ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 What\u2019s your nickname for Orlando International Airport?<\/p>\n
Some people say OIA. Some people say MCO, which is the airport\u2019s official code.<\/p>\n
But the airport wants to make sure you know \u2014 it\u2019s MCO.<\/p>\n
In fact, they have tweeted about it.<\/p>\n
The airport\u2019s MCO designation is rooted in its military past.<\/p>\n
Orlando International Airport was originally a military base dating as far back as the 1940s, when it was Pinecastle Army Airfield. In 1958, it was renamed McCoy Air Force Base after Colonel Michael McCoy, who was killed during a bombing competition.<\/p>\n
The civilian airport was designated MCO after the base name, and even though the military base closed in 1975, those letters haven\u2019t changed. The airport became Orlando International in 1976.<\/p>\n
If you ask people around Orlando though, the preference is divided, and if you Google \u201cOIA,\u201d the airport is the first thing to pop up, followed by Oia, a village in Greece, and the Outdoor Industry Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cOIA is a popular name,\u201d said airport spokesperson Carolyn Fennell. \u201cBut there is already an airport that has that name in Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n