2007-01-08 01:47:56 · 5 answers · asked by medard r 1 in Local Businesses ➔ United States ➔ Chicago
ORD is the IATA (International Air Transport Association) code for the airport. All airports are assigned codes by the IATA to make shipping baggage and coordinating routes and planes easier. It also avoids confusion because each airport has a unique code, while each airport may not have a unique name.
Specifically, O'Hare was assigned ORD because the previous name of the airport was ORcharD Field. That name was given to the airport in 1945, and the code was simply not changed when the airport was renamed after World War II flying ace Lt. Cmdr. Edward O'Hare in 1949.
It should be noted that this is in keeping with IATA standards, whereby few airports have their codes changed when the name changes. This is because the system is designed for simplicity, and changing the codes causes confusion.
JFK in New York in CDG (Paris-Charles de Gaulle) are two exceptions, as they are airports that did get new codes after being renamed, but Washington-Reagan (DCA) and New Orleans Louis Armstrong International (MSY) are among the many that did not change their code.
Interestingly, General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee has used O'Hare's IATA code in ads encouraging Chicago travellers to fly out of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee ad campaign tell flyers that they can "Avoid the ORDeal" of flying out of Chicago by using the Milwaukee airport, which is only about one hour away.
2007-01-08 17:29:13 · answer #1 · answered by ajs3400 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
ORD stood for Orchard Field, the predecessor airport to O'Hare.
2007-01-08 02:12:27 · answer #2 · answered by CMass Stan 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's just a 3-letter airport code. They're issued by the International Air Transport Association. It's not an abbreviation for anything.
2007-01-08 01:50:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
this is an abbreviation for the word "orchard". The O'Hare airport was built in an orchard and that was the original tag "ORD"
2007-01-08 09:03:20 · answer #4 · answered by OrangeRhino 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My dad works for an airline so i can help answer your question hopefully. when he was training to get the job he had to spend hours studying the different codes of all the airports around the world. he told me that it was very difficult to memorize because often the airport codes used have nothing to do with the airport itself. they dont even look like the name at all. so from what i know ord for chicago ohaire has nothing to do with anything.... it's just a random code they decided to choose for it.
2007-01-08 01:57:30 · answer #5 · answered by yay4pink 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋