NQZ vs TSE: Will Astana's airport revert to its old code?

Tengrinews.kz - The Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) of Kazakhstan has addressed inquiries regarding the potential renaming of Astana's international airport and the possibility of reverting its three-letter airport code from NQZ back to TSE.

In 2020, the airport, officially named Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, saw its code change from TSE to NQZ. The 'N' in NQZ represents both the airport and the capital city Nur-Sultan, while 'QZ' stands for Qazaqstan.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulates the assignment of these unique location identifiers worldwide. Notably, past years the code remained unchanged despite the city's name changes to Akmola and Astana. It remained as TSE - Tselinograd, capital's previous name.

"The process of changing a three-letter code is unprecedented and required significant efforts over several years to amend IATA’s resolution. This involved coordinating with airlines and service providers to implement the necessary updates in global systems and conducting numerous meetings internationally. Additionally, changing airport codes incurs substantial costs for IATA members," the CAC stated.

Despite Astana reclaiming its old name, the city’s airport officially remains Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, making the NQZ code still relevant.