed research lab in Colorado. Factor in the road trip vlogs, and that really is the trip that keeps on giving

[@DogsRNice]

He must have been exposed to the same thing windover productions was

[@duckofdeathv1595]

He was probably trying to distract himself after seeing someone throw pennies into the engine.

[@nicolasorerosanz8515]

The care and detail you and your team put in every one of your scripts is frightening

[@CGPGrey]

Boo!

[@egodeosum]

@@CGPGrey Bodø, Norway

[@TheAutisticFrog]

@@CGPGreyhi

[@jimijamflimiflam6323]

@@CGPGrey D:

[@NBAviageo]

@@CGPGrey im still mad at you for ewark ew jersey.

[@bencekiss4693]

12:19 That’s written in Hungarian!😁 Thank you for including our less known unique and extra hard language in your video!❤️

[@mariapaulagl]

They are great that Way!

[@TransMedard]

És nem mellesleg a legszebb is 😉

[@couchpotatoinc]

The last two letters in Canadian codes come from railway/telegraph location codes. TZ was the code for Toronto, so we get YTZ. YZ was used for Malton, which is where Toronto’s big airport is, so YYZ.

[@leojei]

So we DO have location code embedded in some of the IATA codes, PHEW!

[@vintagesupermarkets5210]

Yep here's another: OW = Ottawa pre-ICAO for the railway, so airport became YOW.

[@calcubite9298]

Neil Peart stands alone

[@ERYN__]

My mother wanted to fly to see me in San Jose. She booked her flight to SJO not SJC. I had her call me ASAP, and greeted her with "I hope you enjoy your trip to Costa Rica". She doesn't have a passport so I doubt they would let her on the plane, but she called and got her ticket fixed immediately.

[@cogspace]

I have also nearly accidentally booked a flight to SJO instead of SJC before, despite the fact that it was a return trip because I lived in San Jose (California) at the time. Yay, IATA codes!

[@ERYN__]

@@cogspace yay Go Sharks I guess... although I lived closer to Levi stadium than the SAP. Peep the missing Android Nugat in pic!

[@ashtar3876]

Why the hell is costa rica SJO

[@MandoMonge]

@@ashtar3876 the capital is San Jose

[@JoseCastro-nj5bs]

Because its capital is san josé (yes, with accent)

[@cowsareawesomex]

As a Montreal resident, I appreciate how accurate the skyline is from the IATA office

[@indieflowerutau]

as an atlanta resident, i was appreciating that i could recognize my own airport on sight even with no of the branding on it lmao

[@noemiej.marquis732]

It was the cherry on top. Love it when Grey goes the extra step.

[@MrEthanhines]

He's missing the oratory and of course the Mt. Royal cross. But other than that, it's about right.

[@lupes99]

@@indieflowerutau it’s impossible to miss with its 7 concourses. One of my favorite airports to connect through.

[@johncam8420]

As a Canadian who visited Montreal in 2018, I have to say - yea, I was shocked how accurate it was. Happy to see another Canadian notice!

[@nimi-nae]

I worked at an international airport for a while. We had a little airport code guide in a pamphlet we kept in our lanyards but we had to memorize a ton of them in training. I still impress people with the wacky codes I still happen to know. I always wanted to know why they were so weird so thank you!

[@danese1636]

I genuinely appreciate the lengths you go to while researching for these videos. While no where near the scale of the research you do, as a University student I understand the rabbit holes you end up in when you ask the terrifying "why" questions.

[@LangKuoch]

As a Canadian who had always wondered about our Y's, this video was particularly satisfying to watch!!

[@AvsJoe]

But Y?

[@RainAngel111]

Same

[@ACoolKidsProduction]

I'd totally watch a CGP Grey video on that deep version of why Canadian codes start with a "Y" that he hinted at.

[@jamesdmack]

And, of course, we're sorry.

There's a bunch more interesting stuff looking at UL, IUL both in the vicinity of YUL. Myself, I recently got my license this year at the flight school located at the aerodrome CSE4, with a Transport Canada location code but no IATA or ICAO code.

[@lilshortkid100]

Grey, I'm curious how many times on your travels through the Forest of Infinite Knowledge you have stumbled upon a path, started down it, and decided it's not worth it to discover if that one poem actually is the oldest recorded spelling of Tiffany.

[@nsofwawalklog]

you nailed that

[@sigmasquadleader]

You're a monster, and I respect that.

[@Skyrim_Shuffle]

Take my like, my respect, and rise, brother!

[@dorinstefangheorghe983]

the DAD,MAD,RUN ones having matching pictures is incredible

[@nomoremeaning]

If I was a teacher, I would use your videos as part of my lesson plans. Real facts, explained simply, mixed with a little comedy, in an easy to follow format. This is only my 3rd video, and I can tell you dedicate your time to these. I loved the Most Deadly Job in America video and the one about Federal Land was quite interesting. I learned so much information in less than an hour. This truly is great content, and you definitely deserve every single Sub you have and more!

[@Macdaddy5539]

I love how in the videos Grey is always explaining to their trapped neighbor all this minutia in great detail when in reality, I’m sure Grey wants to interact with as few other humans as possible

[@merseyviking]

And if any one of us were that trapped neighbour, we'd be like "tell us moar!!!"

[@staceynainlab888]

"sir, this is a Wendy's"

[@canadalavearn]

I would gladly watch a 45+ minute video where Grey explains all the parts that he skips over because it's "too complicated" or "not enough time"

[@sexyscientist]

Canada wants to know Y?

[@adt4864]

I think he would make them too if they were only quick and easy to make

[@that_one_guy934]

2 years/ vid instead of 6 months

[@emmakane6848]

I’m pretty sure that he does this for patreon supporters.

[@Dheinamar]

Kudos for using original flags of the post-USSR republicsat 10:02. I bet you spent a few hours on verifying them intentionally just for 10 people who’ll notice.

[@gnomed6154]

Thank you very much for the accurate cameo of our little Yakima Washington (YKM) airport, Grey! That is indeed what our airport roughly looks like! Including the sign. :)

[@an2thetonio191]

I'm from Freiburg, Germany which is served by Basel Airport (BSL/MLH/EAP) and it's genuinely one of the weirdest airports in the world. During covid, whenever I flew home to visit my family, I would have to comply with the entry regulations of 3 different countries (France, Switzerland, and Germany). I also once had to quarantine for two weeks upon returning to Scotland (where I live) despite departing from the Swiss terminal - Switzerland was greenlisted at that time - because the UK aviation authority treats EAP as a French airport only. So despite not setting a foot on French soil, I had to quarantine because France was on the UK's red list. Long story short, it's an effing mess - especially considering Switzerland is not even in the EU. Thanks Grey for giving it a shoutout anyway - I appreciate it :D

[@ivarnordlkken8082]

But, Basel/Mulhouse Airport IS on french soil, isn't it??

[@an2thetonio191]

@@ivarnordlkken8082 sort of, yes. It's in France but half of the building as well the road that connects the airport to Basel is owned by the Swiss government, so it is legally treated as Swiss territory.

[@NNONAO]

Yeah Euro Airport is hit or miss in general. If you're late for your flight but lucky you can go from checking in to your gate in less than ten minutes but if there's a lot of people you'll wait in one of the worst international airports ammenities wise. Also coming in border control always takes ages.

[@PhilipFry.]

@@NNONAO Happy to fly EDDF only

[@einstijn138]

Switzerland is not in the EU, but it is in Schengen, so there is the same free movement of goods and people in and out of Switzerland

[@WitherBossEntity]

Fun fact: OpenBSD provides a list of IATA codes in the /usr/share/misc/airport file, but only for those airports where an OpenBSD developer has landed and confirmed that the airport does, in fact, exist. Train stations with IATA codes don't get added unless a developer crashes a plane there and survives.

[@emmi2670]

How many OpenBSD devs go flying, let alone crash at random train stations?

[@CaptainApathetic]

OpenBSD: Can make a system a nearly impenetrable fortress with its security Also OpenBSD: Has cool easter eggs Damn they really make Microsoft look like a bitch

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

It's like land surveying for the modern era.

[@879PC]

Fun fact: I recently flew solo down to Las Vegas to see a show and the amount of "fun airport facts" I had that I wanted to share with people was unbearable and it's nearly all because of this video. Thank you Mr. Grey.

[@estebancespedes3515]

I'm Colombian and I didn't know there was a place called Orocué much less that it has an airport (2:40). I checked and it's a tiny 8.000 people town in the middle of nowhere in the oriental plains, wild that it has an IATA code.

[@bobafettsrightleg]

I love when Grey depicts countries, organizations, etc with girls and their flag/logo skirts and personalized hats and stuff. So cute !!

[@werbizzy]

i wish i was a cute country with a cute flag skirt and my own hat

[@TPK_MAKG]

@@werbizzy don't we all

[@japzone]

Every CGP Grey video feels like I was wandering the desert and found an oasis.

[@douglasmorth5661]

More like you are wandering the desert and found an oasis which turns out not be an oasis because the desert you have been walking through is not a desert. That is becuase of the type of sand the desert that you're in compile of is not exactly defined as a desert-type sand by an agency you never heard of. So it turns out that you are really just at a lake in a dry place.

[@brianarbenz1329]

But that’s a story for another time.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Or like I was taking a flight to JFK and found an oasis because Grey diverted the flight to a desert.

[@joshuabela5374]

2:52 the woman at the top-right is so delighted to submit her city's code preference I love these animations

[@pengudosh7979]

01:31 Love the idea of windmills as a mode of transportation - Imagine the thrill of getting lifted up in the air, and then (by the power of centrifugal force) flung of towards your destination. I imagine that you’ll land on a giant trampoline. Amazing video, it was really cool!

[@Sinth_Node]

This is how I imagine shakespeare’s plays must have been performed when they were written. The complex yet effortless lyricism that weaves beautifully with humor. Always a treat to watch a new CGP video, thank you for sharing your perspective on aviation codes and how the hell we even got into this mess. Cheers!

[@Unknown-jt1jo]

Agreed! There's a certain hypnotic cadence to CGP's delivery.

[@jamesrosewell9081]

Ah of course Shakespeare was historically known to be a bit fan of airports

[@1983horizons1]

11:26 I love when you can hear the laughter in CGP's voice. That's how you know something is truly absurd.

[@VanadiumBromide]

Big Tim Curry SPACE energy.

[@yichenyin7138]

Maybe you mean 8:40 ?

[@ratherryan]

I actually laughed out loud at that bit.

[@AlexCornellier]

I love that you can see the Montreal skyline behind the IATA, at 3:00 for example. Nice attention to detail :)

[@gwalker607]

I am now putting “fly the funny IATA codes route” on my bucket list

[@teslaromans1023]

The barely contained insanity crawling right under the surface in his voice when he talks about the months lost to research never fails to crack me up

[@Taiyama2]

It's got that "looking longingly at a noose" feel to it.

[@scottmUTCS]

As a Navy vet, I appreciate how excited Grey gets about the possibility of using N for aircraft carriers.

[@neby_nebs]

sorry about the whole Bnashville thing

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

ok

[@benlambert5984]

I like how Grey is just outright adoring of the Netherlands in a lot of his videos.

[@MarcoAdventures]

I love how CGP Grey referenced his half a decade old Social Security Number video. It really shows his love, passion, and dedication to the entertaining content he makes.

[@johannbarnard8175]

I absolutely love how your soundtrack started to subtly shift to playing “O Canada” when you explained Canada’s Y codes. It fits in so well with the rest of the soundtrack that I almost didn’t notice it until that segment was done :P

[@aniruddhakabbya622]

I noticed O Canada and i was like WAIT he really just put it in seamlessly

[@zyriantel9601]

O Canada, more like Y Canada

[@josephf9874]

I'm so glad i wasn't the only one who noticed that

[@aniruddhakabbya622]

Also i get the rant about Canada's Y carrying no geographic location. But seeing a Y automatically means Canada. So glad that we get a unique one

[@amyroseplusone]

Spectacular find 🍁

[@gnarled128]

I love how Grey put IOU and FAQ next to each other, and those are two of the only images he himself features in. Perhaps QnA with Grey is making a return?

[@CGPGrey]

👀

[@mayube9292]

He also featured in OMG immediately after it. IOU FAQ? OMG!

[@hrishikeshharitas2456]

offff! kudos on the observation! altho, knowing grey it might be spring before the QnA actually comes out XD.

[@MushroomMan64]

😳❗❗

[@ooooneeee]

What a twist!

[@valj137]

Absolutely more than 8 months of work definitely went into this. THANK YOU, GREY. Phenomenally entertaining, as always.

[@kingdomcome46]

FUN = Funafuti, Tuvalu 🇹🇻 ! Thanks for the reminder and it's off to Polynesia. 😊

[@ShinmaWa1]

My favorite little airport code quirk is ORD - Chicago O'Hare. Originally named "ORcharD Airfield", it was out in the middle of nowhere next to a small farming community. Even though it hasn't been Orchard Airfield for *80 years*, it is STILL coded as ORD.

[@RAFMnBgaming]

Well that explains a lot. I figured it had something to do with the O'Hare bit.

[@Solarbonite]

MCO McCoy Airfield. Otherwise known as Orlando International Airport 😂

[@Alexandretta]

Spokane International Airport is GEG, for Geiger Field, which it hasn't officially been called since, like, 1960.

[@MarkusG85]

@@Solarbonite and some airlines use OIA on their websites instead of MCO which really confused me to figure out what airport in/around Orlando OIA is.

[@sayantanguha707]

I was once looking for flights from Washington D.C to San Francisco, and found one with a layover at ORD. "Why on earth is this going via Orlando??" I thought, and decided to book a non-stop, way more expensive, flight instead.

[@joe_z]

Can't wait for the secondary video documenting Grey's descent into madness trying to figure out where the heck the Y for Canadian airports comes from.

[@basicallylife8387]

As a Canadian, I knew that some airports had codes beginning with Y (YYZ, YKF) but I didnt know it was *all* of them

[@ann_onn]

In the late 1800s, when Canada constructed a transcontinental railway, they communicated between stations in morse code. Each was given a two-letter code, such as QB for Quebec. In the early to mid 19th century, as airports were built, they used the same codes but with a letter to indicate whether it had a weather station - "Y" for Yes. The USA didn't have many airports in places starting with a Y, so Canada stuck to their system. Hence Aéroport de Québec is YQB.

[@hotdogvan3399]

@@ann_onn In this very video he says he researched the Yes Weather Station story, and that it's not the reason for the Y.

[@ann_onn]

@@hotdogvan3399 [citation needed]

[@kenna176]

As an airline brat-turned-airline employee, I absolutely love everything about this.

[@Wario512]

04:30 those Q-Codes are still in use in aviation, like the QNH which every even modern plane needs to know as it is the local air pressure and important for meassuring altitudes.

[@jcoogs7149]

Can’t wait to see how this video branches off into the linguistics of acronyms and the evolution of early humans

[@SandeepKaur-rw2fj]

You were close

[@globalincident694]

He went back as far as the printing press at least

[@Geeksmithing]

Most aren't acronyms though. ;)

[@chriswatts5921]

Regarding "not starting with the letter Q" there are several 3 letter morse Q-codes that are regularly used in aviation to describe certain numbers. QNH is current pressure at mean sea level and QFE is current pressure at field elevation for example. As these are used by ATC all the time it's handy to not mistake them with airport codes.

[@iamtheAtomicPenguin]

ATC and pilots use 4-letter ICAO location indicators (as they are called), not the IATA codes. Furthermore, QNH is said over the radio by spelling each letter as in the alphabet, whereas EDDB (Berlin) is spelled out using the ICAO phonetic alphabet as Echo Delta Delta Bravo. No way to mix those two things up.

[@PlayerLPs]

I'm from Freiburg and I'm so happy that the Euroairport was mentioned 😃 It's a common thing for Germans to travel by bus to the airport over the French border going in to the Switzerland part of the airport to fly somewhere else.

[@sreekar5691]

Q codes are used in amateur radio Morse code operation (CW). That operation is used a lot on HF bands, so it's still widely used. QRM (interference) and QSY (change to another frequency) are some examples of Q codes.

[@polsar749]

I love every time Grey says some variation of "No really, we don't have time." in his videos, because each time I know that he *did* take that time while researching and making the script for the video. Each of those statements roughly translate to "Explaining this would double this video's length, or more."

[@thegardenofeatin5965]

You can feel "Someone dead ruined my life for a third time" in places.

[@grant5227]

I'd be up for a 12 hour video like this.

[@danielbelchamber3894]

Grey, I just have to say thank you for diving into the monstrosities of reality and bringing back a story for our entertainment and education. You genuinely make me feel less alone by proving that there are others who fight valiantly to make sense of this insane world. Thank you!

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

[@bradoleary88]

Well said!

[@elgrazo82]

8:03 fun fact, the city of Basel (where the EuroAirport BSL-MLH-EAP is right next to) has an additional IATA code: ZDH, which stands for the Basel SBB Railway Station. You can book a "flight" from ZDH to anywhere in the world via ZRH (Zurich Airport)

[@laylahassomethingtosay]

As someone who's spent the last 8 months doing internal software development for a major airline, I feel seen😌

[@baxtermcloughlin2287]

The fact that Grey can talk about a subject that I wouldn't have ever thought to learn and I am actually fully invested in. Which then later will become a hyper fixation

[@colossaldonut5190]

I spent my entire time at the airport 2 months ago trying to find out what the run number was, but never did.

[@duffmanis1337]

Will definitely have the fastest boarding times of all airports though!

[@qKitti]

CGP Grey has to be in my top 3 favourite KZbinrs of all time. Thee amount of research put into such trivial topics is so admirable. I loved the subtle Canadian anthem remix of the background music, and all the references to earlier parts of the video. Tiny details like this are why CGP Grey is, in my opinion, the best educational channel on KZbin. Amazing video :)

[@sebastianjost]

What er the other channels that come close to this quality? Anything comparable seems worth mentioning as a potential recommendation.

[@JohnSmith-rr3pq]

@@sebastianjost tapakapa

[@anthonybowman3423]

@@sebastianjost I guess it depends on what kind of thing you're looking for. My favorite educational channel is Crash Course personally, just for the sheer amount of actual information and teaching they do. It might not be quite as entertaining, but it helps the world a hell of a lot more.

[@Nebulous999]

@@sebastianjost Kurzgezagt is probably the closest in quality I can think of. Different style, but still great. I don't think anyone can compare to CGP Grey, though.

[@pinkysweets]

@@Nebulous999 if you're talking about the time and effort put toward a video by a single person, captain disillusion is the king of youtube. Kurzgezagt, while entertaining, has became some sort of high quality content farm and contains very little useful infomation

[@wyattdornewass2651]

I love how he says that all the London airports are ages away from eachother, and then shows the times between them which is less than a casual drive between my hometown and L.A.

[@ibtehaj-khan]

07:18 "An airport so nice, they coded it thrice" really got me

[@K9R]

I'd just like to say that I really appreciate the scene starting at 1:25 being an actual representation of the Dutch terminal of Schiphol Airport. It actually has three levels, an underground trainstation and this is what a Dutch train actually looks like when you take a train to the city center of Amsterdam. Well done!

[@XEinstein]

Well technically this type of train does not only depart to Amsterdam. These types of trains have many other destinations from Schiphol as well.

[@MustafaAlmosawi]

Also the intermodal goodness at Schiphol one of the best airport experiences in the world!

[@PatricioHondagneuRoig]

Been there this year, it's a logistical beauty of an airport (except for the 4hr long security line)

[@K9R]

@@XEinstein Yes, this type of train operates throughout the entire country of the Netherlands.

[@Jothamvvw]

And of course Schiphol doesn't have the code Ams for its train station, as Ams doesn't exist. Schiphol is Shl.

[@mgtmusic2926]

I live close by the Basel Mulhouse airport and used it plenty of times and now that I think about it, it’s such a surreal experience. There’s a strict border Line and as soon as you cross it every Staff member starts to speak French. They have double Government Buildings for Border Fees and what not. But it’s so normalized for me that I don’t even notice it.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

I like the idea that someone starts speaking to you in French and you're like, "Uh, sprechen sie Deutsch?" and they have to step over a line to talk to you.

[@lucash8234]

It's like "The City and the City" by China Miéville.

[@adrianthoroughgood1191]

@@lucash8234 I came here to say this!

[@GoldenFlyer]

I love how Grey uses route examples that would be financially unsustainable

[@noterix1164]

this was incredible to watch and I loved all the wordplay ! I have no idea how this ended up in my recommended but I sure am glad it did