Where in Europe is FCO? Trivia Quiz

London Heathrow Airport is located in the London Borough of Hillingdon, approximately 23 km (14 miles) west of central London. It is the main international airport serving London and the busiest in the United Kingdom. Originally opened in 1929 as a small private airfield known as "Great West Aerodrome", it was requisitioned by the government during World War II for military aircraft production. However, the war ended before it became operational as an RAF base, and the site was instead converted into a civil airport. It was officially opened to commercial passenger traffic on 31 May 1946.

Although it was intended for military use during the war, the airport never saw combat and was adapted for passenger use after the conflict. Over the decades, Heathrow has become one of the busiest and most accessible international airports in the world.

The IATA code LHR stands for London Heathrow. The "L" refers to London, while "HR" is derived from Heath Row, the name of the former hamlet that once occupied the site but was demolished to make way for the airport.

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is located in Roissy-en-France, approximately 25 km (16 miles) north-east of the centre of Paris. It is the largest international airport in France and one of the busiest in Europe in terms of passenger traffic. The airport was built from scratch as a major new hub for the capital, with construction beginning in 1966. Officially opened on 8 March 1974, it was originally known as "Aéroport de Paris Nord" before being renamed in honour of General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Forces and former President of France.

Unlike many older European airports that began as military airfields, Charles de Gaulle was deliberately built as a civil passenger airport from the outset. Its innovative design, particularly Terminal 1 with its circular structure and futuristic aesthetics, reflected the ambition to create a modern aviation hub for the jet age.

The IATA code CDG stands for Charles De Gaulle, the airport's namesake. It's one of the few major European airport codes that directly reflects a person's name rather than a place.

Geneva Airport is located approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) northwest of the city centre of Geneva, Switzerland, near the French border. It serves as the main international airport for western Switzerland and also provides access to parts of eastern France, including ski resorts in the Alps. The airport first opened on 11 October 1919 as a simple grass airfield known as Cointrin Airport, named after the local district.

Originally built as a civil airport, Geneva Airport has been used for both civil and military purposes at various points in its history. During the Second World War, Switzerland's policy of neutrality limited its strategic military use, but the airport played a role in diplomatic and humanitarian flights. After the war, it was greatly expanded to accommodate the boom in commercial air travel.

The IATA code GVA is derived from Geneva, the English spelling of the city, which is called Génčve in French. While the airport is still often referred to by locals as Cointrin, the international code reflects its broader identity as Geneva's main air gateway.

Munich Airport is located near the town of Freising, about 28 km (17 miles) northeast of Munich, Germany. It is the country's second busiest airport after Frankfurt, and serves as a major hub for southern Germany and central Europe. The current airport officially opened on 17 May 1992, replacing the older Munich-Riem Airport, which had reached its capacity and was too close to the city for further expansion.

Unlike its predecessor, Munich Airport was purpose-built as a modern civil airport with ample space for future development. The site was chosen to minimise noise pollution and allow for long-term growth. Since its opening, the airport has expanded to include several terminals, including a dedicated terminal for Lufthansa and Star Alliance partners.

The IATA code MUC stands for Munich, using the English spelling of the city which is München in German. This abbreviation was originally used for the older Riem Airport and was retained when operations moved to the new location in 1992.

Málaga Airport is located about 8 km (5 miles) southwest of Málaga city centre, near the suburb of Churriana, on Spain's Costa del Sol. It serves as the main international gateway to Andalusia and is particularly important for tourism, with millions of passengers arriving each year for holidays along the Mediterranean coast. Officially opened on 9 March 1919, the airport originally served as a stopover for flights between Toulouse and Casablanca on the pioneering Latécočre airmail route.

From its earliest days, Málaga Airport was used for civil aviation, but it also played a role in military operations during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Afterward, it returned to full civilian use and expanded significantly in the 1960s and beyond, in response to the rapid growth of international tourism to the Costa del Sol.

The IATA code AGP has given rise to several colourful urban legends. One popular theory is that it stands for Aeropuerto Gran Picasso, in reference to the great artist Pablo Picasso, who was born in Málaga. Another links it to Agrippina, a Roman empress whose name is said to be linked to a temple in ancient Malaka. Although these stories are charming, they are not true. The real explanation is far more mundane: when IATA allocated the codes, the more obvious options such as MLG, MAL, MGA and MAG had already been taken by airports in Indonesia, Nicaragua and Papua New Guinea. To avoid duplication, the association took "AG" from Málaga and added a third letter to create a unique, unused code - AGP.

Rome-Fiumicino Airport is located near the town of Fiumicino, about 32 km (20 miles) southwest of Rome's city center. It is Italy's busiest airport and the main international gateway to the capital. Officially named "Leonardo da Vinci International Airport", it opened on 15 January 1961, replacing the smaller Rome Ciampino Airport as the main airport for international flights.

Fiumicino was purpose-built as a civil airport, designed to accommodate the rapid growth of commercial air travel in the post-war period. Although Rome Ciampino continued to handle some domestic and charter flights, Fiumicino became the heart of Italy's international aviation network, undergoing major expansions over the decades.

The IATA code FCO is derived from the airport's location at Fiumicino. The abbreviation uses the first two letters "FC" and adds an "O", a common practice in IATA codes when more intuitive options are already in use or to avoid duplication. The code does not refer to Leonardo da Vinci, despite the airport's official name, but directly to the city and coastal area where it was built.

Riga International Airport is located about 10 km (6 miles) west of the centre of Riga, the capital city of Latvia. It is the largest and busiest airport in the Baltic States and serves as a major hub for travel throughout northern and eastern Europe. The airport officially opened on 2 October 1974, replacing the older Spilve Airport, which had served Riga since the 1920s but was no longer suitable for modern jet aircraft.

Riga International was designed as a civil airport, though like many facilities in the Soviet Union at the time, it also accommodated military operations. Its construction reflected the need for a larger, more modern airport to support both domestic Soviet routes and limited international flights. Since Latvia regained independence in the early 1990s, the airport has undergone major upgrades and is now a fully modern civil airport.

The IATA code RIX takes the first two letters of Riga and adds an "X" as a filler - a common convention when more obvious combinations (in this case RIG or RGA) are already taken by other airports. This practice can also be seen in codes such as LAX for Los Angeles Airport and some others.

Stockholm Arlanda Airport is located in the municipality of Sigtuna, approximately 37 km (23 miles) north of central Stockholm, Sweden. It is the largest airport in Sweden and serves as the main international gateway to the country. Arlanda officially opened for commercial traffic in 1962, although test flights and limited use began several years earlier. It was built from the ground up as a civil airport, specifically designed to handle the growing volume of international air traffic in the post-war period.

The IATA code ARN comes from "Arlanda", the name of the area where the airport is located. The name itself was created for the airport by combining "Arland", an old name for the surrounding area, with "landa", the Swedish verb for "to land". While "STO" is sometimes used as a city code for the Stockholm area, it is not associated with any single airport. ARN became the official name for Stockholm's main international airport.

Warsaw Chopin Airport is located in the Włochy district of Warsaw, approximately 10 km (6 miles) southwest of the city centre. It is the largest and busiest airport in Poland and serves as the main international gateway to the country. The airport was originally opened in 1934 as Okęcie Airport, named after the village where it was built. Built as a civil airport, it suffered extensive damage during World War II and was rebuilt and expanded in the following decades.

Today it is officially named after the famous Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, although many locals still refer to it simply as "Okęcie". The IATA code WAW is a simple abbreviation of the English name Warsaw or the Polish version Warszawa.

Henri Coandă International Airport is located in Otopeni, a town about 16.5 km (10 miles) north of central Bucharest, Romania. It is the country's busiest airport and serves as the main international gateway to the Romanian capital. The airport was originally opened in 1965 as Bucharest Otopeni Airport, built on the site of a former World War II military airbase. It was originally designed for both military and civil aviation, but later developed into a fully civil airport.

The IATA code OTP comes directly from the name of the city of Otopeni, where the airport is located. Although the airport was renamed in 2004 in honour of Henri Coandă, a Romanian aviation pioneer, the IATA code remains unchanged. OTP reflects the airport's original geographical identity and follows the common practice of using a location-based abbreviation rather than a name-based one.