Do you have umlauts or a sharp S in your first or last name? In this post, you will learn how to enter your name correctly when you enter your flight ticket and check-in.
Attention: We are not liable for the accuracy of this information. We have done a lot of research, but the correct information may differ for each airline and booking portal.
Plane ticket with Ä in the name
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the umlaut Ä must be indicated as A or AE .
If you are not sure which of the two variants to choose, then simply look at the correct spelling of your name in the passport. At the very bottom of the passport you will find your full name in the correct international spelling.
Examples of the spelling of names with the umlaut Ä
- Shepherd – Shepherd or shepherd
- Krämer – Kraemer or Kramer
- Hunters – Jaeger or Jäger
- Händel – Haendel oder Handel
- Jäkel – Jaekel or Jakel
Plane ticket with Ö in the name
The Ö in the first or last name becomes OE or simply O.
You are still not sure about the correct spelling? Then check your passport . At the bottom you will find your full name in an internationally correct spelling. If you put the name on your flight ticket according to your passport, this is the safest option.
Examples of spelling names with the umlaut Ö
- Köhler – Koehler or Kohler
- King – King or King
- Böhm – Boehm or Bohm
- Götz – Goetz or Götz
- Jörg – Joerg or Jörg
Airline ticket with Ü in the name
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the correct spelling for the umlaut is Ü – U or UE.
At the bottom of your passport you will find an indication of the correct spelling of your full name. To be on the safe side, you can enter your name on your passport at the time of your flight ticket or check-in.
Examples of the spelling of names with the umlaut Ü
Müller – Mueller or Müller
Krüger – Krueger or Kruger
Kühn – Kuehn or Kuhn
Günther – Guenther or Gunther
Jürgen – Juergen or Jürgen
Plane ticket with ß in the name
The letter Eszett, i.e. ß, is colloquially called the sharp S. This letter also often causes problems when giving names for airline tickets or check-in.
The International Civil Aviation Organization also has a regulation for this, namely the spelling as SS – i.e. double S.
Not sure about the correct spelling? Look at the bottom of your passport to see how your name is spelled correctly internationally.
Examples of spelling names with sharp S
- Voß – Voss
- Meißner – Meissner
- Strauß – Strauss
- Heß – Hess
- Großmann – Grossmann
Importance of correct representation
Unfortunately, it does not matter which form of representation you choose for the umlauts or the eszett.
For countries with strict entry requirements , as well as different airlines , the wrong spelling can lead to problems with booking, check-in or entry. Therefore, when booking your flight, make sure that your name is spelled with the correct spelling.
Background of the representation of the umlauts
Every EU citizen has a so-called machine-readable line in his passport. There, the special characters are also broken down into “normal letters”.
In this line you will therefore also learn how to write your name for flight bookings or check-in.
The background to this line is a “standard” issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (Doc 9303 Machine Readable Travel Documents), which defines the transcription of umlauts and special characters. The purpose of these provisions is to standardise the letters and thus speed up the clearance of passengers at airport passport checkpoints.
All specifications for the display of special characters and umlauts according to ICAO Doc 9303 at a glance:
Spelling A, AA & AE
- À becomes A
- Á becomes A
- Â becomes A
- Ã becomes A
- Ä becomes A or AE
- Å becomes A or AA
- Æ becomes AE
- Ā becomes A
- Ă becomes A
- Ą becomes A
Spelling C & D
- Ç becomes C
- Ć becomes C
- Ĉ becomes C
- Ċ becomes C
- Č becomes C
- Ð becomes D
- Ď becomes D
- Ð becomes D
Spelling E
- È becomes E
- É becomes E
- Ê becomes E
- Ë becomes E
- Ē becomes E
- Ĕ becomes E
- Ė becomes E
- Ę becomes E
- Ě becomes E
Spelling G & H
- Ĝ becomes G
- Ğ becomes G
- Ġ becomes G
- Ģ becomes G
- Ĥ becomes H
- Ħ becomes H
Spelling I
- Ì becomes I
- Í becomes I
- Î becomes I
- Ï becomes I
- Ĩ becomes I
- Ī becomes I
- Ĭ becomes I
- Į becomes I
- İ becomes I
- I becomes I
Spelling IJ, J, K & L
- IJ becomes IJ
- Ĵ becomes J
- Ķ becomes K
- Ĺ becomes L
- Ļ becomes L
- Ľ becomes L
- L· becomes L
- Ł becomes L
Spelling N & NXX
- Ñ becomes N or NXX
- Ń becomes N
- Ņ becomes N
- Ň becomes N
- Ŋ becomes N
Spelling O & OE
- Ò becomes O
- Ó becomes O
- Ô becomes O
- Õ becomes O
- Ö becomes OE or O
- Ø becomes OE
- Ō becomes O
- Ŏ becomes O
- Ő becomes O
- Πbecomes OE
Spelling TH, R, S & SS
- Þ becomes TH
- Ŕ becomes R
- Ŗ becomes R
- Ř becomes R
- ß becomes SS
- Ś becomes S
- Ŝ becomes S
- Ş becomes S
- Š becomes S
Spelling T
- Ţ becomes T
- Ť becomes T
- Ŧ becomes T
Spelling U, UE & UXX
- Ù becomes U
- Ú becomes U
- Û becomes U
- Ü becomes UE or UXX or U
- Ũ becomes U
- Ū becomes U
- Ŭ becomes U
- Ů becomes U
- Ű becomes U
- Ų becomes U
Spelling W, Y & Z
- Ŵ becomes W
- Ý becomes Y
- Ŷ becomes Y
- Ÿ becomes Y
- Ź becomes Z
- Ż becomes Z
