Flight Number vs Callsign: Why PK301 Shows Up as PIA301
You type PK301 from your ticket, and the flight tracker shows a plane labelled PIA301. Same flight? Yes. Airlines use two different codes, and once you know the difference, flight tracking makes a lot more sense.
Two codes for every airline
IATA codes have two characters. They are made for passengers: you see them on tickets, boarding passes, bag tags and departure boards. PIA is PK, Emirates is EK, Fly Jinnah is 9P.
ICAO codes have three letters. They are made for pilots and air traffic control. The pilot of PK301 says "Pakistan three zero one" on the radio, and the plane's transponder broadcasts the callsign PIA301.
Flight trackers receive what the plane transmits, so they show the ICAO callsign. fly24 translates both ways: search the number on your ticket and it finds the callsign in the air.
Common airlines and their codes
| Airline | Ticket (IATA) | Callsign (ICAO) |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan International Airlines | PK | PIA |
| Fly Jinnah | 9P | FJL |
| AirSial | PF | SIF |
| Serene Air | ER | SEP |
| Emirates | EK | UAE |
| flydubai | FZ | FDB |
| Qatar Airways | QR | QTR |
| Etihad Airways | EY | ETD |
| Saudia | SV | SVA |
| Turkish Airlines | TK | THY |
Why the number sometimes doesn't match
Most of the time the number stays the same: EK623 flies as UAE623. But airlines can choose a different callsign number to avoid confusion on the radio. If two flights with similar numbers are near each other, a controller could mix up "UAE623" and "UAE632", so one of them may fly with a different number, or a mix of numbers and letters.
If your flight number doesn't show up, try searching the departure or arrival airport instead and look for the airline in the arrivals or departures list.
Airport codes work the same way
Airports also have both. Lahore is LHE (IATA) and OPLA (ICAO). Karachi is KHI and OPKC, Islamabad is ISB and OPIS. You can search fly24 with either.