This community, long known for unpleasant smells wafting from it’s now-closed stockyards and still lacking some of the niceties enjoyed by other midsize cities, has always felt a bit looked down upon, and it’s airport code hasn’t helped any. Sioux Gateway Airport — or SUX as it appears on tickets and bag tags — has been the butt of jokes in Iowa and beyond for decades. After complaints and failed efforts to change the code, Sioux City decided to lean into its unfortunate designation and, more recently, has expanded it well beyond the airport. Area businesses are increasingly embracing the branding and SUX is popping up all over the place. Poo SUX is a pooper scooper service for pets, RadonSUX is a radon mitigation company, and Cleaning SUX is a commercial-cleaning firm that are all taking advantage of the moniker. Sioux City isn’t the only place saddled with an awkward airport code. There’s FAT in Fresno, Calif., PEE in Perm, Russia, and SIN at Singapore’s Changi Airport.
