New York City Will Soon Claim Only Two Major Airports

Even though Newark Liberty International Airport has always been in New Jersey, it's always been classified as a New York City metropolitan area airport—until now.

Starting Oct. 3, Newark's airport code, EWR, will become its own City Code, according to a memo recently circulated by Lufthansa Group on Twitter. This outcome was the result of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) updating its "Multi-Airport Cities" standards "to ensure consistent pricing across all reservation systems." Multi-Airport Cities, like NYC, claim multiple airports, train stations, and other "intermodal locations" under one city code.

Currently, Newark—along with John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport—are grouped by the City Code NYC. With Newark's existing airport code becoming independent from NYC, IATA will give the New Jersey airport its own pricing structure, reporting that "fares for New York [NYC or JFK] may differ."

How much different? Time will tell, but for now, the reorganization could work in your favor—especially if you're not married to one particular airport. Newark will continue to appear as an option when you search for flights to the Big Apple, so if your ultimate goal is to book the cheapest ticket possible, airline sites and online travel agencies will still help you do that.

For travelers needing flexibility, however, the new structure could become a pain point. "The primary way this change could impact travelers is by limiting their options to freely change flights," Scott Keyes, founder of Scott's Cheap Flights, told Travel + Leisure. "Currently, many airlines allow travelers to switch flights within a city code—say, from arriving in JFK to arriving in LGA—without a penalty. Removing EWR from the NYC city code could restrict that option for many passengers."

Newark isn't the only airport affected by IATA's latest update. Other airports that will now fall under a new city code include Izmir (ADB); Basel (BSL); Mpumalanga, Krueger National Park (MQP); and Monrovia (ROB).