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Each airport around the world is assigned a three-letter IATA (International Air Transport Association) code to make them easily and quickly identifiable. This three-letter system allows for 17,576 permutations. San Francisco International Airport’s three letter code, SFO, first appeared in the “American Aviation Air Traffic Guide” in 1947. Image: San Francisco International Airport (SFO) postcard, c. 1950. Gift of Thomas G. Dragges. 2015.166.2271 This image was posted on January 07, 2021.