Gaya is a city in the north east state of Bihar, India. It is considered a holy site by the Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist religions and right now government officials are so unhappy with Gaya’s airport code and they have taken up the matter with the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

As Gaya is a holy city, its ‘GAY’ airport code is now deemed ‘inappropriate.’

They want it replaced and suggested an alternative code such as YAG. (Which is already the code for the Fort Frances Municipal Airport in Ontario)

According to local media in India, members of the panel who approached IATA alo described the code as “offensive and embarrassing.”

However, under IATA rules, there needs to be a “justifiable reason related to air safety” to authorise a change, so there doesn’t seem to be much they will do.

“The GAY code for Gaya has been in use since the operationalisation of this airport, therefore, without any justifiable reason primarily concerning air safety, IATA has expressed its inability to change the code of Gaya airport,” the aviation ministry told the panel.