Ticketing Lesson 1

• IATA

  International Air Transport Association
• IATA

  • It is the trade organization of the world's scheduled airlines
  • The main aim of IATA is to promote safe, regular and economical air transport worldwide for the benefit of everyone
  • Most of the world's major scheduled airlines (over 200) in some 120 countries are members of this association
  • IATA provides the machinery for member airlines to collaborate and co-operate on all aspects of air transportation (technical, legal, financial etc.) despite the differences in languages, currencies, laws and measurements
• An individual passenger can arrange to travel through many countries using the services of several air carriers with payment for the complete journey in a single currency
• Knowledge of geography


  • It is an essential requirement in the industry, especially the ability to find countries and cities quickly on a map
  • Many rules and regulations apply to specified geographical areas, all these areas are clearly defined by IATA
• IATA traffic conference areas


  TC1, TC2, TC3
• IATA traffic conference area TC1


  • North America
  • South America
  • Central America
  • Greenland
  • Bermuda
  • West Indies
  • Islands of the Caribbean sea
  • Hawaiian Islands
  • Midway
  • Palmyra
• TC1 sub-areas


  • North Atlantic (Canada, Greenland, USA, Mexico excluding Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Island)
  • Mid Atlantic (The Caribbean Islands, Central America, South America plus Panama Canal Zone except Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay)
  • South Atlantic (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay & Uruguay)
• Caribbean Islands


  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Aruba
  • Barbados
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Cayman Islands
  • Cuba
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Grenada
  • Guadeloupe
  • Haiti
  • Jamaica
  • Martinique
  • Montserrat
  • Netherlands Antilles
  • St Barthelemy
  • St Kitts/Nevis
  • St Lucia
  • Northern St Martin
  • St Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
• IATA traffic conference area TC2


  • Europe
  • Africa
  • Ascension Island
  • Parts of Asia
  • West of Ural Mountains
  • Iran
  • Middle East countries
  • Azores
  • Iceland
  • Seychelles Islands
• TC2 sub-areas


  • Europe (UK, Continental Europe including Turkey and the Russian Federation/Russia west of the Ural Mountains, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Azores, Madeira, Iceland, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco)
  • ECAA (European Common Aviation Area)
  • Middle East (Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Iran and geographical Middle East)
  • Africa (Seychelles, Mauritius, Réunion, Cape Verde and the Continent of Africa excluding Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco)
  • Gulf States (Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates)
  • East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda)
  • Southern Africa (Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe)
  • Western Africa (Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Côte d' Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo)
• IATA traffic conference area TC3


  • Asia (East of the Urals)
  • Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific Islands)
  • Japan
  • Korea (North Korea and South Korea)
  • South East Asia
  • South West of Pacific
• TC3 sub-areas


  • South Asian Subcontinent (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India including Andaman Islands, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka)
  • Japan/Korea (Japan and Korea)
  • South West Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and nearby islands)
  • North Central Pacific (Includes Russian Federation/Russia east of the Ural mountains and the continent of Asia)
• Each city with an airport has a 3-letter IATA code used in reservation messages, fares and ticketing
• IATA city and airport codes


  • ATH is ATHENS
  • SIN is SINGAPORE
  • DEN is DENVER
  • NBO is NAIROBI
  • HKG is HONG KONG
  • YMQ is MONTREAL
  • YEA is EDMONTON
  • LOS is LAGOS, not LOS ANGELES
  • MAR is MARACAIBO not MARSEILLE
• IATA set standards
• IATA divided the world into 3 different areas
• Travel Professional handles the matter related to the preparations of itineraries, Reservations, Group Bookings, Fare Calculations and Ticketing.
• Travel Professionals should know the world geography.
• Travel Professionals should be able to identify the cities by their location, country, areas, and sub-areas defined by IATA. (Khan, 2016)
• Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere are the two parts of the World's Geography.
• Eastern Hemisphere - all countries of Asia and Australia; almost all of Europe and Africa.
• Western Hemisphere - all countries of North America and South America, Islands, and surrounding waters; parts of Europe, Africa, Antarctica, and Russia.
• Sub-area: Alaska - North America, Hawaii - Mid-Atlantic, Puerto Rico - Mid-Atlantic, US Virgin Island - Mid-Atlantic, and Mexico - North America.
• ECAA - European Common Aviation Area
• IATA Geography is a system/classification used by IATA to divide the world into regions.
• Regions may be further divided into sub-regions for more detailed analysis.
• ABCPU countries are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay