airport-data-js

Airport Data JS

A comprehensive JavaScript library for retrieving airport information by IATA codes, ICAO codes, and various other criteria. This library provides easy access to a large dataset of airports worldwide with detailed information including coordinates, timezone, type, and external links.

Installation

npm install airport-data-js

Features

• 🌍 Comprehensive airport database with worldwide coverage
• 🔍 Search by IATA codes, ICAO codes, country, continent, and more
• 📍 Geographic proximity search with customizable radius
• 🔗 External links to Wikipedia, airport websites, and flight tracking services
• 📏 Distance calculation between airports
• 🏷️ Filter by airport type (large_airport, medium_airport, small_airport, heliport, seaplane_base)
• 🕒 Timezone-based airport lookup
• 💡 Autocomplete suggestions for search interfaces
• 🎯 Advanced multi-criteria filtering
• 📊 Statistical analysis by country and continent
• 🔢 Bulk operations for multiple airports
• ✅ Code validation utilities
• 🎚️ Airport ranking by runway length and elevation

Airport Data Structure

Each airport object contains the following fields:

{
  iata: "SIN",                    // 3-letter IATA code
  icao: "WSSS",                   // 4-letter ICAO code
  time: "Asia/Singapore",         // Timezone identifier
  country_code: "SG",             // 2-letter country code
  continent: "AS",                // 2-letter continent code (AS, EU, NA, SA, AF, OC, AN)
  airport: "Singapore Changi Airport",  // Airport name
  latitude: "1.35019",            // Latitude coordinate
  longitude: "103.994003",        // Longitude coordinate
  elevation: "22",                // Elevation in feet
  type: "large_airport",          // Airport type
  scheduled_service: true,        // Has scheduled commercial service
  wikipedia: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Changi_Airport",
  website: "https://www.changiairport.com",
  runway_length: "13200",         // Longest runway in feet
  flightradar24_url: "https://www.flightradar24.com/airport/SIN",
  radarbox_url: "https://www.radarbox.com/airport/WSSS",
  flightaware_url: "https://www.flightaware.com/live/airport/WSSS"
}

Basic Usage

const {
  getAirportByIata,
  getAirportByIcao,
  searchByName,
  findNearbyAirports
} = require('airport-data-js');

// Get airport by IATA code
const [airport] = await getAirportByIata('SIN');
console.log(airport.airport); // "Singapore Changi Airport"

// Get airport by ICAO code
const [airport] = await getAirportByIcao('WSSS');
console.log(airport.country_code); // "SG"

// Search airports by name
const airports = await searchByName('Singapore');
console.log(airports.length); // Multiple airports matching "Singapore"

// Find nearby airports (within 50km of coordinates)
const nearby = await findNearbyAirports(1.35019, 103.994003, 50);
console.log(nearby); // Airports near Singapore Changi

API Reference

Core Search Functions

getAirportByIata(iataCode)

Finds airports by their 3-letter IATA code.

const airports = await getAirportByIata('LHR');
// Returns array of airports with IATA code 'LHR'

getAirportByIcao(icaoCode)

Finds airports by their 4-character ICAO code.

const airports = await getAirportByIcao('EGLL');
// Returns array of airports with ICAO code 'EGLL'

searchByName(query)

Searches for airports by name (case-insensitive, minimum 2 characters).

const airports = await searchByName('Heathrow');
// Returns airports with 'Heathrow' in their name

Geographic Functions

findNearbyAirports(lat, lon, radiusKm)

Finds airports within a specified radius of given coordinates.

const nearby = await findNearbyAirports(51.5074, -0.1278, 100);
// Returns airports within 100km of London coordinates

calculateDistance(code1, code2)

Calculates the great-circle distance between two airports using IATA or ICAO codes.

const distance = await calculateDistance('LHR', 'JFK');
// Returns distance in kilometers (approximately 5540)

Filtering Functions

getAirportByCountryCode(countryCode)

Finds all airports in a specific country.

const usAirports = await getAirportByCountryCode('US');
// Returns all airports in the United States

getAirportByContinent(continentCode)

Finds all airports on a specific continent.

const asianAirports = await getAirportByContinent('AS');
// Returns all airports in Asia
// Continent codes: AS, EU, NA, SA, AF, OC, AN

getAirportsByType(type)

Finds airports by their type.

const largeAirports = await getAirportsByType('large_airport');
// Available types: large_airport, medium_airport, small_airport, heliport, seaplane_base

// Convenience search for all airports
const allAirports = await getAirportsByType('airport');
// Returns large_airport, medium_airport, and small_airport

getAirportsByTimezone(timezone)

Finds all airports within a specific timezone.

const londonAirports = await getAirportsByTimezone('Europe/London');
// Returns airports in London timezone

Advanced Functions

findAirports(filters)

Finds airports matching multiple criteria.

// Find large airports in Great Britain with scheduled service
const airports = await findAirports({
  country_code: 'GB',
  type: 'large_airport',
  has_scheduled_service: true
});

// Find airports with minimum runway length
const longRunwayAirports = await findAirports({
  min_runway_ft: 10000
});

getAutocompleteSuggestions(query)

Provides autocomplete suggestions for search interfaces (returns max 10 results).

const suggestions = await getAutocompleteSuggestions('Lon');
// Returns up to 10 airports matching 'Lon' in name or IATA code

getAirportLinks(code)

Gets external links for an airport using IATA or ICAO code.

const links = await getAirportLinks('SIN');
// Returns:
// {
//   website: "https://www.changiairport.com",
//   wikipedia: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Changi_Airport",
//   flightradar24: "https://www.flightradar24.com/airport/SIN",
//   radarbox: "https://www.radarbox.com/airport/WSSS",
//   flightaware: "https://www.flightaware.com/live/airport/WSSS"
// }

Statistical & Analytical Functions

getAirportStatsByCountry(countryCode)

Gets comprehensive statistics about airports in a specific country.

const stats = await getAirportStatsByCountry('US');
// Returns:
// {
//   total: 5432,
//   byType: {
//     large_airport: 139,
//     medium_airport: 467,
//     small_airport: 4826
//   },
//   withScheduledService: 606,
//   averageRunwayLength: 5234,
//   averageElevation: 1245,
//   timezones: ['America/New_York', 'America/Chicago', ...]
// }

getAirportStatsByContinent(continentCode)

Gets comprehensive statistics about airports on a specific continent.

const stats = await getAirportStatsByContinent('AS');
// Returns statistics including count by type, by country, 
// scheduled service count, average runway length, elevation, and timezones

getLargestAirportsByContinent(continentCode, limit, sortBy)

Gets the largest airports on a continent by runway length or elevation.

// Get top 5 airports in Asia by runway length
const airports = await getLargestAirportsByContinent('AS', 5, 'runway');

// Get top 10 airports in South America by elevation
const highAltitude = await getLargestAirportsByContinent('SA', 10, 'elevation');

Bulk Operations

getMultipleAirports(codes)

Fetches multiple airports by their IATA or ICAO codes in one call.

const airports = await getMultipleAirports(['SIN', 'LHR', 'JFK', 'WSSS']);
// Returns array of airport objects (null for codes not found)
// Efficiently fetches multiple airports at once

calculateDistanceMatrix(codes)

Calculates distances between all pairs of airports in a list.

const matrix = await calculateDistanceMatrix(['SIN', 'LHR', 'JFK']);
// Returns:
// {
//   airports: [
//     { code: 'SIN', name: 'Singapore Changi Airport', iata: 'SIN', icao: 'WSSS' },
//     { code: 'LHR', name: 'London Heathrow Airport', iata: 'LHR', icao: 'EGLL' },
//     { code: 'JFK', name: 'John F Kennedy International Airport', iata: 'JFK', icao: 'KJFK' }
//   ],
//   distances: {
//     SIN: { SIN: 0, LHR: 10872, JFK: 15344 },
//     LHR: { SIN: 10872, LHR: 0, JFK: 5540 },
//     JFK: { SIN: 15344, LHR: 5540, JFK: 0 }
//   }
// }

findNearestAirport(lat, lon, filters)

Finds the single nearest airport to given coordinates, optionally with filters.

// Find nearest airport to coordinates
const nearest = await findNearestAirport(1.35019, 103.994003);
// Returns airport object with additional 'distance' field in km

// Find nearest large airport with scheduled service
const nearestHub = await findNearestAirport(1.35019, 103.994003, {
  type: 'large_airport',
  has_scheduled_service: true
});

Validation & Utilities

validateIataCode(code)

Validates if an IATA code exists in the database.

const isValid = await validateIataCode('SIN'); // true
const isInvalid = await validateIataCode('XYZ'); // false
const isBadFormat = await validateIataCode('ABCD'); // false

validateIcaoCode(code)

Validates if an ICAO code exists in the database.

const isValid = await validateIcaoCode('WSSS'); // true
const isInvalid = await validateIcaoCode('XXXX'); // false

getAirportCount(filters)

Gets the count of airports matching the given filters without fetching all data.

// Get total airport count
const total = await getAirportCount();

// Get count of large airports in the US
const count = await getAirportCount({
  country_code: 'US',
  type: 'large_airport'
});

isAirportOperational(code)

Checks if an airport has scheduled commercial service.

const operational = await isAirportOperational('SIN'); // true
const notOperational = await isAirportOperational('SOME_SMALL_AIRPORT'); // false

Error Handling

All functions return promises and may throw errors for invalid input or when no data is found.

try {
  const airport = await getAirportByIata('XYZ');
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error.message); // "No data found for IATA code: XYZ"
}

Examples

Find airports near a city

// Find airports within 100km of Paris
const parisAirports = await findNearbyAirports(48.8566, 2.3522, 100);
console.log(`Found ${parisAirports.length} airports near Paris`);

Get flight distance

// Calculate distance between Singapore and London
const distance = await calculateDistance('SIN', 'LHR');
console.log(`Distance: ${Math.round(distance)} km`);

Build an airport search interface

// Get autocomplete suggestions
const suggestions = await getAutocompleteSuggestions('New York');
suggestions.forEach(airport => {
  console.log(`${airport.iata} - ${airport.airport}`);
});

Filter airports by multiple criteria

// Find large airports in Asia with scheduled service
const asianHubs = await findAirports({
  continent: 'AS',
  type: 'large_airport',
  has_scheduled_service: true
});

Get airport statistics

// Get comprehensive statistics for US airports
const usStats = await getAirportStatsByCountry('US');
console.log(`Total airports: ${usStats.total}`);
console.log(`Large airports: ${usStats.byType.large_airport}`);
console.log(`Average runway length: ${usStats.averageRunwayLength} ft`);

// Get statistics for Asian airports
const asiaStats = await getAirportStatsByContinent('AS');
console.log(`Countries with airports: ${Object.keys(asiaStats.byCountry).length}`);

Bulk operations

// Fetch multiple airports at once
const airports = await getMultipleAirports(['SIN', 'LHR', 'JFK', 'NRT']);
airports.forEach(airport => {
  if (airport) {
    console.log(`${airport.iata}: ${airport.airport}`);
  }
});

// Calculate distance matrix for route planning
const matrix = await calculateDistanceMatrix(['SIN', 'LHR', 'JFK']);
console.log(`Distance from SIN to LHR: ${matrix.distances.SIN.LHR} km`);
console.log(`Distance from LHR to JFK: ${matrix.distances.LHR.JFK} km`);

Validation utilities

// Validate airport codes before processing
const codes = ['SIN', 'XYZ', 'LHR', 'ABCD'];
for (const code of codes) {
  const isValid = await validateIataCode(code);
  console.log(`${code}: ${isValid ? 'Valid' : 'Invalid'}`);
}

// Check if airport is operational
const operational = await isAirportOperational('SIN');
console.log(`Singapore Changi is operational: ${operational}`);

Find nearest airport

// Find nearest airport to current location
const nearest = await findNearestAirport(1.35019, 103.994003);
console.log(`Nearest airport: ${nearest.airport} (${nearest.distance} km away)`);

// Find nearest large airport with scheduled service
const nearestHub = await findNearestAirport(1.35019, 103.994003, {
  type: 'large_airport',
  has_scheduled_service: true
});

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for the full version history and release notes.

Data Source

This library uses a comprehensive dataset of worldwide airports with regular updates to ensure accuracy and completeness.

License

This project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome! Feel free to check the issues page.

Getting Started

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/aashishvanand/airport-data-js.git
cd airport-data-js

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run the test suite
npm test

# Build both Node.js and browser bundles
npm run build

Project Structure

airport-data-js/
├── src/
│   ├── index.js                  # Library source code
│   └── airports.compressed       # Compressed airport dataset
├── lib/                          # Node.js CJS build output
├── dist/                         # Browser build output
├── data/
│   └── airports.json             # Raw airport data (source of truth)
├── scripts/
│   ├── compress_json.js          # Compresses airports.json for distribution
│   ├── check_duplicates.js       # Validates no duplicate IATA/ICAO codes
│   ├── extract_latest_changelog.js # Extracts changelog for GitHub releases
│   └── benchmark.js              # Performance benchmarks
├── tests/
│   └── index.test.js             # Jest test suite
├── webpack.node.cjs              # Webpack config for Node.js bundle
└── webpack.browser.cjs           # Webpack config for browser bundle

Available Scripts

Command	Description
npm test	Run the Jest test suite
npm run build	Build both Node.js (lib/) and browser (dist/) bundles
npm run build:lib	Build only the Node.js bundle
npm run build:dist	Build only the browser bundle
npm run check:duplicates	Check for duplicate airport codes in the dataset

Development Workflow

• Create a branch from main for your changes
• Make your changes in src/index.js or data/airports.json
• Add or update tests in tests/index.test.js
• Run tests to make sure everything passes: npm test
• Build to verify the bundles compile: npm run build
• Submit a pull request against main

Updating Airport Data

If you are adding or updating airport entries:

• Edit data/airports.json directly
• Run npm run check:duplicates to ensure no duplicate IATA/ICAO codes
• Run node scripts/compress_json.js to regenerate the compressed dataset
• Run npm test to verify the changes
• Submit a pull request with both the JSON and compressed data changes

Publishing a New Version

Releases are automated via the release workflow. To publish a new version:

• Update the version in package.json (follow Semantic Versioning)
• Update CHANGELOG.md with a new section for the version (follow Keep a Changelog format)
• Build and test locally to confirm everything works:

  npm run build && npm test
  

• Commit your changes to main
• Push or merge to the release branch -- this triggers the CI pipeline which will:
  • Run tests across Node.js 20.x, 22.x, and 24.x
  • Run a security audit (npm audit --audit-level=critical)
  • Check for duplicate airport codes
  • Build the package
  • Compare the version in package.json against the published npm version
  • Publish to npm with provenance (if the version is new)
  • Create a GitHub Release with notes extracted from CHANGELOG.md

The workflow can also be triggered manually via workflow_dispatch from the Actions tab.

Version Policy

• Patch (e.g., 3.0.1 -> 3.0.2): Data updates, bug fixes, performance improvements, dependency bumps
• Minor (e.g., 3.0.x -> 3.1.0): New functions or non-breaking feature additions
• Major (e.g., 3.x.x -> 4.0.0): Breaking API changes or data format changes