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Airport Handling IGNOU University

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BTMS-185

AIRPORT HANDLING

School of Tourism and Hospitality Services Management

Indira Gandhi National Open University
New Delhi
COURSE PREPARATION TEAM
Prof. Jitendra Kumar Srivastava Prof Mohinder Chand
Director, SOTHSM (Chairperson) Kurukshetra University
Prof. Lavkush Mishra Dr. Paramita Suklabaidya
Agra University Professor, SOTHSM
Dr. Sonia Sharma Dr. Tangjakhombi Akoijam
Associate Professor, SOTHSM Assistant Professor
Dr. Arvind Kumar Dubey
Associate Professor, SOTHSM

PROGRAMME COORDINATOR
Dr. Arvind Kumar Dubey
Associate Professor, SOTHSM

COURSE COORDINATOR AND EDITOR CO-EDITOR (UNITS 08-10)

Prof. (Dr.) Paramita Suklabaidya Dr. Monika Aggarwal,
Director, SOTHSM Guest Faculty, DITTM, New Delhi

COURSE PREPARATION
Units Unit Writer
1 and 14 Dr. Dileep M.R., University of Calicut, Kerala
2 Dr. Monika Aggarwal, Guest Faculty, DITTM, New Delhi
3 and 4 Dr. Sibi George, Pondicherry Central University, Kalakat, Pondichery
5 Dr. Divya Pandey, Amity University, Mumbai
6 Dr. Sandeep Walia, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara
7 Dr. Syed Ahmad Rizwan, Guest Faculty, ITS, University of Lucknow and
Dr. Monika Aggarwal, Guest Faculty, DITTM, New Delhi
8 Dr. Syed Ahmad Rizwan, Guest Faculty, ITS, University of Lucknow
9 and 10 Ms. Ankita Saxena, Travel & Tourism Consultant, New Delhi and
Prof. Paramita Suklabaidya, SOTHSM, IGNOU
11 Dr. Anupama Srivastava, ITS, Lucknow University
Mr. Pankaj, Vistara Airways, Lucknow
Dr. Monika Aggarwal, Guest Faculty, DITTM, New Delhi
12 Dr. Joby Thomas, Christ University, Bangalore
13 Prof. Paramita Suklabaidya, SOTHSM, IGNOU and
Dr. Pawan Gupta, IITTM, NOIDA
Annexure Prof. Paramita Suklabaidya, SOTHSM, IGNOU (Page 241-246)

PRODUCTION TEAM TYPING ASSISTANT

Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Verma
Asst. Registrar SOTHSM, IGNOU
MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi
June, 2022
 Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2022
ISBN :
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means,
without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Further information on Indira Gandhi National Open University courses may be obtained from the
University’s office at Maidan Garhi. New Delhi-110 068 or visit University’s web site http:// www.ignou.ac.in
Printed and published by The Registrar, MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi on behalf of the Indira Gandhi
National Open University, New Delhi.
Laser Typesetting : Akashdeep Printers, 20-Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002
Printed at :
Course Contents
Pages

Unit1: Introduction to Operations at Airport 7

Unit 2: Need of Geography in Air Travel 20
Unit 3: Time Calculation 37
Unit 4: Airport Authority of India (AAI) 58
Unit 5: IATA 69
Unit 6: International Civil Aviation Organization – ICAO 86
Unit 7: Familiarization with OAG-I 99
Unit 8: Familiarization with OAG-II 124
Unit 9: Familiarization with Travel Information Manual (TIM) 139
Unit 10: Passenger Handling 155
Unit 11: Fare Constructions 170
Unit 12: Global Distributions Systems (GDS) 187
Unit 13: Air Cargo Operations 204
Unit 14: Modern Trends in Air Transport 228
Annexure : Types of Airports 242
COURSE INTRODUCTION
Airport is vital to the economic development of a nation and region since airports are
needed for the movement of both passengers and cargo from one place to another.
This make airport important and the activities therein of great relevance, specially to
the tourism sector. This course introduces you to the operations taking place in the
airport and also gives an overview of the activities related to airline ticketing and
operations.
The operational activities start right from the arrival of a passenger at the gates of the
airport and ends with the departure from the gates of the Airport at destination. There
are many activities in-between that involves many stakeholders. Unit 1 introduces you
to the physical structure of Airport and the operational activities that take place in an
airport. An overview of the different service providers are mentioned in this unit along
with the physical structure of an airport. These stakeholders and service providers are
discussed in details in the later unis.
Airline and air travel is greatly dependant on IATA and the traffic conference areas of
IATA. Unit 2, 3 and 5 discuss the same. Unit 2 is of great relevance as it introduces
you to the concept of time calculation. The concept of gaining a day and losing a day
are explained while giving you an idea of the codes used in Airline ticketing as issued
by IATA and ICAO in the Units 4, 6, 7 and 8
Passenger handling is one of the vital activities of Airline and Airport management
which starts right from the time a passenger searches and books a ticket. The same is
explained in the units 9, 11 and 12 where the process of Fare Construction is discussed
in brief as well as the procedure of using TIM for travel by air. Unit 12 discusses GDS
which has made ticketing much easier for all concerned and is now vital for ticketing.
Cargo transportation by air is a big aspect of air travel and it is introduced to you in
Unit 13. At the same time the modern trends in airport facilities and management is
mentioned in Unit 14. Most importantly you are given an opportunity to understand the
importance of passenger handling and the norms of the same in Unit 10.
This course will give you an overview of all the operations that takes place in an airport
and will make you better equipped to understand where you would like to placed.
Airport Handling

6
Introduction to
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONS Operations at Airport

AT AIRPORT
Structure

1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Significance of Airport
1.3 Physical Structure of an Airport
1.4 Operations in an airport
1.4.1 Ground Handling
1.4.2 Passenger Handling
1.5 Safety and Security
1.5.1 Safety Issues
1.5.2 Security concerns
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Further Readings
1.8 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
1.9 Activity

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you would be able to:
 define airport and discuss its significance;
 describe the different types of airports;
 explain the structure of an airport;
 discuss the operations taking place in an airport;
 describe the passenger handling activities within an airport;
 identify the safety and security measures initiated in airports; and
 discuss the socio-economic as well as tourism significance of airports.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Airports are central to the travel and tourism industry. More than 4000 commercial
airports are there globally to handle billions of passengers annually. According to
International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), the total number of passengers carried
on scheduled services was 4.5 billion in 2019.
Oxford dictionary defines Airport as a place where planes land and take off and that
has buildings for passengers to wait in. Webster dictionary defines airport as a place
from which aircraft operates that usually has paved runways and maintenance facilities,
and often serves as a terminal. While considering the facilities and services provided in
an airport, it can be defined as “a complex set of facilities, services and infrastructure 7
Airport Handling that enable air transport service providers to transport passengers and cargo from one
place to another” (Dileep, 2019). Basically, an airport provides all facilities and amenities
for the airlines to operate their services. Both passenger as well as cargo transportation
can be undertaken through an airport.
Other terms commonly used to refer to the place from which airlines operate are
aerodrome and airfields. According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),
aerodrome, is “a defined area on land or water (including any buildings, installations
and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure,
and surface movement of aircraft”. An aerodrome or airdrome is a place on land or
water from where the flight operations involving air cargo, passenger or neither occur.
On the other hand, airfield is a place where airplanes can take off and land but unlike
an airport must not necessarily have terminals or paved runways. Finally, the term
airport suggest that the status was granted only after having satisfied certain certification
criteria and/ or regulatory requirements. These certifications and regulatory requirements
are not met by all the aerodromes. This means that all airports are aerodromes, but not
all aerodromes are airports. Aerodromes also include small or big airfields, commercial/
civil airports, and military air bases.
Now a days, more and more airports are being built across the world due to the
increasing significance of air transportation. Airport is an inevitable element of national
transport system and it provides the basic infrastructure for undertaking air transport
activities. In this unit we will go into the details of the concept, types, functions and
operations of airport in detail.

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF AIRPORT

As mentioned in the previous section, airports have always been known as the point
for travel used by passengers as well as cargo. The first thing that comes to our mind
when we hear airport, is the terminal of commercial airports from where passengers
and cargo are transported. Lately Airports have transformed greatly, as it is no longer
just a field for landing and taking off, but now we have modern airports resembling
cities, encompassing a wide range of facilities and services.
Airports’ remarkable transformation into modern form of multi-utility intermodal
transport hub is interesting to look into. As per a recent projection of the Air Transport
Action Group (ATAG), airports are poised for further expansion at a large scale. In
case the expansion does not take place, with the projected demand growth, by 2030
congestion at the 100 largest airports in the world will result in as much as 1,200
million passengers lost or redirected to less attractive airports. According to a recent
estimate of International Civil Aviation (ICAO), the aviation industry consists of some
1,400 commercial airlines, 4,130 airports and 173 air navigation services providers
(ANSPs). In India while general aviation has a large number of airports, the number of
commercial airports is increasing and a number of Greenfield Airports are also being
constructed. The impact of Covid-19 on the air transport sector was very harsh and it
may take a few years to recover from the crisis and to regain the projected growth
rate. Yet, the importance of the sector is increasing and airports will remain a key
tourism infrastructure and center of attraction for tourists.
In modern times, air transportation plays an important role in the transportation segment
of a country. Airport is an inevitable element of national transport system as it provides
the basic infrastructure for undertaking air transport activities. We can understand the
significance of an Airport from the following:
8
1. An airport acts as a hub for multi modal transportation, as it is the center for Introduction to
Operations at Airport
changing the mode of transport from air to land or vice versa.
2. Commercially, an airport is a very important infrastructure. Import and export
activities of a nation or regions is enhanced by the presence of airports.
Moreover, cargo transportation necessitates the presence of airports for
sending consignments at a faster rate.
3. Airport has much significance from a security perspective as well. The
international transportation happens through tight security measures. Both
inbound as well as outbound passengers and cargo/baggage are screened
properly to ensure the safety and security of not only the passengers, but even
the community in and around the airport.
4. Airport is a place where customs and immigration checks are undertaken.
This prevents the entry of unauthorized cargo and people into the country.
5. Moreover, illegal trade and carrying of goods and other items from other
countries can be restricted through the customs mechanism made available
within airports.
6. Furthermore, airport is an inevitable element for tourism. Tourist destinations
with good air connectivity and airports do have an advantage in getting tourists
from far and wide.
7. Airport directly and indirectly provides income and employment opportunities
for the local community.
8. Moreover, airports are extremely significant in connecting communities, people
and markets; and thus enhancing the mobility of the population.
Airport is usually an indication of economic progress of a region. In order to have
economic progress in a region every country, no matter how small, must have at least
an airport.

1.3 PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF AN AIRPORT

Airports spanning over a large area, provide a wide range of facilities and services
which facilitates air transport. Airports are equipped with various handling facilities so
that passengers, baggage, and freight can be transferred successfully from terminals to
aircraft and vice versa. Therefore, every part of the airport has a specific purpose and
function. Two distinct areas that can be identified separately in an airport are discussed
below:
1. Airside:
Airside areas include all areas accessible to aircraft, including runways, taxiways
and ramps. An airport has a minimum of one runway (or helipad), hangars and
Terminal buildings. Airside is the area where movements like parking, maintenance,
landing and take-off of the aircrafts take place. It is highly a restricted area and
only the authorized people are allowed to enter. Borders of the airside are protected
with layers of security that includes fences, cameras and patrols. This area primarily
consists of – aircraft parking areas, navigational aids/air traffic control (ATC),
lighting systems, signage and markings, air rescue and firefighting facilities, snow
plowing and de-icing facilities, and fuel service centers.
9
Airport Handling i. APRON or RAMP (Region for Aircraft Maintenance and Parking) -
This is the area where the aircrafts are parked and handled. There are marked
bays for aircraft parking known as hangers, where aircrafts are taken for
parking and undertaking maintenance activities. It represents the area other
than the maneuvering area, meant for parking of aircrafts and to undertake
turn-around activities, before the next flight. It is in this space, that the offloading,
loading, boarding of luggage and cargo as wellas passengers take place.
ii. Taxiway - Taxiway is the route through which the aircraft move from the
runway after landing to park, for deplaning and boarding purposes. While
departing, the aircraft uses the taxiways to reach the runway for the takeoff.
In short, Taxiway connects APRON to the main runway for landing and take-
off.
iii. Runway - Runway is the most important part of the airside, since the aircraft
landing and take off takes place on the runway. The width, depth and length
of the runaway are important; as larger aircrafts need wider and longer runways.
Minimum one runway is essential for an airport, while bigger airports will
have more than one runways.
iv. Air Traffic Control (ATC) - The safety of an aircraft requires the support of
navigational services. Inside the airport, Air Traffic Control Tower provides
the necessary information to the pilot for landing, flying and taking off. Air
traffic control is responsible for providing safe, orderly and expeditious flow
of air traffic at airports as ATC directs aircrafts both on ground and in the air.
ATC provides both information and navigational requirements. Radar is also
placed within the airside of an airport.
v. Fire station - Fire safety and rescue are serious concerns in an airport.
Fire station is on the airside of the airport to handle any emergency.
vi. Refueling facility- with well laid fuel dispersal system, are also inevitably
located in the airside of airports.

Figure 1: Flowchart of Passenger Handling Procedure

Source: Kovynyov, Ivan & Mikut, Ralf. (2018). Digital Transformation in Airport Ground
10 Operations (researchgate.net)
2. Land Side (Ground side): Introduction to
Operations at Airport
Landside areas of an airport cover the arrival and departure of the passengers in the
airport terminal building, and the movements through the terminal building to board the
airplanes. Landside areas include parking lots, fuel tank and access roads. This is the
side of the airport where the land transportation takes place, that ensures connectivity
of the airport with nearby city and the rest of the places in the region. Road/rail access
system, parking area, security mechanism, etc. area also seen in the landside of the
airport. Commercial services like taxi services, bus/rails services, refreshment centers,
etc. are also there in this area.
Physical structure of an airport is designed to get maximum use of the area. Every part
of the airport has a specific purpose and function. Airport area can also be identified
based on the degree of passenger access as given below:
1. Tarmac
Tarmac is also known as APRON or RAMP (Region for Aircraft Maintenance
and Parking) - This is the area where the aircrafts are parked and handled. The
following must be on the Tarmac side
 runways for takeoff and landing
 taxiway
 parking areas for aircrafts
 facilities for maintenance
 facilities for safety & security
 loading and unloading facilities for cargo
 fueling facility
2. Terminal
Whenever we think of an airport, airport terminal is what comes to our mind first.
It is the most visible part of an airport, when we look at an airport from outside as
a traveler. It is the building used for making the transition between surface and air
transportation.
A terminal building is an area at an airport where the formalities for the departing
and arriving passengers take place. Therefore, a terminal is usually divided into
two parts, such as departure area and arrival area. In most of the airports, domestic
and international services have separate terminals. Airports will also have a separate
cargo terminal with a booking area and delivery area. These days, larger airports
have more than one terminal.
Departing passengers pass through luggage screening mechanism, check-in
counters, security check (body and hand baggage check), and emigration clearance
area (for international passengers only). The waiting area and gate area for boarding
airplane are within the departure area of the terminal. Commercial establishments
like restaurants, coffee shops, Insurance counters, post offices, foreign exchange
counters, handicraft shops, duty-free shops, conference areas, lounges, conference
areas, lounges, ATMs and other facilities for passengers are also there within this
area. 11
Airport Handling
Check Your Progress–1

1. Explain the significance of an airport.

1.4 OPERATIONS IN AN AIRPORT

A wide range of operations are taking place within an airport. Most of them take place
in a sequential order and can be identified as :

1.4.1 Ground handling

Ground handling is the most crucial activity taking place in an airport. A range of
activities are undertaken with the primary aim of making the aircraft ready for the
next flight. Ground handling encompasses varied services like preparation for a
flight to take off and upon completion of a flight provide both customer service and
ramp service functions. Passenger deplaning, cargo and baggage offloading, passenger
boarding for the next flight, cargo and baggage loading are some of the primary
tasks involved. These services are to be quickly undertaken between the landing
and take-off to ensure on-time services.
Ground Handling activities in the airside includes services like aircraft marshaling, toilet
and water services, refueling, aircraft check and routine maintenance, ground power
supply, cleaning of windows, ensuring in-flight entertainment, minor servicing of cabin
fittings, unloading and loading of cargo, safety measures, air conditioning support, loading
catering services, deplaning and boarding of passengers, pushback of aircraft with the
help of tractors, and so on.
Turnaround time is the term used for indicating the time period between the landing
and takeoff of a flight. Airlines wish to have less turnaround time to utilize the aircraft to
its maximum. Lesser the turnaround time, greater the benefit for the airline as it can
utilize the aircraft more.
Refueling is another task undertaken while the flight is there within the turnaround time.
Aviation Turbine Fuel(ATF) is used as the fuel and stationary fueling platform or a
12 mobile refueling mechanism is used to refuel the aircraft.
Passenger Baggage and cargo loading is crucial activity. Cargo is loaded first into Unit Introduction to
Operations at Airport
Load Devices (ULDs) and then, they are reloaded according to priority as well as
weight. Containerization is another term used for this activity. It is all about the packing
of Cargo/ Consignments by using containers which can be loaded in aircrafts according
to convenience and shape of aircrafts. Small consignments are usually stacked on
pallet.
Rescue and fire fighting constitute another important activity within an airport. Chances
of fire related incidents are more is the airside and quick actions are needed. Usually,
fire and safety vehicles will be ready for action at every point of time inside an airport,
particularly at the time of landing of an aircraft.
Deplaning, also known as deboarding is the process of passengers coming down
from the plane and going to the terminal building, while boarding is the process of
letting the passengers enter into the aircraft and take their respective seats. Proper
verification of travel documents will be done to ensure that the right passengers has
boarded the right flight. While the aircraft is parked for boarding, additional power
supply is also given, to meet the power requirements, when the inbuilt power generating
mechanism is not working. Push back is done when the boarding is complete and
aircraft is ready to move to the runway for the next flight. Push back denotes the
action of moving an airplane from a passenger terminal to a runway or taxiway, into a
position where it can use its own engines.

1.4.2 Passenger handling

Passenger is the most important person in an airport and major activities regarding
passenger handling take place within the terminal building. In fact, a passenger passes
through a range of services ever before boarding a flight and few services are offered
after deboarding. It is also referred to as Embarkation and Disembarkation. The detailed
passenger handling process will be discussed in Unit 10. In this unit, lets briefly go through
the various stages in passenger handling–in the departure and the arrival area.
(1) Departure Area
Departure area refers to the area a passenger enters and stays in prior to boarding
the flight. Services available and offered to a passenger prior to boarding an
aircraft for departure are:
(i) Entry: The passenger, upon arrival at the airport gets travel documents verified
to enter into the terminal building. There would be security personnel to verify
and permit passengers’ entry. Thus ensure the safety and security of the airport
and all therein.
(ii) Baggage Screening: In some airports, there will be a mechanism to screen
check the baggage, especially check-in baggage by security agencies. Security
of the passengers and the aircraft are of prime concern in air transportation.
(iii) Passenger Check-in: A passenger can enter the airport with a valid ticket
and id verification documents. The hand baggage and check-in baggage of
passengers are weighed by airline staff separately and a counterfoil given for
checked in baggage. A passenger travelling internationally need to show
passport, and VISA along with the ticket/PNR.
(iv) Security check: Detailed personal body and hand baggage check is 13
Airport Handling undertaken by authorized personnel. Security check in almost all the airports
of India is undertaken by CISF personnel.
(v) Emigration/Passport Control Centre: This is an important area as far as
the entry and exit from a country is concerned. Once the documents are
verified, international travel is recorded in the official system of the country
and exit stamp is entered in the passport. Nowadays, everything is electronic
and hence placing stamp may not be there in all the airports.
(vi) Boarding: Usually there is time gap between check in and boarding of a
flight. Security check is taken up and Travel documents are verified again
before transfer for boarding airplane. Some of the airports are silent and there
won’t be announcements while in others passengers can move to the gate
area after hearing the announcement of the boarding.
In the departure area, the passenger has to enter into the concourse of the airport after
the security check. Restaurants, food courts, gift shops, duty free shops, etc. are seen
within the concourse for the passenger to purchase the needed items. Once boarding
is completed by the passenger, services in the terminal building is complete and
the in-flight service providers take over. The in-flight staff will verify whether the right
passenger has boarded the flight and help the passengers to occupy the right seat and
help them to keep hand baggage properly.
(2) Arrival Area
Arrival area refers to the area a passenger enters on arriving at the destination.
The services available and offered to a passenger on arrival are:
(i) Deplaning: Once the flight is landed, it will be moved to the ramp and come
to a complete stop. Passengers are permitted to deplane and enter into the
terminal area.
(ii) Transit passengers: Passengers with connecting flight for an ongoing journey
are permitted to move to the transit area. Passengers in the transit area may
or may not have to undergo security check again, and then move to the waiting
area. Once the next flight is ready for boarding, the transit passengers move
to the gate area for boarding for the next flight.
(iii) Immigration/Passport Control Area: In case of international passengers,
they have to move to the immigration area for getting thepermission to enter
the destination country. If a foreigner is arriving, their documents and visa
need to be verified and thereafter entry permit is given. The date and time of
arrival are recorded properly. For the citizens of the country, they are permitted
to enter and the date is entered into therespectivesystem. In some airports,
entry stamp in the passports is used for marking the entry date, both for
returning residents as well as foreign visitors.
(iv) Baggage claim: The incoming passengers with check-in baggage collect
their baggage from the baggage conveyer belt. The counterfoil of the baggage
tag collected at the time of check-in can be used for collecting baggage as
well as claiming lost baggage.
(v) Customs: Customs department is vested with the authority to control the
flow of goods, transports, foods, personal effects, illegal items, and hazardous
14 items, into and out of a country
Once the customs checks and activities are over, passengers exit the terminal building. Introduction to
Operations at Airport
Usually, there will be a large hall in which certain commercial establishments like -
outlets of travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, taxi services, currency exchange, car
rental companies, etc. are seen. Duty free shops are also there in international airports.
In some cities, people receiving guests can enter this area and welcome the incoming
passengers.

1.5 SAFETY AND SECURITY

Safety and security constitute a prime concern in air transportation, and airport is the
hub of all safety and security activities. In fact, the safety and security standards are
updated frequently as the sector is faces challenges often. The safety and security
standards are suggested at international level and all the countries involved in air
transportation are bound to follow them. International civil aviation organisation (ICAO)
the apex body functioning in association with the UN, has been vested with the authority
to enforce and update the safety and security standards. There are national authorities
in every country to regulate the air transportation activities and to impose the safety
and security guidelines and recommendations.
In India, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
has the responsibility to regulate air transport activities within the country. Among those
activities, majority are directly or indirectly associated with the safety and security
aspects. It also co-ordinates all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), and is responsible for regulation of air transport services to/
from/ within India and for the enforcement of civil air regulations, air safety, and
airworthiness standards. According to Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India, DGCA
has the following safety and security related responsibilities:-
 Registration of civil aircraft.
 Formulation of standards of airworthiness for civil aircraft and provide
certificates of air worthiness.
 Licensing of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers and
flight engineers
 Granting of certificates to India’s airlines and regulation of air transport services
by both Indian and foreign operators
 Conducting investigation into the accidents and incidents; and taking accident
prevention measures
 Approving training programmes of operators for carriage of dangerous goods,
issuing authorizations for carriage of dangerous goods, etc.
Also, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is there which ensures that the aviation security
standards is in accordance with Annex 17 to Chicago Convention of ICAO for airport
operators, airlines operators, and their security agencies; monitoring the implementation
of security rules and regulations and undertaking survey of security needs; ensuring
that the training requirements are met by the personnel implementing security controls;
and planning and coordination of Aviation security matters. The Airports Authority of
India (AAI) is responsible for development and maintenance of airports and the related
facilities and services. It controls and manages the Indian airspace extending beyond
15
Airport Handling the territorial limits of the country, as accepted by ICAO. You will read more about the
activities of ICAO and AAI in subsequent units.

1.5.1 Safety Issues

Though air transport is one of the safest modes of transport, different kinds of accidents
and incidents occur which are detrimental to the safe and secure air transport operations.
The most common types of accidents seen in air transport are following:
 Runway related accidents: Runway incursion and excursion are the most common
causes of runway related accidents. Runway excursion happens when an aircraft
takes off or land. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA),
the “runway excursion” category, by which the aircraft departs the runway during
takeoff or landing, is the most common type of accident reported annually. It can
lead to loss of life, injury to persons either on board the aircraft or on the ground,
damage aircraft, and airfield equipment including other aircraft, or buildings struck
by the aircraft.
 Loss of control: Loss of Control-In Flight is a situation in which the flight crew
becomes unable to maintain control of the aircraft in flight, resulting in an
unrecoverable deviation from the intended flight path. This is also a common cause
in aircraft related emergency situations.
 Bird strike: Aircraft can be hit by the flying birds, particularly near the airports.
Airports take maximum precautionary measures to avoid the birds flying in near
vicinity.
 Poor weather conditions: Sudden changes in the climatic conditions can adversely
affect the aircrafts and flight schedule. Even large-scale incidents, like aircraft crash
can happen due to severe adverse climate conditions. Many examples of poor
weather conditions leading to accidents are there in the history of aviation.
 Ice and snow: Ice and snow can cause trouble for aircrafts as the runways can
turn dangerous due to the ice/snow, and that can lead to accidents. Aircrafts can
also be affected negatively by the ice that is being deposited while flying, during
the winter seasons.
 Sand and dust: During sand storm as well as in adverse weather conditions,
sand and dust can cause trouble for the engines. Volcanic dust is a similar one that
can damage the flights.
 Mechanical errors: This is also a common category. Mechanical errors can be
possible at any point of time. As the aircrafts are subject to strict periodical
maintenance, the chances of mechanical errors are less, comparatively.
 Human factors: The aircraft while in flight are controlled by human beings and
there can be safety issues due to the human error. In fact, human error is the prime
reason in air transport related safety issues reported. Confusion, negligence, poor
decision, carelessness, fatigue, etc. are the major human related factors that lead
to safety issues.
Safety related factors are not limited to the above. There can be a range of other
factors too that can cause safety issues of varied kinds.
16
1.5.2 Security concerns: Introduction to
Operations at Airport
Air transport is prone to security threat of varied kinds. There can be terrorist attacks,
radiological incidents, sabotage, hijacking, and other unlawful acts. Air transport sector
keeps on upgrading security measures and urges every stakeholder to follow the
regulations strictly. Airport ensures security measures at different layers. Following are
the common security measures seen in Indian airports.
 Entry restrictions: Airport won’t permit everyone to go inside the terminal or
airside. Only the passengers who have a flight to catch, officials and other designated
people are allowed to go into airports. Security personnels at the entry points give
permission for entry only after verifying the documents.
 Baggage and Cargo screening: Baggage screening is mandatory in airports.
The primary purpose is to check the unauthorized carriage of weapons, explosives
and dangerous goods. Both hand baggage as well as checked in baggage are
subject to routine screening through X-ray scanning machines. In addition, physical
verification is also done, wherever required. Check- in baggage is usually screened
before handing over the baggage for check-in. In some airports, the baggage
screening is done after the collection of baggage at the check-in point. Hand
baggage is checked at the time of security check. Cargo consignments are screened
appropriately, using the advisable tools and measures.
 Security check: Passengers, crew and staff who move into the gated area are
subject to personal security check. Metal detectors are used for it. Physical
verification is also done, if needed.
 Detection of explosives: Explosive material detention is also undertaken. Devices
and canine teams with trained dogs are used for it. Latest technologies are used
now a days in security check in airports. Artificial intelligence-based (AI) object
recognition is the latest trend in this regard.

Air India’s Security Alerts for Passengers

 Every passenger is subjected to a security screening prior to boarding the aircraft.

 Ticket / identity is checked at the time of entry into the airport
 Screening using X-ray machine is there for all baggage.
 Random physical checks are also carried out for Checked Baggage.
 Passengers have to undergo personal frisking and their Hand Baggage will be
screened using X-ray system before entering into the gate area.
 Secondary Ladder Point security check(screening of passengers/baggage during
normal times and during high alert) may also be carried out near the step ladder/
boarding gate before boarding into the flight.
 In any case if a passenger is brought out of Security Hold Area for emergencies/
exigencies after the completion of security check, a fresh boarding card shall
be issued and he/she will have to undergo security check again.

Table 1.1
Source: Security Regulations, Air India.
www.airindia.in
17
Airport Handling
Check Your Progress –2

1. Summarize the procedures in passenger handling of a departing passenger in an

international airport.

....................................................................................................................

2. What are the measures taken in ensuring the security in air transportation?

....................................................................................................................

3. Distinguish between Green Channel and Red Channel in association with customs
formalities in airports
....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

4. Explain the arrival procedures in international airports.

....................................................................................................................

1.6 LET US SUM UP

Air travel has played a significant role in the growth of tourism. The first Trans–Atlantic
flight was the beginning of the change in the travel industry which led to major growth
and development in the travel and tourism industry. Decrease in travel time, specially
while travelling to earlier inaccessible destination has played an important role in the
increase of number of travelers across the world. Airlines providing air travel facilities
are one of the primary facilitators of travel and tourism while Airports are fundamental
infrastructure in the air transportation system and can be considered as the hub of air
transport activities.

Airports’ physical structure can be identified into sections like airside and landside as
well as tarmac and terminal. Airport offers services to the passengers keeping in mind
the safety and security of the passengers as well as the airport. Airports are can be
classified by different basis such as location, licensing, type of development, ownership
and so on. So, we have civil, military, regional, domestic, international and so on.
Classification of Airports is given in the annexure.
18
Introduction to
1.7 FURTHER READINGS Operations at Airport

 Dileep M.R. (2019) Tourism, Transport and Travel Management, London:

Routledge.
Websites
 www.icao.int
 www.iata.org
 www.dgca.gov.in
 www.aai.aero

1.8 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress –1

1. Refer to section 1.2

2. Refer to section 1.3
3. Refer to section 1.3.

Check Your Progress–2

1. Read Section 1.5.2

2. Refer to section 1.6.
3. Refer to section 1.5.2.2.
4. Refer to section 1.5.2.2.

1.9 ACTIVITY
Identify an international airport near to your place and conduct a survey to understand
satisfaction of the passengers on the facilities and services provided by that airport.

19
Airport Handling
UNIT 2 NEED OF GEOGRAPHY IN AIR
TRAVEL
Structure

2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Basics of Geography
2.3 Physical Geography
2.3.1 Continents
2.3.2 Oceans
2.3.3 Hemispheres
2.4 IATA World Travel Geography
2.4.1 Linkage between IATA & World Geography
2.4.2 IATA Areas & Sub-Areas
2.5 Let Us Sum Up
2.6 Further Readings
2.7 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
2.8 Activities

2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 explain the connection between geography and tourism,
 identify the different branches of geography,
 describe the physical features in world geography,
 differentiate between different Hemispheres,
 explain the linkage between Geography and IATA Geography; and
 state the IATA Traffic Conference Areas and Sub areas / regions

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Geography is the study of places and the complex relationships between people and
their environment. In a way it takes note of the associations and inter-relationships
between the phenomena resulting from the dynamic interaction between human beings
and their physical environment. It is also the study of locations which is done by studying
maps, pictures, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Data, visiting and exploring
the places. Hence, it is a discipline related to space and takes note of spatial
characteristics and attributes; and helps integrate the differences, holistically.
Tourism is a dynamic and non-static process involving displacement of tourists from
their usual habitat to other areas. It has its roots in the humanly needs of seeing other
20
places and discovering the unknown areas. Travelling from one place to another specially Need of Geography
in Air Travel
through air transportation requires special attention to the geographic location, travel
time as well as the time difference. IATA(International Air Transport Association) is a
commercial community that manages and solves the commercial matters of air transport
such as rates, routes schedules and other commercial matters. Since, geography is one
of the key aspects in planning and pricing of travel, IATA for its better functioning and
regulations has divided the world’s political geography into three Traffic Conference
Areas which are further divided into sub areas. This aids in air traffic movement and at
the same time keeps the travel schedules manageable.
In this unit, we will discuss about geography and its importance for tourism, especially
for air transportation. We will also discuss the branches of geography and physical
geography since it plays an important role in air travel. IATA Traffic Conference Areas
and its importance in air transportation are also discussed in this unit.

2.2 BASICS OF GEOGRAPHY

In Greek, geo means “earth” while graphy means “to write.” Its separate identity was
first formulated and named some 2,000 years ago by the Greeks, whose geo and
graphein were combined to mean “earth writing” or “earth description.” We can say
that Geography is the study of the shape and features of the Earth’s surface, including
countries, vegetation, climates as well as the use of world’s resources by humans.
Ideally There are two branches of Geography –
1. Physical Geography
It is a major branch of geography and mainly deals with the study of the
natural characteristics and events of the earth. It covers both the natural features
on the surface and those near it, like what lies beneath the earth’s icecaps and
oceans. Physical geography explores all the natural events that have taken
place on Earth and may have led to the development of the land. It is about
studying the natural resources in a region, such as rocks, rivers, mountains,
atmosphere, etc. Specific information that physical geographers analyze include
the soil, atmosphere, terrain, and oceans; and they use this type of information
to understand how humans interact with their environment. Physical geography
is the main focus of most geologists. Physical geography can also be studied
based on different aspects of the earth such as meteorology, climatology,
oceanography, geomorphology, and so on.
2. Human Geography
Human Geography refers to the branch of geography that involves
understanding the background of human population, their interactions,
perceptions, practices, and how all these have impacted the development of
earth. Human geography focuses on the way human societies are organised
and live in a certain area or region. Issues like migration, food security, and
urbanization are also studied under the umbrella of Human Geography. It
focuses mostly on non-physical changes on earth and considers the distribution
of humans on a local, regional, and global level. Like physical geography,
human geography can be broken down into many sub-outlets, like cultural,
population, urban, rural geography and so on.
21
Airport Handling There is also a third branch of Geography that is at times discussed, the
Integrated Geography. This branch focuses on understanding how spatial
relations are important for comprehending processes of change in the
society.

2.3 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Geography is not only the framework of time and spatial based on which tourism
operates, but also an abundant source of input for several tourism products which are
exploited by tourism industry. Human beings seek and try to see things they do not
have in their geographical region, and for this reason they try to visit different geographies.
Cultural and regional geography also provides a travel agent with the knowledge about
the history, languages, traditions, socio-economic and political characteristics of a
destination. Consequently, geographical characteristics, by them selves, at times become
the main attractions for tourists. Hence, Geography has a symbiotic and existential
relationship with tourism since former is a spatial process and all tourism activity occurs
within the geographical limits. The travel across the earth’s surface makes it pertinent
for you, as tourism students, to know about the major physical features of earth,
especially in case of air travel.
There are two main divisions of the earth’s surface. The large landmasses are known
as the continents and the huge water bodies are called the ocean basins. All the
oceans of the world are connected with one another. It is amazing to know that 71% of
the earth is composed of the water (oceans) and just about 29% is land. The level of
seawater remains the same everywhere and the elevation of land is measured from the
level of the sea, which is taken as zero. Could you imagine that depth of sea is much
more than the highest point? Yes, the highest mountain peak “Mt. Everest” is 8,848
metres above the sea level while the greatest depth is recorded in the Pacific Ocean at
11,022 metres, and is known as Mariana Trench. Let us begin with our discussion on
the continents and the oceans of our earth.

2.3.1 Continents:
Earth’s land is divided into seven major land masses known as continents. However,
scientists found evidence, that about 250 million years ago all the continents were
connected with one another and formed a large mass of land called the supercontinent
- Pangaea. The seven continents, as we know them now, are listed below along with
few special features of each of them –
1) Asia (44,485,900 sq. km. 30.0% of earth’s land): - Asia is world’s largest
continent. It covers about one third of the total land area of the earth with
Russia as the largest country of the continent. 60% of world population living
here, since both China and India, world’s two most populous countries are
in Asia. This continent lies in the Eastern Hemisphere and the Tropic of Cancer
passes through this continent. Asia is separated from Europe by the Ural
Mountains and the Caspian Sea on the west. Asia houses the highest point on
earth - the summit of Mount Everest and is also home to the 10 highest peaks
in the world.
2) Europe (10,530,750 sq. km. 7.1% of earth’s land): Europe lies to the
west of Asia. The combined landmass of Europe and Asia is often referred to
22 as the Eurasia (Europe + Asia). The Arctic Circle passes through Europe and
the highest mountain in this continent is Mt. Elbrus. Europe is surrounded by Need of Geography
in Air Travel
water on three sides – Mediterranean Sea in the south, Atlantic Ocean in the
west, and Arctic Ocean in the north. World’s smallest country, Vatican City,
is in Europe. Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark, in the northern part of
Europe, together form the Scandinavian countries. Great Britain and Ireland
form the two main island groups of Europe. Volga is the longest river in Europe
and the second longest river of Europe, Danube, passes through five capital
cities of the continent.
3) Africa (30,269,680 sq. km. 20.4% of earth’s land): Africa is the second
largest continent after Asia and its large part lies in the Northern Hemisphere.
The continents’ terrain was inhabitable and remained unknown for thousands
of years, earning it the name of ‘Dark Continent’. Equator or 00 latitude runs
almost through the middle of the continent, receiving direct sunlight throughout
the year. World’s hottest place, Ethiopia is also here and so is Sahara Desert,
world’s largest desert. This continent is bound on all sides by oceans and
seas. World’s longest river, the Nile, flows through Africa. This continent is
rich in minerals and houses more than 50 per cent of the world’s gold and 95
per cent of the world’s diamonds. The world also gets 66 per cent of its
chocolate from this Continent.
4) North America (24,235,280 sq. km. 16.3% of earth’s land): North
America is the third largest continent of the world. It is linked to South America
by a very narrow strip of land called the Isthmus of Panama. The continent
lies completely in the Northern and Western Hemisphere and is surrounded
by three oceans - Arctic to the north, Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the
Pacific Ocean to the west. Of the seven continents of the world, North
America’s population density at 22.9 per square kilometre is the highest and
has the highest average per-person income too. World’s largest economy, the
USA, is a part of North America. The largest fresh water lake in the world,
Lake Superior and the world’s third longest river, Mississippi are located in
this continent.
Central America is often referred to as its own region, but it is actually the
southern portion of the North American continent. Belize, Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama are the countries
of Central America. Even though Central America is a relatively small area, its
physical geography is very diverse. In some places it has high volcanic mountains
and highlands while there are also lowlands covered in rainforest and dry
Savanna areas. Central America contains rugged mountains and diverse
amounts of vegetation, and is located near two oceans, the Atlantic and the
Pacific.
5) South America (17,820,770 sq. km 12.0% of earth’s land): South America
lies mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. Andes, world’s longest mountain range,
runs through its length from north to south. South America has world’s largest
river as per water volume and the second longest river, Amazon. This continent
is also known as Latin America and is made up of the region south of the
United States, beginning at the river that separates the U.S. from Mexico, the
Rio Grande’, and extending to the southern tip of South America, an area
known as Cape Horn.
23
Airport Handling This continent houses the world’s highest waterfalls- Angel Falls and the highest
volcanoes of the world - Mt. Cotopaxi and Mt. Chimborazo, are also found
on this continent.
6) Australia (7,682,300 sq. km. 5.2% of earth’s land): Australia is the smallest
continent that lies entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. It is surrounded on all
sides by the oceans and seas , and hence is also called an island continent.
The continent is often called Sahul, Australinea or Meganesia to differentiate
it from the country of Australia. There are more than 10,000 islands scattered
throughout the Pacific Ocean and are collectively termed as “Oceania”. It is
divided into four parts - Australasia (Australia + New Zealand), Melanesia,
Micronesia and Polynesia. Of all the continents in the world, Australia stands
at the top of wool production as sheep population is 14 times more than that
of its human population residing here. Two-thirds of Australia is desert land.
World’s largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef which is around 2000
kilometres long is found here.
7) Antarctica (13,209,000 sq. km. 8.9% of earth’s land): Antarctica,
completely in the Southern Hemisphere, is also known as white or frozen
continent. As it is located in the South Polar Region, it is permanently covered
with thick ice sheets. There are no permanent human settlements on this
continent. Many countries have research stations in Antarctica. India also has
research stations there and is named as Maitri and Dakshin Gangotri. Antarctic
continent at the South Pole is a land of science that is internationally managed
by the Antarctic Treaty.

2.3.2 Oceans:
Oceans are the major part of hydrosphere. Ocean waters are always moving as all
the oceans are interconnected.. The three chief movements of ocean waters are -
waves, tides and ocean currents. The size and details on five oceans are listed as
follows:
1) Pacific Ocean (166,241,000 sq. km. 46.0% of earth’s water area) is
the largest ocean. It is spread over one-third of the earth. Mariana Trench, as
discussed before is the deepest part of the earth, lies in the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Ocean is almost circular in shape and is surrounded by Asia, Australia,
North and South Americas.
2) Atlantic Ocean (86,557,000 sq. km. 23.9% of earth’s water area) is
the second largest Ocean in the world. It is ‘S’ shaped and it is flanked by the
North and South Americas on the western side, and Europe and Africa on the
eastern side. The coastline of Atlantic Ocean is highly indented. This irregular
and indented coastline provides ideal location for natural harbours and ports.
From the point of view of commerce, it is the busiest Ocean.
3) Indian Ocean (73,427,000 sq. km 20.3% of earth’s water area) is the
only ocean named after a country, that is, India. The shape of ocean is almost
triangular. In the north, it is bound by Asia, in the west by Africa and in the
east by Australia.
4) Southern Ocean (20,327,000 sq.km 6% of earth’s water area) is also
referred to as Antarctic Ocean, South Polar Ocean or Austral Ocean. It is the
24
youngest ocean as it was formed only 30 million years ago. It encircles the Need of Geography
in Air Travel
continent of Antarctica and extends south of 60° south latitude in the southern
hemisphere.
5) Arctic Ocean (9,485,000 sq. km. 2.6% of earth’s water area) is the
other Polar Ocean located with in the Arctic Circle and surrounds the North
Pole. It is connected with the Pacific Ocean by a narrow stretch of shallow
water known as Berring Strait. It is bound by northern coasts of North America
and Eurasian continents with the neighbouring countries exercising their
sovereignty over it.

2.3.3 HEMISPHERES
To locate a place on the earth, geographers use a system of imaginary lines that crisscross
the globe. One of these lines, the Equator, circles the middle of the earth like a belt. It
divides the earth into “half spheres,” or hemispheres. Everything north of the Equator is
in Northern Hemisphere and everything south of the Equator is in the Southern
Hemisphere. Refer to Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: Prime Meridian and Equator

Another imaginary line runs from north to south called Prime Meridian, which helps to
divide earth into half spheres in the other direction. Everything east of the Prime Meridian
for 180 degrees is in the Eastern Hemisphere and everything westofthe Prime Meridian
is in the Western Hemisphere as shown in Fig. 1
Hence, there are four hemispheres, Northern and Southern (divided by the equator)
and the Eastern and Western (divided by the Prime Meridian and 180°).
1. Western & Eastern Hemisphere
Earth as discussed above can be divided into two parts Eastern hemisphere and Western
hemisphere using imaginary line of Prime Meridian.
Western Hemisphere is the geographical term for that half of the earth which lies
west of Prime Meridian(0-degree longitude) till the 180th meridian. All countries located
on the West of Prime Meridian are in Western Hemisphere and includes- North America,
South America, and portions of Africa, Europe, Antarctica and Asia. Longitude 20°
West and 160° East are considered its boundaries.
While Eastern Hemisphere is the geographical term for that half of the earth which
lies east of Prime Meridian (0-degree longitude) till the 180th meridian. It can also be
defined as the part of the earth east of the Atlantic Ocean, and west of North and
South America. All countries located in the East of the Prime Meridian are in Eastern
Hemisphere and includes - Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Longitudes 20° West
and 160° East are considered its boundaries. 25
Airport Handling

Figure 2.2: Hemisphere

2. Northern & Southern Hemisphere

Earth as discussed above can be divided into two parts Northern hemisphere and
Southern hemisphere using imaginary line of Eqator.
Northern Hemisphere contains North America, the northern part of South
America, Europe, the northern two-thirds of Africa, and most of Asia.
Southern Hemisphere contains most of South America, one-third of Africa,
Australia, Antarctica, and some Asian islands.
People living in the Northern Hemisphere are more likely to experience a colder
winter than those in the Southern Hemisphere. In fact, all of the coldest countries
in the world are located in the Northern Hemisphere.

Check Your Progress – 1

1. Name of three oceans surrounding the continent of North America?

.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2. Which two oceans surround the continent of South America both on the east and
the west?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
3. Name the two continents that lie entirely in the Southern Hemisphere.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
26 .......................................................................................................................
4. The deepest point on the earth is _________________in the Pecific Ocean. Need of Geography
in Air Travel
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
5. The _________________Ocean is named after a country.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
6. What divides the Earth into easters and western hemispheres?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
7. Find out whether the greater part of the land mass lies in the Northern Hemisphere
or the Southern Hemisphere.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

2.4 IATA WORLD TRAVEL GEOGRAPHY

IATA (International Air Transport Association) is a commercial community of the most
international airlines over the world. IATA’s vision is to shape the future growth of safe,
secure and sustainable air transport by representing, leading, and serving the airline
industry. IATA has been leading airline industry or over 70 years by its Traffic Conference
provisions which was agreed by all IATA member airlines. IATA manages and solves
the commercial matters of air transport such as rates, routes and schedules and many
other commercial matters. It was difficult for IATA to solve commercial matters in one
traffic conference in one location due to many reasons such as government approvals,
economic factors, lowering the costs etc.
Geography, other than playing a determinative role in touristic movements, also plays a
significant role in determining the content and timing of package tours for Travel Agents
and Operators, as well as routes of planes for Airlines. Since all airlines of the world
operate their services to hundreds of destinations in different countries, for them
geography becomes one of the key aspects in planning and pricing of a travel. Travel
professionals in order to best guide their clients in preparation of suitable Itineraries,
reservations, group bookings, fare calculations and ticketing should have knowledge
about the world geography and be able to identify the cities by their location,
country, areas and sub areas as defined by IATA (International Air Transportation
Association).

2.4.1 Linkage between IATA & World Geography

Since, geography is one of the key aspects in planning and pricing of travel. To avoid
confusion and for regulation of Air Travel, IATA takes the division by prime meridian 27
Airport Handling into account which passes through London, and not Equator since that passes through
many countries making it difficult to plan the rules governing each area.
IATA for its better functioning and regulations has taken the Eastern Hemisphere and
the Western Hemisphere and further divided them into three IATA Areas known as
Traffic Conference Areas (IATATC Areas).These IATA TC Areas are further divided
into sub-areas and is significantly different from the geographical definitions. The three
IATA Traffic Conferences areas are denoted as TC1, TC2 and TC3 where TC1 is
known as Western hemisphere and TC2 & TC3 together forms Eastern hemisphere.
These Traffic Conference Areas - TCA1 (Traffic Conference Area 1), TCA2 (Traffic
Conference Area 2) and TCA3 (Traffic Conference Area 3), help IATA organise and
simplify the fare construction rules, routings and fares applied to various international
air tariffs. These TC Areas give the details of the list of countries, their capitals and
major cities along with the three letter IATA city and airport codes. IATA map is highly
usefulintheaviationbasictrainingwhilecalculatingairfaresandrates, as well as for the
application of air travel rules.
Why IATA divided the World into Traffic Conferences Areas?
1) IATA traffic conferences were established to deal with all International Air
Traffic Matters involving Passengers, Cargo, and Mail in specific area of the
world.
2) IATA’s division helped member airlines sign agreements related to: Fares &
rates, Traffic documents (standard forms of passenger’s air tickets, baggage
checked, air waybills , etc.) and Interline (inter airline ) agreements.
The three Traffic Conferences standardize Passenger Tariff Conference, Passenger
Services Conference, Cargo Services Conference, and Cargo Tariff Conference.

2.4.2 IATA Areas & Sub- Areas:

As discussed above, IATA has divided the world into three areas called IATA Traffic
Conference Areas for the purpose of regulations. Each of the Traffic Conference area
is also divided into sub areas. IATA’s Traffic Conference Areas and sub-areas are not
the same as continents. There are countries that are geographically located in one
continent but are classified in another area for IATA fare construction purposes.

28 Fig. 3, list of countries arranged by sub-areas and Traffic Conference Areas.

1. IATA Traffic Conference Area 1 (TC1) Need of Geography
in Air Travel
In its entirety, Area 1 or TC1 is composed of the Western Hemisphere but has several
classifications of sub-areas for fare construction purposes. Comprises of North America,
South America, Central America and the adjacent islands like Greenland, Bermuda,
West Indies, Islands of the Caribbean Sea, Hawaiian Islands which includes Midway
and Palmyra. IATA Area 1 division into 4 sub-areas as listed below:
Sub Area Regions Countries Included Country Codes
Sub Area 1 North America or It covers:
North Atlantic  Canada (CA)
sub-area  Greenland (GL)
 Mexico (MX)
 USA(includes Alaska, (US)
Hawaii, Puerto Rico and
US Virgin Islands)
 St. Pierre & Miquelon (PM)
Sub Area 2 Mid Includes all of the
Atlantic A) Caribbean Area sub-area,
sub-area  Anguilla (AI)
 Antigua and Barbuda (AG)
 Aruba (AW)
 Barbados (BB)
 Cayman Islands (KY)
 Cuba (CU)
 Dominica (DM)
 Dominican Republic (DO)
 Grenada (GD)
 Guadeloupe (GP)
 Haiti (HT)
 Jamaica (JM)
 Martinique (MQ)
 Montserrat (MS)
 Netherlands Antilles (AN)
 St. Kitts and Nevis (KN)
 St. Lucia (LC)
 St. Vincent and the (VC)
Grenadines
 Trinidad and Tobago (TT)
 Turks and Caicos Islands (TC)
 Virgin Islands- British (VG)
 Bahamas (BS)
 Bermuda (BM)
B) Central America
 Belize (BZ)
 Costa Rica (CR)
 El Salvador (SV)
 Guatemala (GT)
 Honduras (HN)
29
Airport Handling
 Nicaragua (NI)
 Guyana (GY)
 French Guiana (GF)
 Suriname (SR)
C) South
 America
Sub Area 3 Within  Argentina (AR)
South America or  Bolivia (BO)
South  Brazil (BR)
Atlantic sub -  Chile (CL)
Area  Colombia (CO)
 Ecuador (BC)
 French Guiana (GF)
 Guyana (GY)
 Panama (PA)
 Peru (PE)
 Paraguay (PY)
 Suriname (SR)
 Uruguay (UY)
 Venezuela (YE)

2. IATA Traffic Conference Area 2 (TC 2)

In its entirety, TC2 comprises of Europe, Africa and Ascension Island and parts of
Asia, West of Ural Mountains, including Iran and the countries of Middle-East. IATA
area 2 is further divided to 3 sub-areas as listed below:

30
Need of Geography
B) Economic & Monetary in Air Travel
Union (EMU)
 Albania (AL)
 Belgium (BE)
 Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA)
 Bulgaria (BG)
 Croatia (HR)
 Finland (FT)
 France including Monaco (FR)
 Germany (DE)
 Greece (GR)
 Italy (IT)
 Luxembourg (LU)
 Macedonia (MK)
 Moldova (ID)
 Netherlands (NL)
 Portugal (PT)
 Romania (RO)
 Serbia and Montenegro (CS)
 Slovenia (SI)
 Spain (ES)
C) Scandinavia composed of:
 Denmark (DK)
 Norway (NO)
 Sweden (SE)
Sub Area 2 Within Africa A) Central Africa composed
Sub Area of:
 Malawi (MW)
 Zambia (ZM)
 Zimbabwe (ZW)
B) Eastern Afriea composed
of
 Burundi (BI)
 Djibouti (DJ)
 Eritrea (ER)
 Ethiopia (ET)
 Kenya (KE)
 Rwanda (RVi)
 Somalia (SO)
 Tanzania (TZ)
 Uganda (UG)
C) Southern Africa composed
of:
 Botswana (BW)
 Lesotho (LS)
 Mozambique (MZ)
 South Africa (ZA)
 Namibia (NA)
 Swaziland (SZ)
 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (LY) 31
Airport Handling
D) Indian Ocean Islands
consisting of:
 The Comoros (KM)
 Madagascar (MG)
 Mauritius (MU)
 Mayotte (YT)
 Reunion (RE)
 Seychelles (SC)
E) Western Africa consisting
of:
 Angola (AO)
 Benin (BY)
 Burkina Faso (BF)
 Cameroon (CM)
 Cape Verde (CV)
 Central African Republic (CF)
 Chad (TD)
 Congo (CG)
 Cote d’Ivoire (CI)
 Democratic Republic of (CD)
Congo
 Equatorial Guinea (GQ)
 Gabon (GA)
 Gambia (GM)
 Ghana (GH)
 Guinea (GN)
 Guinea Bissau (GW)
 Liberia (LR)
 Mali (ML)
 Mauritania (MR)
 Niger (NE)
 Nigeria (NG)
 Principe and Sao Tome (ST)

32
3. IATA Traffic Conference Area 3 (TC3) Need of Geography
in Air Travel
IATA Traffic Conference Area 3 is composed of the whole of Asia (East of Ural
Mountains) and the adjacent islands except the part included already in Area 2; the
East Indies, Australia, New Zealand the neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean
except those in TC - 1 (TC1). IATA area 3 is further divided into following 4 sub-
areas.

 Marshall Islands (FM)

 Micronesia (MN)
 Mongolia (KM)
 Myanmar (MP)
 Northern Mariana Islands
 Palau (PW)
 Philippines (PH)
 Russia in Asia (East of (XU)
URAL Mountains)
 Singapore (SG)
 Tajikistan (TJ)
 Thailand (TH)
 Timor Leste (TL)
 Turkmenistan (TM)
 Uzbekistan (UZ)
 VietNam (VN)
Sub Area 2 South Asian  Afghanistan (AF)
Subcontinent Sub-  Maldives (MV)
area (SASC)  Bangladesh (BD)
 Nepal (NP)
 Bhutan (BT)
 Pakistan (PK)
 India (IN)
 Sri Lanka (LK)
33
Airport Handling
Sub Area 3 Japan, Korea l11at is within the area
Sub- area composed of:
 Japan and (JP)
 Democratic People (DPRK)
Republic of Korea
Sub Area 4 South West Pacific  American Sanioa (AS)
Sub-area  Australia (AU)
 Cook Islands (CK)
 Fiji (FJ)
 French Polynesia (PF)
 Kiribati (KI)
 Naurn (NR)
 New Caledonia including (NC)
Loyalty Islands
 New Zealand (NZ)
 Niue (NU)
 Papua New Guinea (PG)
 Samoa (WS)
 Solomon Islands (SB)
 Tonga (TO)
 Tuvalu (TV)
 Vanuatu (VU)
 Willis & Futuna Islands (WF)

Check Your Progress–2

1. What are the major countries included in Traffic Conference Area 1?

34 ....................................................................................................................
5. List 5 islands of Caribbean Area. Need of Geography
in Air Travel
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
6. Define broadly the sub areas of TC 2.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................

2.5 LET US SUM UP

World geography is an important part for travel, tourism and aviation industry as it is
one of the key aspects in planning and pricing of travel. Every professional should have
the knowledge of world geography and should be able to identify places or cities by
their location, country, area and subareas.
To organise and simplify the fare construction rules, routings and fares, IATA divides
the world into two hemispheres: Eastern and Western Hemisphere. The Eastern
Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are further divided by IATA into3 traffic
conference areas called IATA Areas or TC1, TC2 and TC3, which further comprise
of sub areas. IATA areas are different from the geographical definitions as are used for
cargo and passenger fare calculation by the Airlines. Any travel and tourism professional
who handles the matters related to the preparation of itineraries, reservations, fare
calculations and ticketing should have knowledge about world geography. They should
also be able to identify the cities by the location, country, areas and sub areas defined
by IATA.
Hence, geography is central to tourism as travellers take into account the travel time,
routing, and local climate when choosing a vacation or holiday destination. In order to
successfully sell travel products, travel agents and tour operations must study the
motivation pattern of their tourists and the reasons which define and set some places
apart geographically, from others.

2.6 FURTHER READINGS

 IATAE-Library publications
 IATA Dangerous Goods Regulation (DGR)
 Introduction to Airline Industry; Publication IATA; Ed.1
 Airport Codes of the World: A Complete IATA Listing; Publication IATA
 Objective Indian and World Geography Paperback; Khullar D.R., November
2019
 Oxford Atlas
35
Airport Handling
2.7 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES
Check Your Progress – 1

1. Refer to section 2.3.1

2. Refer to section 2.3.1
3. Refer to section 2.3.1
4. Refer to section 2.3.2
5. Refer to section 2.3.2
6. Refer to section 2.3.3
7. Refer to section 2.3.3

Check Your Progress – 2

1. Refer to section 2.4.3

2. Refer to section 2.4.3
3. Refer to section 2.4.6
4. Refer to section 2.4.6
5. Refer to section 2.4.3
6. Refer to section 2.4.5

2.8 ACTIVITIES
1. Locate three IATA areas and all the IATA sub-areas on blank maps.
2. Locate 10 countries in each IATA area, their capital cities and major gateway
airports.
3. Locate the main mountain ranges, deserts, oceans and seas.
4. Use outline maps to locate capitals, major airports, seas, rivers, lakes, forests and
mountain ranges in IATAArea 2.
5. Use outline maps to locate capitals, major airports, seas, rivers, lakes, forests and
mountain ranges in IATAArea 1.

36
Time Calculation
UNIT 3 TIME CALCULATION
Structure

3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Imaginary lines on Earth
3.3 World Time Zones
3.3.1 Prime Meridian and Standard Meridian
3.3.2 Greenwich Mean Time/ Universal Time Coordinated
3.3.3 Standard Clock Time and Daylight-Saving Time
3.4 International Time Calculator
3.4.1 Multiple Time Zone countries
3.5 Time difference between Two Cities
3.6 International Date Line
3.6.1 Importance of International Date Line
3.7 Elapsed Flying Time
3.7.1 Calculation of Elapsed Flying Time
3.7.2 Jetlag
3.8 Let Us Sum Up
3.9 Further Readings
3.10 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
3.11 Activities

3.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 understand the worldwide time system,
 get clarity on why there are time differences in different areas of the world,
 calculate the local time of a city or area corresponding to GMT/UTC,
 calculate the time differences between two regions; and
 find the elapsed flying time.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
Ever since humans first noticed the movement of sun and earth, time was calculated
based on the position of the sun. Every place was following their local clock till the time
people started travelling, specially inter– continental travel. Once people started traveling
across continents using various travel modes, and crossing major distances; there arose
confusion with regard to the time. Due to the continuous rotation of the earth, cities
have day and night at different times. For example, when it is day in India, it’s night in
Canada. Someone who lives very far away can be just a few hours ahead of you. A 37
Airport Handling passenger after traveling 24 hours, when reaches a city, finds that the local timing of the
city clock is a time little ahead of the same day as starting the journey. While on the
other hand, after a short hour of journey, on reaching the destination, the place shows
a time which is one day ahead. How can it happen? It happens because countries/
regions set different times in the clock based on their location. These are all based on
the rotation of earth on its own axis. International travel and business depend on a
worldwide time system. In this unit we will explain the concept of earth’s rotation and
its impact on time calculation. We will also discuss terms like world time zones, prime
meridian, standard time zones etc. to set global standards in time calculation.

3.2 IMAGINARY LINES ON EARTH

As you have studies in Unit 2, we have certain imaginary lines on earth that gives us the
different Hemispheres. There are few other such imaginary lines of reference. For
example, the spinning of the earth on its axis from west to the east provides us with two
natural points of reference, i.e. North and South Poles. At the same time for identifying
the location of a place, a network of intersecting imaginary lines is drawn - one as
horizontal and another one as vertical on the surface of earth. These imaginary lines are
called Parallels of Latitudes (Latitude) and the Meridians of Longitudes (Longitude)
respectively. They are referred to as geographical coordinates as they represent a
systematic network of lines upon which the position of various surface features of the
earth is dependent. With the help of these lines, the location, distance, and direction of
various points can be easily determined. Latitudes and longitudes are measured in
degrees (°) because they represent angular distances. Each degree is further divided
into 60 minutes (‘) and each minute into 60 seconds (“). Using these as parameters of
time, one can calculate time of a place location.
1. Equator
The imaginary planetary line drawn midway between the North Pole and the South
Pole is called the equator. It is the largest circle and located halfway between the
North Pole and the South Pole. This invisible line that runs around the center of the
Earth at 0° latitude divides the globe into two equal halves-Northern Hemisphere
and Southern Hemisphere. It is also called a great circle since the earth is widest at
its Equator. The distance around Earth at the Equator(circumference) is 40,075
kilometers (24,901 miles).
All other parallel lines get smaller in size when moving towards the poles, in proportion
to their distance from the equator. Distance between the zones is the greatest at
the equator while at the poles it reduces due to the curvature of earth. As the
circumference of the equator is approximately 24,901 miles the distance between
the time zones at the equator is approximately 1,038 miles.
2. Latitudes
Latitudes are horizontal lines parallel to the equator on earth’s surface. They run
east and west around the globe and tell us the distance either north or south of the
Equator. Lines joining places with the same latitudes are called parallels. The value
of equator is 0° and the latitude of the poles are 90°N and 90°S. as mentioned
earlier, Equator is the 0°line and splits earth into two equal halves as northern and
southern hemispheres. Each hemisphere is divided into 90 degrees, from the Equator
38 to the Pole. Lines of latitude get smaller as they get further towards the pole.
Time Calculation

Figure 3.1 Imaginary lines on Earth’s Surface

In addition to Equator, there are four other major latitudes that are usually found on
maps and globes. The positions of these four latitudes are determined by the Earth’s
axial tilt.
a) The latitude 23° 262 North is also known as the Tropic of Cancer. It marks
the region north of equator on the Earth, where the Sun is directly overhead at
least once a year.
b) The Tropic of Capricorn is the latitude that lies at 23° 262 South of the
Equator. It is the position on the globe, where the Sun is directly overhead
during December
c) The Arctic Circle is the latitude 66° 342 North. All locations falling north of
this latitude are said to be in the Arctic Circle.
d) The Antarctic Circle, on the other hand, is the latitude 66° 342 south. Any
locations in the globe falling south of this latitude are said to be in the Antarctic
Circle.
Places in both the Arctic and Antarctic circles experience the Midnight Sun and polar
night.
3. Longitudes
The meridians of longitude are semicircles that run from pole to pole around the
globe and tells us the distance, east or west, from the Prime-Meridian. In case
opposite meridians are taken together, they complete a circle, but they are valued
separately as two meridians. The meridians intersect the equator at right angles.
They begin at the Prime Meridian and split the Earth into East and West
hemispheres. Unlike the parallels of latitude, they are all equal in length. For the
convenience of numbering, the meridian of longitude passing through the Greenwich
Observatory(near London) has been adopted as the ‘Prime Meridian’ by an
international agreement and has been given the value of 0°.
The longitude of a place is its angular distance east or west of the Prime Meridian.
It is also measured in degrees. Longitudes vary from 0° to 180° eastward and
westward of the Prime Meridian. The east portion of the Prime Meridian is called
the eastern hemisphere and in the west portion is referred to as the western
hemisphere. All the other longitudes are measured and named after the angle they
make with respect to the center of the Earth from the intersection of the Meridian
and the Equator. 39
Airport Handling Since a sphere has 360 degrees, the Earth is divided into 360 longitudes. The meridian
opposite the Prime Meridian (on the other side of the Earth) is 180° longitude and is
known as the anti - meridian. Modern timekeeping systems use longitudes as references
to keep time. Therefore, time zones are defined by the Prime Meridian and the
longitudes.

3.3 WORLD TIME ZONES

The acceptance of the idea of time zones took almost a century. Until the 19th century,
each city followed its own local clock. Sir Sanford Fleming, a Scottish Canadian engineer
took the pain of arguing for a standard time and for an international agreement on
prime time. In 1888, the United Nations and Canada adopted a standard time. In
1884, the International Meridian Conference was held in Washington DC. United
States to determine a meantime in the world. 27 countries attended the conference,
and major nations agreed to use Time Zone Systems.
To understand this concept of time zone, let us understand the shape of the earth. Earth
is a sphere that spins on an imaginary axis and makes a complete rotation in 24 hours;
which is called a complete day. When the earth rotates, parts of the earth receive
sunlight and experience day, while the other side experiences night. In 24 hours, each
place experiences day and night, but at different times. In some cases, due to different
geographical, social and/or political reasons, time zones may deviate from the universal
standards and recommendations as set by international institutions. Governments often
set time differently. For example, some countries have multiple time zones (like Australia),
few others have colonial past and territories are miles away from the mainland (like
France) and few large countries like China have only one time zone regardless of the
territories.

3.3.1 Prime Meridian and Standard Meridian

The International Meridian conference chose the royal observatory at Greenwich,
London, England as the place of Prime Meridian i.e. 0° longitude. Thus, a world
standard was set at Greenwich. Based on earth rotation, the solar day has been divided
into 24 hours and hence, the earth is divided into 24 imaginary zones each corresponding
to one hour of earth’s rotation. These imaginary zones are called time zones, beginning
with the prime meridian in Greenwich. There are 24 longitudes in total, each at 15-
degree intervals called Standard Meridians. Earth revolves 360 every 24 hours or
15 per hour (360/24=15). Hence each standard meridian has a longitudinal difference
of 15 and a time difference of 1 hour. The Prime Meridian is considered as the reference
zone for the calculation of time and is known as 0° meridian, Greenwich meridian, or
prime meridian of the world.
For example, the longitudinal value of New Delhi is 82.5° E (82.5° behind Prime
Meridian). As said earlier, each 15° longitude constitutes one hour difference in time
zone. Hence, the hour difference from Prime Meridian can be calculated as a longitudinal
value divided by 15° i.e., 82.5°/15 = 5.5 hours. This means New Delhi is 05 hours and
30 minutes ahead of Prime Meridian since New Delhi is located East of Prime Meridian.
Sun rises in the East, hence location in East is ahead of Prime Meridian while west is
behind Prime Meridian.
40
Time Calculation

Figure 3.2: Prime Meridian and International Date Line

3.3.2 Greenwich Mean Time/ Universal Time Coordinated

The time at Greenwich and all the countries in this zone is referred to as Greenwich
Mean Time (GMT); also known as Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). The time in all
other zones can be expressed by referring to GMT or UTC. As it moves eastwards
from the prime meridian, with every standard meridian there is an addition of 01 hour
in the time. If it is 12 noon at Prime Meridian, the time at the first standard meridian on
the right will be 1 pm. Similarly, when it moves towards the west, 1 hour decreases
with each standard meridian. When it is 12 noon at the prime meridian, the first standard
meridian on the west shows the time as 11 am. The sign + (plus) and -(minus) are used
to mention the time relative to GMT/UTC.
GMT+1 =1 Hour ahead of GMT (Towards the east of GMT)
GMT-1 =1 Hour behind GMT(Towards west of GMT) up to GMT +12 and
GMT-12.

3.3.3 Standard Clock Time and Daylight-Saving Time

Depending on the location and the size of a country, few countries fall in different time
zones. In order to maintain the same local time within the national boundaries of a
country, a time is fixed by law, called Standard Clock Time (SCT) or Standard
Time. Prime Meridian is considered as the reference zone for the calculation of time
and known as 0° meridian, Greenwich meridian, or prime meridian of the world.
India falls between the longitude of 68° 7" E and 97° 25" W; officially Indian standard
time is designated at 82.5° E or GMT+ 05.30, which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of
GMT.
Certain countries modify their standard time during summer by advancing one hour or
a fraction of an hour. This is a way of making better use of the natural dayli setting the
clock forward during the summer months, and back again in autumn. This temporary
change is called Daylight Saving Time (DST). Example: The standard clock time in
41
Airport Handling Germany is one hour ahead of GMT(GMT+1). Germany modifies the standard time
by advancing one hour from 27 March to 30 October every year, thus the standard
time becomes 2 hours ahead of GMT (GMT+2)

Check Your Progress-1

1. What is the significance of Longitudes and Latitudes?

3.4 INTERNATIONAL TIME CALCULATOR

Time charts are published in all major airline guides. The OAG time calculator given in
the chart in the annexure, lists all country/area wise Standard Clock Time, Daylight
Saving Time and Daylight Saving Time effective periods. Standard Clock Time is
expressed in hours ahead (+) or behind (-) of GMT. Few examples to find the local
time of a city, when GMT is known are given below.
Example 1:
What is the local time in Colombo (CMB), Srilanka when it is 1200 hours GMT?
Answer: In Sri Lanka, the standard time is GMT +6 all year around. This means that
the local time is 6 hours ahead of GMT. Hence, when it is 1200 GMT, local time in
Srilanka is 1800 hours(1200+6).

Figure. 3.3
42
Example 2: Time Calculation

What is the local time in Caracas (CCS), Venezuela when it is 1200hrs GMT?
Answer: Here, it is indicated in the International Time Calculator that the Standard
Clock time of Venezuela is GMT -4 throughout the year. The local time is 4 hours
behind GMT. Hence it is 0800 hours (1200- 4) in Caracas, when it is 1200 hours
GMT

Figure: 3.4

Example 3:
What is the local time of Frankfurt on 1 April when it is 12 00 hours GMT?
Answer: The Standard Local Time of Germany is GMT +1 and the Daylight-Saving
time from 31 March to 26 October is GMT+2. That means, on 1 April, the local time
is 2 hours ahead of GMT and therefore it is 1400 hours in Frankfurt when it is 1200
hours GMT.
Example 4:
What is the local time in Lagos (LOS), Nigeria when it is 1600 hours local time in
Beijing (BJS), China on 22 March?
Answer: In Nigeria, on 22 March the local time is GMT+1, In China, the local time is
GMT+8
This means that the local time in China is 7 hours ahead of the local time of Nigeria
(8- 1=7). Hence, if it is 1600 hours local time in Beijing, it will be 0900 hours in
Nigeria on the same day. If GMT+8= 1600 hours, GMT=1600-8= 08 hours. Local
time in Lagos is GMT+1 , that is 0800+1= 0900 Hours

Figure: 3.5

Example 5
What is the local time in Milan, Italy when it is 0230 in La Paz, Bolivia on 27 May?
Answer: The local time in Italy on 27 May is GMT +1, on the same day the local time
in Bolivia is GMT-4. That means the local time in Italy is 5 hours ahead of Bolivia (+1
– 4 = 5). Therefore, when it is 0230 hours in La Paz, it is 0730 hours (0230 +5) in
Milan on the same day. 43
Airport Handling

-4 +1 +8

LAP Difference 5 hours MXP

Figure: 3.6

3.4.1 Multiple time zone countries

Some countries have many time zones. Large countries such as the USA, Australia,
Canada, Brazil, Greenland, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, have their territories
spread over several time zones and hence different standard times have been established
for different areas/states within the county. These multi-time zone countries have been
marked by two asterisks (**) in the OAG International Time Calculator. The largest
country in the world Russiahas11 time zones and France, a smaller country, has 12
time zones while Brazil has three different time zones.
One example for reference is that of the Country Canada which uses 6 primary time
zones from east to west, namely, Newfoundland time, Atlantic time, Eastern time,
Central time, Mountain time and Pacific time. Most of Canada works on standard
time from 7 November to 12 March and daylight-saving time for the rest of the year.
Offset Time Zone Example city
UTC/GMT-8 Pacific Standard Time Vancouver
UTC/GMT-7 Mountain Standard Time Edmonton
UTC/GMT-6 Central Standard Time Winnipeg
UTC/GMT-5 Eastern Standard Time Toronto
UTC/GMT-4 Atlantic Standard Time Halifax
UTC/GMT-3:30 Newfoundland Standard Time St. Johns Example

China on the other hand is using 5 different time zones, still the country follows a single
time that is Beijing standard time. After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, the
newly empowered Republic of China established five different time zones in the country,
but in 1949, Mao Zedong declared that all of China would henceforth be on Beijing
time (GMT+8) for the purposes of national unity.
While, in the USA, the standard time is GMT-5 in the Eastern zone, GMT-6 in Central
time, GMT-7 in Mountain time, GMT- 8 in Pacific time, GMT-9 in Alaska, GMT-10
in the Aleutian Islands and Hawaiian Islands. It is GMT-8 in Pacific zone from 13
March to 06 December, Daylight saving time is applicable to all areas except Arizona
and Hawaiian Islands (one hour behind the standard time)

44 Figure 3.7 USA Time zones

Time Calculation
3.5 TIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO CITIES
Calculation of time difference is one of the most important parts of international travel.
One can either gain or loss time while traveling across international borders and time
zones. Let us now find out how to calculate time difference between two points/ cities.
If the local time of the two cities is known, time difference between the points can be
easily determined. In case the local time in both the points is ahead of GMT or behind
GMT, deduct the smaller from the largest figure. For example: Time difference between
the places having local time GMT+3 and GMT+9. Time difference = 9 - 3 i.e. 6 Hours

06 hours

Figure: 3.8

If the local time is ahead of GMT at one point and behind GMT at another point, add
both the figures together. Example: - 0 GMT+ 4 and GMT -8. So, 4+ 8 =12 hours
difference between the points

12 hours

Figure 3.9

Example 1:
Determine the time difference between Manila (MNL), Philippines and Beijing (BJS),
China.
Answer: The Local time in Philippines is GMT+8 and China is also GMT+8
The time difference between MNL and BJS is 8-8=0. Both the places belong to the
same time zone and have the same local time.
Example 2:
Determine the local time between Kingston (KIN), Jamaica and Johannesburg (JNB),
South Africa
Answer: The Local time in Kingston is GMT-5 and Johannesburg is GMT+2 The time
difference between KIN and JNB is 5+2=7 Hours
Example 3:
When the local time in Tunis (TUN), Tunisia on 5 November is 0330 hours, what is
the local time and date in Kathmandu (KTM), Nepal?
45
Airport Handling Answer:
Tunisia local time is GMT+1
Nepal Local time is GMT+5.45
As the local time in both the places are ahead of GMT(GMT+), deduct the smaller
figure from the larger one.
Kathmandu GMT+5.45 -
Tunis GMT+1
Difference: 4 hours 45 minutes
Hence, the local time in Kathmandu is 4 hours 45minutes ahead of Tunis.
When the local time in Tunis is 0330 hours on 5 November, it is 0800 hours on the
same day in Kathmandu.
Example 4
The local time in Dhaka (DAC) Bangladesh is 1500 hours on 21 May, what is the local
time and date in Honolulu (HNL), Hawaiian Islands, USA?
Answer:
Local time in Dhaka, Bangladesh is GMT+6
Local time in Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands is GMT-10
As the local time is ahead of GMT(GMT+) at one point and behind GMT(GMT-) at
the other, add both the figures together.
The time difference between DAC and HNL is 16 Hours (6+10)
The local time in Honolulu is 16 hours behind Dhaka. That is, 1500hours-16 hours
=2300 hours the previous day (20 May)

Figure: 3.10

3.6 INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE (IDL)

As you are now aware, Prime Meridian at 0° longitude passes through Greenwich,
England. There are 24 standard meridians, 12 are towards the west side of the Prime
Meridian and 12 are towards the east side of the Prime Meridian. Starting from 0°, the east
meridian ends at 180°, which is known as 180° East, similarly, from 0°, the west meridian
ends at the same 180° and calls it 180° west; although it is the same imaginary line.
The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line on Earth’s surface at 180°
46 longitude, located halfway around the world from the prime meridian (0° longitude) or
about 180° east (or west) of Greenwich Observatory. Since the lines are not straight Time Calculation
as it appears, it is also called the ‘Line of Demarcation’. The time at this longitude is
exactly 12 hours from the 0° longitude, irrespective of whether one travels westward
or eastward from the Prime Meridian. As the earth moves from west to east, one who
moves back to the west by crossing the Prime Meridian is going back to the time
(gains time)and if one moves forward towards the east by crossing the prime meridian
goes ahead of the time(loses time).
Crossing IDL makes the calculation of time difference a little complicated since travelers
either gain or lose a day during the process. Time increases east of the Prime Meridian
and decreases to its west. Therefore, when a person crosses the IDL traveling towards
west the day changes to the following day-Monday would immediately become Tuesday.
Passenger crossing IDL going east gains a day, which means for him Tuesday becomes
Monday.
The International Date Line (IDL) or the line of demarcation is the boundary between
one day and the next. This line runs from the North Pole to the South Pole and marks
the divide between the Western and Eastern Hemisphere. It is not straight but zigzags
to avoid political and country borders as well as to avoid cutting some countries in half.
East and West of IDL the date differs, and hence the must be considered as a wall
which cannot be crossed when calculating the time difference.
For example, a passenger departs on Wednesday morning from Honolulu to Tokyo.
She/He can reach within 9 hours by flight, but it would be the next day, i.e. Thursday
in Tokyo as the International Date Line is crossed from east to west (loses a day).
Similarly, if someone travels from Tokyo on a Wednesday morning and comes back to
Honolulu, he will arrive on Tuesday because the International Date Line is crossed by
traveling west to east (gains a day).

3.6.1 Importance of International Dateline

International Date Line brings coordination between international airlines, transportation
services, economic and trade activities. The accurate calculations of the day and time
are possible due to IDL. The International Date Line has no legal international status
and countries are free to choose the dates that they observe.

Figure. 3.11 : International Date Line 47

Airport Handling Example 1: A passenger who flew from Hong Kong (HKG) on 2 September at 1230
hrs reached Los Angeles (LAX) after 12 hours 20 minutes in a nonstop flight.
The expected time of arrival is 0020 hrs on 3 September. Upon arrival, he had to
adjust his clock to 2050 hrs on 02 September. How did he reached a day earlier than
expected?

Figure: 3.12

Answer: The local time in Hongkong is 8 hours ahead of GMT/UTC(GMT+8) and

Los Angeles is 8 hours behind GMT(GMT-8). The time difference between the cities
is 16 hours (8+8). Hongkong is 16 hours ahead of Los Angles. So actually, when the
flight departed, it was 16 hours behind the actual time of Hongkong, which is 2030 hrs
on 1 September. When the travel time is added the time becomes 2050 hrs on 2
September.
This is because the passenger crossed the International Dateline from east to west
while traveling from Hongkong to Los Angeles and hence he gained a day.
Example 2: Nadi (NAN) in Fiji and Apia(APW) in Samoa are islands very close to
each other, around 1,225 km. But when it is Sunday in Nadi, it is Saturday in Apia.
Why is this difference in time between these two neighboring islands?
Answer: Samoa, the local time is GMT-11. There is a difference of 23 hours here. The
local time in Nadi is 23 hours ahead of Apia.
Nadi and Apia are separated by the International Dateline. When the IDL is crossed
eastbound (from Nadi to Apia) a day is gained. For example, a passenger flying from
Nadi on Monday, reaches Apia in two hours, but when reaches it will be Sunday in
Apia.
When IDL is crossed westbound (From Apia to Nadi), one loses a day. For example,
a passenger flying from Apia on Monday, reaches Nadi in two hours, but when reaches
it will be Tuesday in Apia.

Figure: 3.13

It is to be noted that International Dateline can not be crossed while calculating the
time difference. It can be done only by using GMT/UTC.
48
Time Calculation
3.7 ELAPSED FLYING TIME
The transport time is the number of hours and minutes from the time of departure at the
airport of origin until the time of arrival at the airport of final destination. This includes
eventual transit and/or transfer times. This is also known as Elapsed Flying time.
Elapsed Flying time is the time between the departure and arrival times – ramp to ramp
– in minutes. This includes any stopover time if the flight involves one or more stops.
Elapsed time is an important concept in Air transportation, especially with long
international air travel. In such journeys, long distances are covered in a short time and
different time zones are crossed when they travel to regions with different time zones.
It sometimes creates confusion regarding the time. Passengers may have to adjust their
watches after arrival. If the origin and destination fall in different time zones, calculating
the travel time is also not so easy. The city’s local times have to be converted into
GMT/UTC, and then the difference could be calculated.
Example: A passenger who flew from Hong Kong (HKG) on 2 September at 1230
hrs. reached Los Angeles(LAX) after 12 hours 20 minutes in a nonstop flight. The
expected time of arrival is 0020 hrs. on 3 September. Upon arrival, he had to adjust
his clock to 2050 hrs on 02 September. He reached a day earlier than expected.
The local time in Hongkong is 8 hours ahead of GMT/UTC (GMT+8) and Los Angeles
is 8 hours behind GMT(GMT-8). The time difference between the cities is 16 hours
(8+8). Hongkong is 16 hours ahead of Los Angles. So actually, when the flight departed,
it was 16 hours behind the actual time of Hongkong, which is 2030 hrs on 1 September.
When the travel time is added the time becomes 2050 hrs on 2 September.

3.7.1 Calculation of Elapsed Flying Time

The Elapsed Flying Time (transport time) is the number of hours and minutes from the
time of departure at the airport of origin until the time of arrival at the airport of final
destination. This includes eventual transit and/or transfer times. Elapsed Flying Time is
the time between the departure and arrival times – ramp to ramp – in minutes. This
includes any stopover time if the flight involves one or more stops. Calculating Elapsed
time is an important concept in air transportation, especially in long international travel.
There are confusions regarding the travel time when origin and destination cities belong
to different time zones. Hence, when there is a time difference between origin and
destination cities, both the local times need to be converted into GMT/UTC before
calculating the travel time.
Example 1: Flight departs from New York on 9 September at 2055 hrs. and reaches
Doha, Qatar on 10 September at 1625 hrs. What is the Elapsed flying time?
Answer: New York and Doha are located in two different time zones and hence we
can’t add or subtract the local times.
The first step to find elapsed flying time for any flight schedule, departure, and arrival
time need to be changed to GST/UTC. In this flight schedule, New York and Doha are
in different time zones. The local time in New York, USA is 4 hours behind GMT
(GMT- 4 Eastern, daylight-saving time). Therefore, the flight departed from New York
when it was 0055 hours GMT (2055+4=0055 hrs.)
49
Airport Handling The GMT/UTC time in New York is when the local time of Doha, Qatar is 3 hours
ahead of GMT(GMT+3). So, the flight arrived at Doha, Qatar when it was 1325
hours GMT. (1625-3=1325 hrs) on 10 September. The Elapsed flying time is calculated
by subtracting the departure time from arrival time (in GMT).Arrival time in GMT is
1325 hours, 10th September and departure time in GMT is 0055 hours 9th September.
Elapsed flying time=Arrival Time-Departure time (in GMT) which is 12hours
30minutes.
Example 2: A flight departs Sydney on 10 June at 2055hrs and reaches London
Heathrow Airport at 1620 hours, the next day. What is the Elapsed flying time of the
journey?
Answer: The local time in Sydney, Australia is 10 hours ahead of GMT(GMT+10)
The local time in London, UK is GMT time
Hence it is clear that the flight departed from Sydney when it is 1055 hours GMT
(20:55-10=10:55) on 10 June and arrives London when it is 1620 hours GMT on 11
June
Elapsed time=Arrival time-departure time (in GMT) i.e. 1620 hours (on 11 June)-
1055 hours (on 10 June) =29 Hours 25 Minutes (Add 24 hours to the difference 05
hours 25minutes)
Example 3: A flight departs from Singapore on 17 June at 2210 hrs and reaches
Vancouver on the next day at 1450 hrs. Calculate the Elapsed flying time.
Answer: The local time in Singapore is 8 hours ahead of GMT (GMT+8). The flight
departed Singapore at 1410 hours GMT (2210-8) on 17 June.
The local time in Vancouver, Canada is 7 hours behind GMT(GMT-7, Pacific Daylight-
Saving time). The arrival time in GMT is 2150 hours (1450 +7) on 18 June.
Elapsed flying time= (2150+ 24) -1450=31 Hours. (24 hours is added as the arrival is
on the next day)
Usually, flight arrivals one day before and/or after are highlighted in airline timetables
by special signs printed next to the time of arrival at the destination.

3.7.2 Jetlag
Jetlag is the temporary sleeping disorder experienced when someone is traveling in
different time zones. Jet Lag is caused by disruption of the ‘body clock’ and affects
most air travelers crossing five or more time zones. Fatigue and related symptoms are
experienced by travellers when taking long airline trips, and while crossing multiple
time zones. The ‘internal clock’ of the body gets confused when the time zones are
changed. As and when a passenger flies from San Francisco to Rome which has a
difference of 9 time zones, the body does not understand the difference and hence may
wake up in the middle of the night or may feel sleepy during daytime. The incidence
and severity of jet lag increase with the number of time zones. Sleepiness, insomnia,
headache, indigestion, irritability, or lack of concentration are common for those who
have jetlag. It is observed that these symptoms persist for one day per time zones
crossed and it varies from person to person.
50
Time Calculation
Check Your Progress-2

1. How to determine the time difference between two cities if the local times are
known?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
2. What is the International Date Line? Why is the International Date Line important?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
3. How is Elapsed Flying Time calculated?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
4. What is Jetlag?
.....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................

3.8 LET US SUM UP

At any given moment, time would be different in different places / cities of the world.
Knowledge about a few imaginary lines is important to understand the concept of time
difference. These imaginary lines namely, the Equator, Prime meridian, Longitudes,
Latitudes, and International Datelines explains the worldwide time system. As people
started traveling long distances in a short time, the idea of solar time was replaced
through the Internationally accepted Greenwich Mean Time/Universal Time
Coordinated. By following this GMT, the complexities of time differences were easily
overcome. The idea of time zones defines and establishes appropriate time within
counties/regions, which practically has an enormous impact on Transport, business,
communication and world management. It is imperative for a tourism professional to
know about the time difference between cities and destination to be successful.

3.9 FURTHER READINGS

1. IATA Course study material & E- Library Publications
2. Boniface, B. G., & Cooper, C. P. (2001). Worldwide destinations: The
geography of travel and tourism. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
51
Airport Handling
3.10 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES

Check Your Progress–1

1. See section 3.2 and frame your answer

2. See section 3.3 and frame your answer
3. See section 3.3 and frame your answer

Check Your Progress–2

1. See section 3.4 and frame your answer

2. See section 3.6 and frame your answer
3. See section 3.7 and frame your answer
4. See section 3.7 and frame your answer

3.11 ACTIVITIES
1. Identify the longitude, Latitude and the corresponding time zones of any 10 cities
of the world
2. Practice to find the time difference between the major tourist destinations of the
world
3. Find any 5 travel itinerary/route where International Dateline is crossed.
4. Practice to calculate the Elapsed flying time of flights in different routes

ANNEXURE – INTERNATIONAL TIME CALCULATOR

A Hour CST + Day Capital Territory, NSW +10.30

Time CGST (excluding Lord Howe
Afghanistan + 4.30 Islandand Broken Hill),
Victoria +10 +11 02 Oct 01 Apr
Albania +1 +2 27 Mar 30 Oct
Northern Territory +9.30
Algeria Queensland +10 +10.30 02 Oc -01 Apr
Andorra +1 +2 27 Mar 30 Oct South Australia, Broken Hill +9.30 01 Apr
Western Australia +8
Angola +1 Tasmania +10 +11 02 Oct 01 Apr
Anguilla, Leeward Islands -4
Austria +1 +2 27 Mar 30 Oct
Antarctica -4
Azerbaijan +4 +5 27 Mar 30 Oct
Antigua and Barbuda,
Leeward Islands -4 B Hours OST Day
+GST
Argentina -3
Bahamas -5 -4 13 Mar -06 Nov
Armenia +4 +5 27 Mar 30 Oct
Bahrain +3
Aruba
Bangladesh +6
Australia ** -4
Lord Howe Island +11 02Oct 01 Apr Barbados -4
52
Time Calculation

Belarus +2 +3 27 Mar 30 Oct Saskatchewan -6

Mountain areas not
Belgium +1 +2 27 Mar 30 Oct
observing DST -7
Belize -6
Cape Verde -1
Benin +1
Cayman Islands -5
Bermuda -4 -3 13 Mar -06 Nov
Central African Republic +1
Bhutan +6
Chad +1
Bolivia -4 Chile **
Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Mainland -4 -3 09 Oct -10 Mar
S aba -4 Easter Island -6 -5 08 Oct -10 Mar
Bosnia and Herzegovina +1 +2 27 Mar 30 Oct China +8

Botswana +2 Chinese Taipei +8

Brazil ** Christmas Island, Indian

Alagias, Amapa, Bahla, Ocean +7
Ceara, Maranhao, Para,
Paraiba, Pernambuco, Cocos (Keeling) Islands +6.30
Piaul, Colombia -5
Rio Grande do Norte,
Comoros +3
Sergipe,
Tocantins -3 Congo +1
Amazonas, Rondonia, Congo Democratic
Roraima, Acre, -4 Republic of **
Fernando De Noronha, -2 Kinshasa, Bandundu
Espirito Santo, Distrito Bas-Congo, Equateur +1
Parana, Rio De Janeiro, Rio Kasai, Kivu, Maniema,
Grande do Sul, Santa Katanga, Oriental +2
Catarina, Sao Paulo -3 -2 16 Oct 25 Feb
Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso -4 -3 16 Mar 25 Feb Cook Islands -10
do S ul Costa Rica -6
Brunel Darussalam +8 Cote D’lvoire GMT
Bulgaria +2 +3 27 Mar 30 Oct Croatia +1 +2 27 Mar 30 Oct
Burkina Faso GMT Cuba -5 -4 20 Mar 30 Oct
Burundi +2 Curacao -4
C Hours OST Day Cyprus +2 +3 27 Mar 30 Oct
+GST
Czech Republic +1 +2 27 Mar 30 Oct
Cambodia +7
D Hours OST Day
Cameroon +1 +GST
Canada ** Denmark +1 +2 27 Mar 30 Oct
Newfoundland Island Djibouti +3
(excluding Labrador) -3.30 -2.30 13 Mar 06 Nov
Atlantic area including Dominica +4
Labrador -4 -3 13 Mar 06 Nov Dominican Republic -4
Eastern Time -5 -4 13 Mar 06 Nov
Central Time except E Hours OST Day
Saskatchewan -6 -5 13 Mar 06 Nov +GST
Mountain Time Zone -7 -6 13 Mar 06 Nov Ecuador **
Pacific Time -8 -7 13 Mar 06 Nov Mainland -5
Atlantic Areas not Galapagos Islands -6
observing DST -4
Egypt +2
Eastern areas not
observing DST -6 E I Salvador -6
53
Airport Handling

Equatorial Guinea +1 Hong Kong (SAR) China +8

Eritrea +3 Hungary +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct
E s tonia +2 +3 27 Mar - 30 Oct J Hours DST Day
E thiopia +3 GMT GMT DS

F Our OST Day Iceland GMT

+ GST India +5.30
Falkland Islands -3 Indonesia **
Faroe Islands GMT +1 27 Mar - 30 Oct Western including sumatera
Jawa, Kalimantan Barat and
Fiji +12
Kalimantan Tengah +7
Finland +2 +3 27 Mar - 30 Oct Central including Sulawesl,
France +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct Kalimantan Selatan,
Kalimantan Timur and Nusa
French Guiana -3
Tenggara +8
French Polynesia ** Eastern including Maluku
Marquesas Islands -9.30 and Papua
French Polynesia except
Marquesas Island and Iran Islamic Republic of +3.30 +4.30 22 Mar-21 Sep
Gambier Island -10 Iraq +3
Gambier Island -9
Ireland Republic of GMT +1 27 Mar - 30 Oct
G Hours DST Day
GMT GMT DS Israel +2 +3 01 Apr - 02 Oct

Gabon +1 Italy +2 +3 01 Apr - 02 Oct

Gambia GMT J Hours DST Day

GMT GMT DS
Georgia +4
Jamaica -5
Germany +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Japan +9
Ghana GMT
Gibraltar +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct Jordan +2 +3 01 Apr - 27 Oct

Greece +2 +3 27 Mar - 30 Oct K Hours DST Day

GMT GMT DS
Greenland **
Greenland except Pituffik, Kazakhstan **
Ittoqqortoormiit, Nerlerit Aktau, Atyrau, Aktyubinsk
Inaat -3 -2 26 Mar - 29 Oct Uralsk +5
P ituffik -4 -3 13 Mar - 06 Nov Almaty, Astana, Karaganda
Ittoqqortoormiit, Nerlerit Kokshetau, Kostanay,
Inaat -1 GMT 27 Mar -30 Oct Kyzl-Orda, Petropavlovsk,
Grenada, Windward Islands -4 Semipalatinsk, Shimkent,
Ust-Kamenogorsk +6
Guadeloupe -4
Kenya +3
Guam +10
Kiribati**
Guatemala -6
Gilbert Islands +12
Guinea GMT Line Islands +14
Gulnea-Bissau GMT Phoenix Islands +13

Guyana -4 Korea Democratic People’s

Republic of +9
H Hours DST Day
GMT GMT DS Korea Republic of +9
Haiti -5 Kuwait +3

54 Honduras -6 Kyrgyzstan +6
Time Calculation

L Hours DST Day Monaco +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct

GMT GMT DS
Mongolia +8
Lao People’s Democratic Montenegro +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Republic +7
Montserrat, Leeward
Latvia +2 +3 27 Mar -30 Oct Islands +4
Lebanon 02 +3 27 Mar -30 Oct Morocco GMT +1 03 Mar - 31 Jul
Lesotho +2 Mozambique +2
Liberia GMT Myanmar +6.30
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya +2 N Hours DST Day
Liechtenstein +1 +2 27 Mar -30 Oct GMT GMT DS

Lithuania +2 +3 27 Mar - 30 Oct Namibla +1 +2 04 Sep - 01 Apr

Nauru +12
Luxembourg +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Nepal +5.45
M Hours DST Day
GMT GMT DS Netherlands +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Macao (SAR) China New Caledonia +11
Macedonia Former New Zealand **
Yugoslav Republic of +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct Mainland except Chatham
Island +12 +13 25 Sep - 01 Apr
Madagascar +3 Chatham Islands +12.4 +13.45 25 Sep -01Apr
Malawi +2 Nicaragua -6
Malaysia +8 Niger +1
Maldives +5 Nigeria +1
Mali GMT Niue -11
Malta +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct Norfolk Island +11.30
Marshall Islands +12 Northern Mariana Islands
(except Guam) +10
Martinique -4
Norway +1 +2 27 Mar – 30 Oct
Mauritania GMT
O Hours DST Day
Mauritius +4
GMT GMT DS
Mayotte +3
Oman +4
Mexico ** P Hours DST Day
Mexico, Rest -6 -5 03 Mar - 30 GMT GMT DS
Baja Caligornia Sur, Pakistan +5
Chihuahua, Nayarit, Sinaloa -7 -6 03 Apr -30 Palau +9
OctBaja Caligornia Norte -8 -7 03 Apr - 30 Oct
Panama -5
S onora -7
Piedras Negras, Nuevo Papua New Gulnea +10
Paraguay -4 -3 02 Oct - 07 Apr
Laredo, Reynosa,
Matamoros, Peru -5
Cludad Acuna -6 -5 13 Mar - 06
Phillppines +8
NovCludad Juarez -7 -6 13 Mar - 06
NovTijuana, Mexicall -8 -7 13 Mar - 06 Nov Pitcairn Islands -8

Micronesia Federated Poland +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct

States Of** Portugal**
Except Kosrae, Pohnpel +10 Mainland and Madeira GMT +1 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Kosrae, Pohnpel +11 Azores -1 GMT 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Moldova Republic of +2 +3 27 Mar -30 Oct Puerto Rico -4 55
Airport Handling

Q Hours DST Day Soloman Islands +11

GMT GMT DS
Somalia +3
Qatar
South Africa +2
R Hours DST Day Spain**
GMT GMT DS Mainland, Balearics, Melilla,
Reunion +4 Ceuta +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Canary Islands GMT +1 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Romania +2 +3 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Sri Lanka +5.30
Russian Federation**
Kaliningrad +2 +3 27 Mar - 30 Oct Sudan +3
Moscow, St Petersburg, Suriname -3
Astrakhan, Naryan Mar,
Izhevsk, Samara +3 +4 27 Mar - 30 Oct Swaziland +2
Perm, Nizhnevartovsk, Sweden +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Ekaterinburg +5 +6 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Switzerland +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Omsk, Novosibirk, Kemerovo +6 +7 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Norilsk, Kyzyl +7 +8 27 Mar - 30 Oct Syrian Arab Republic +2 +3 01 Apr - 27 Oct
Bratsk, Ullan-Ude +8 +9 27 Mar - 30 Oct T Hours DST Day
Chita, Yakutsk +9 +10 27 Mar - 30 Oct GMT GMT DS
Khabarovsk, Vladivostok,
Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk +10 +11 27 Mar - 30 Oct Tajikistan +5
Magadan, Chukotka, Tanzania United Republic of +3
Kamchatka +11 +12 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Thailand +7
R wanda +2
Timor Leste +9
S Hours DST Day
Togo GMT
GMT GMT DS
Tonga +13
Saint Barthelemy -4
Trinidad and Tobago -4
Saint Helena GMT
Tunisla +1
Saint Kitts and Nevis,
Leeward Islands -4 Turkey +2 +3 28 Mar - 30 Oct
Turkmenistan +5
Saint Lucia -4
Turks and Caicos Islands -5 -4 13 Mar - 06 Nov
St Maarten (Dutch Part) -4
Tuvalu +12
Saint Martin -4 U Hours DST Day
Saint Pierre and Miquelon -3 -2 13 Mar - 06 Nov GMT GMT DS
St Vincent and the Uganda +3
Grenadines -4 Ukralne +2 +3 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Samoa -11 United Arab Emirates +4
San Marino +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct United Kindom GMT +1 27 Mar - 30 Oct
Sao Tome and Principe GMT United States Minor Outlying
Saudi Arabia +3 Islands**
Johnston Atoli -10
Senegal GMT Midway Island -11
Serbia +1 +2 27 Mar – 30 Oct Wake Island +12

Seychelles +4 USA**
Eastern Time except Indian -5 -4 13 Mar -06 Nov
Sierra Leone GMT Central Time -6 -5 13 Mar -06 Nov
Singapore +8 Mountain Time except
Arizona -7 -6 13 Mar -06 Nov
S lovakia +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct Mountain Time Zone –
56 S lovenia +1 +2 27 Mar - 30 Oct Arizona -7
Time Calculation

Pacific Time -8 -7 13 Mar - 06 Nov Virgin Islands, US -4

Alaska -9 -8 13 Mar - 06 Nov
W Hours DST Day
Aleutian Islands -10 -9 13 Mar - 06 Nov
Hawalian Islands -10 GMT GMT DS

Uruguay -3 -2 02 Oct - 11 Mar Wailis and Futuna Islands +12

Uzbekistan +5 Y Hours DST Day

GMT GMT DS
V Hours DST Day
GMT GMT DS Yemen +3
Vanuatu +11 Z Hours DST Day
Venezuela -4.30 GMT GMT DS

Viet Nam +7 Zambia +2

Virgin Islands, British -4 Zimbabwe +2

57
Airport Handling
UNIT 4 AIRPORT AUTHORITY OF INDIA
(AAI)
Structure

4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Airport Authority of India
4.3 Mission and Vision of AAI
4.3.1 Mission of AAI
4.3.2 Vision of AAI
4.4 Relevance of AAI in the Aviation Sector
4.5 Primary Services of Airport Authority of India
4.6 Other Services of AAI
4.6.1 Consultancy Services of AAI
4.6.2 AAI Startup Initiatives
4.6.3 Fire Training Centers
4.7 Revenue for AAI
4.8 Let Us Sum Up
4.9 Further Readings
4.10 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
4.11 Activities

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you will be able to:
 discuss the origin of the Airport Authority of India,
 describe the relevance of AAI in the aviation sector,
 enumerate and explain the functions of the Airport Authority of India; and
 describe the various consultancy services taken up by AAI

4.1 INTRODUCTION
Airports are the most important component of the air transport system which provides
all the infrastructure required to transfer passengers and freight by air. Airport is a
created space where an aircraft is parked, refueled, and serviced for takeoff and landing.
It is a large organized and maintained area that not only facilitates the aircraft to take
off and land but also provides passengers all the necessary services and comfort required
for their travel by air. The significance, activities and infrastructure of airports have
been explained in details in Unit 1.
The number of services provided at airport for the airlines and as well as the services
58 for the passengers are manifold. A team of personals are required to ensure smooth
operations at airport keeping in mind all the security, air traffic control and customer Airport Authority of
India (AAI)
satisfaction. At the same time an airport requires all necessary infrastructure and facilities
to meet the guidelines given by International Civil Aviation Organization for Airports,
especially International Airports; in order to be deemed suitable for international and
domestic flights of different airlines. This is where the role of Airport Authority of India
(IAA) is vital.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a public sector enterprise entrusted with the
operation and oversight of airports in India. AAI provides Air Traffic Management
Services (ATMS) over the entire Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas with
ground installations at all Airports and 25 other locations to ensure the safety of Aircraft
operations. The authorities are often governed by a group of airport commissioners
appointed to lead the charge by a government official. In a few countries, airport
authorities usually refer to private (non-government owned or affiliated) not-for-profit
companies. Airports de Paris is the authority responsible for the operation of airports
in France. Similarly, Airport Authority Hong Kong, Dubai Airports Company, Airport
Authority of India manages the operation in Hongkong, UAE and India respectively.
The Airports Council International is the world trade association of airport authorities.
In this unit we will discuss the origin of AAI, its significance and functions.

4.2 AIRPORT AUTHORITY OF INDIA (AAI)

Airports Authority of India (AAI) was constituted by an Act of Parliament and came
into being on 1st April 1995 by merging erstwhile National Airports Authority and
International Airports Authority of India. The merger brought into existence a single
Organization entrusted with the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining and
managing civil aviation infrastructure both on the ground and air space in the country.
The AAI Act enables AAI to grant concession to a private entity that has been given
the tasks of financing, development, operation, and maintenance of the airport by
AAI.
AAI manages a total of 137 airports which include 24 International airports (3 Civil
Enclaves), 10 Custom Airports (4 Civil Enclaves) and 103 Domestic airports (23 Civil
Enclaves). AAI also provides air navigation services over 2.8 million square nautical
miles of air space.
During the year 2019-20, AAI handled aircraft movement of 1314.23 thousand
[International 156.0 & Domestic 1158.23], Passengers handled 159.59 million
[International 22.26 & Domestic 137.33] and the cargo handled 909.32 thousand
MT [International 452.46 & Domestic 456.85]. Further, all Indian airports taken
together have handled aircraft movement of 2587.05 thousand [International 431.85
& Domestic 2155.20], Passengers handled 341.05 million [International 66.54&
Domestic 274.51] and the cargo handled 3328.63 thousand MT[International 2003.12
& Domestic 1325.51].
AAI also provides Air Traffic Management Services (ATMS) over entire Indian Air
Space and adjoining oceanic areas with ground installations at all Airports and 25
other locations to ensure safety of Aircraft operations. All major air-routes over Indian
landmass are Radar covered (29 Radar installations at 11 locations) along with VOR/
DVOR coverage (89 installations) co-located with Distance Measuring Equipment
(90 installations). 52 runways are provided with ILS installations with Night Landing
59
Airport Handling Facilities at most of these Airports and Automatic Message Switching System at 15
Airports.
AAI has its corporate headquarters in New Delhi. The five regional headquarters are
Eastern Regional Headquarter at Kolkata, Western Regional Headquarter at Mumbai,
Northern Regional Headquarter at Delhi, Southern Regional Headquarter at Chennai
and North-Eastern Regional Headquarter at Guwahati.

4.3 MISSION AND VISION OF AAI

AAI operates with a mission to be the foundation of an enduring Indian aviation network
providing high quality, safe, and customer-oriented airport and air navigation services,
thereby acting as a catalyst for economic growth in the area of service’. The Airports
Authority Act (the “AAI Act”) was enacted by the Government of India in 1994. It
stated that all government airports are to be developed, financed, operated, and
maintained by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The AAI Act enables AAI to
grant a concession to a private entity that has been given the tasks of financing,
development, operation, and maintenance of the airport by AAI. Airports other than
those managed by AAI are governed by the provisions of the Aircraft Act and the
Rules made there under.

4.3.1 Mission of AAI

The mission of AAI as mentioned on the website says “To be the foundation of an
enduring Indian aviation network, providing high quality, safe and customer-oriented
airport and air navigation services, thereby acting as a catalyst for economic growth in
the areas we serve.”

4.3.2 Vision of AAI

AAI’s vision till 2026 is:
 To be the pre-eminent Air Navigation Service provider with Global Recognition;
 To adopt state of art technology to drive safe navigation in the Indian airspace;
 To maintain the highest standards of excellence in providing modern, sustainable
and robust airport infrastructure;
 Support improving air connectivity at unserved and under-served airports;
 Have an effective organization equipped to face the emerging challenges from
the exponential air traffic growth;
 Focus on profitable operations at Major airports through continuing efforts
on cost reduction and enhancing non-aeronautical revenue.

4.4 RELEVANCE OF AAI IN THE AVIATION SECTOR

The significance of air transport has increased considerably along with the phenomenal
growth in air traffic. Airports have become the critical center of aviation operation,
with more and more business taking place in and around the airports. Aviation
infrastructure, especially airport facilities and air navigation services, has significantly
60 expanded and improved to meet the increasing demands. Till 1986, all airports were
managed by the Government of India directly, until the International Airports Authority’s Airport Authority of
India (AAI)
formation in 1972 and the National Airports Authority of India in 1986. To
professionalize international airports’ Management, India’s International Airports
Authority was created in 1972 and given the international airports’ responsibility at
Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkota, and Chennai. With a positive response from this, India’s
National Airports Authority was set up in 1986 to manage and operate the remaining
government airports. Another restructuring was the merging of these into the Airports
Authority of India.
 AAI provides Air Traffic Management Services (ATMS) over entire Indian
Air Space and adjoining oceanic areas.
 India is the first country in the South East Asian region to use the Automatic
Dependence Surveillance System (ADSS), using indigenous technology, at
Calcutta and Chennai Air Traffic Control Centers.
 Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) procedures have already been
implemented at Mumbai, Delhi, and Ahmadabad Airports and are likely to be
implemented at other Airports in a phased manner.
 AAI has undertaken GAGAN, a project with a technical collaboration with
the Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO), where the satellite-
based system will be used for navigation. The signals received from the GPS
are augmented to achieve the navigational requirement of aircraft. The first
phase of the project has already been completed in February 2008.
 AAI has also planned to provide a Ground-Based Augmentation System
(GBAS) at Delhi and Mumbai Airports. This GBAS is capable of providing
differential corrections and integrity monitoring of Global Navigation Satellite
Systems. Category-II, the curved approach is another plan to land signals to
the aircraft, thus replacing the existing instrument landing system in the long
run.
 The specific training, focus on improving the employee response and the
professional skill up-gradation, has been manifested. AAI’s operates four
training establishments viz. Civil Aviation Training College(CATC) -Allahabad,
National Institute of Aviation Management and Research (NIAMAR) - Delhi
and Fire Training Centres (FTCs) at Delhi & Kolkata
 AAI hasa Flight Inspection Unit(FIU), and it has a fleet of three aircraft fitted
with the latest state-of-art fully automatic flight inspection system.
 AAI endeavors to make its operations more transparent and make available
instantaneous information to customers by deploying state-of-art Information
Technology.
 In February 2009, it was granted “Miniratna Category 1 PSE” status by the
Centre.
Major achievements of AAI are mentioned below:

Sl. No. Projects Description

1 Automatic  India was the first nation in South-East Asia to

Dependence implement ADSS at Chennai & Kolkata Air
Surveillance Traffic Control Centres.
61
Airport Handling
System/ADSS  This enabled Air Traffic Control over oceanic
areas using satellite mode of communication.
2 GAGAN Project  GAGAN is implemented by AAI in alliance with
ISRO
 To get the navigational requirement of the
aircraft, navigation signals received from the
Global Positioning System (GPS) would be
augmented.
3 Performance-  AAI has also implemented Performance Based
Based Navigation Navigation Procedures at the airports in Delhi,
Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Table 3.11 : Major Achievements of AAI

Check Your Progress - 1

1. Describe the origin of AAI.

4.5 PRIMARYSERVICES OF AIRPORT AUTHORITY

OF INDIA
Some of the most the major functions of AAI include:
1. Passenger Facilities
The AAI has the primary function of construction, modification & management of
passenger terminals, development & management of cargo terminals, development
and maintenance of apron infrastructure including runways, parallel taxiways, apron,
62
etc. Provision of Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance includes DVOR / Airport Authority of
India (AAI)
DME, ILS, ATC radars, visual aids, etc. Provision of air traffic services, passenger
facilities, and related amenities at its terminals and ensuring safe and secure operations
of aircraft, passenger, and cargo in the country are AAI’s responsibilities.
2. Air Navigation Services
With the plan of modernization of Air Navigation infrastructure, AAI has been
working for the transition to satellite-based Communication, Navigation,
Surveillance, and Air Traffic Management.
Several co-operation agreements and memoranda of co-operation have been signed
with US Federal Aviation Administration, US Trade & Development Agency,
European Union, Air Services Australia and the French Government Co-operative
Projects and Studies to gain from their experience.
AAI, through such various collaborations, is being exposed to the latest technology,
modern practices & procedures being adopted to improve the overall performance
of Airports and Air Navigation Services.
Adoptions of the new and improved procedure and induction of new equipment
ensure the security of Indian airspace.
Introduction of Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM) to increase airspace
capacity, reduce congestion in the air and; implementation of GPS and Geo
Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) jointly with ISRO are recent security- based
developments.
3. Security
A number of steps were taken, including the deployment of CISF for airport
security, CCTV surveillance system at sensitive airports, latest and state-of-the-
art X-ray baggage inspection systems, premier security& surveillance systems for
ensuring the security of Indian airspace. Smart Cards for access control to vital
installations at airports are also being considered by AAI to supplement security
personnel’s efforts at sensitive airports.
4. Aerodrome Facilities
In AAI, the basic approach to planning airport facilities has been adopted to create
capacity ahead of demand. Towards the implementation of this strategy, many
projects for extension and strengthening of the runway, taxi track, and aprons at
different airports have been taken up. Extension of runway to 7500 ft. has been
taken up to support Airbus-320/Boeing 737-800 category of aircraft at all airports.
5. Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF)
ARFF services are provided by AAI at 67 airports as per guideline provided by
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) & Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA).Airport Rescue & Fire Services have also become binding on
safety of occupants and avoidance of fire risks to equipment, terminal / technical
building and vital installations at 125 airports. Activities of rescue& fire services at
airports are:
 Level of Protection provided at airports for Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting
63
Airport Handling (ARFF) purposes according to the designated category of the airport as per
the ICAO standard.
 Compliance of ICAO, DGCA& AAI Fire Orders.
 Fire prevention and protection of ATC Tower, Terminal Building, Technical
Building, Cargo and other Airport infrastructures.
 Fire Orders/ Circulars are issued & updated for various activities and services
which are related to fire safety and emergency services.
 The Airport Fire Service conducts various emergency exercises Full Scale
Emergency Exercise, Partial Exercise, Building evacuation Drill, Mock Drill
etc.
 Fire investigation and analysis
 Mutual aid fire fighting with other fire safety assistance services like City Fire
Brigade & Industrial Fire Services.
 First Aid Firefighting Training to all stakeholders at airports.
 Ambulance services provide to the aircraft passengers.
 AAI Rescue & Fire Services Introduced Fire Consultancy Services for other
organization.
6. HRD Training
Development and Technological enhancements and consequent refinement of
operating standards and procedures, new means of safety and security, and
improvements in management techniques call for continuing training to update
officers and staff’s knowledge and skill. For this purpose, AAI has several training
establishments, viz.
 National Institute of Aviation Training and Management (NIAMAR), Delhi
 Civil Aviation Training College (CATC),Allahabad
 Fire Training Centres (FTC), Delhi & Kolkata
 Air Traffic Controllers, Rescue & Fire Fighting personnel
 Hyderabad Training Centre at Hyderabad (HTC)
NIAMAR & CATC are ICAO TRAINER program members under which they
share Standard Training Packages (STP) from central pool for imparting training
on various subjects. Both CATC & NIAMAR have also contributed some STPs
to the Central collection under ICAO TRAINER program. International students
have also been participating in the training program being conducted by these
institutions.
7. IT Implementation
Information Technology holds the key to operational and managerial efficiency,
transparency and employee productivity. AAI initiated a program to indoctrinate
IT culture among its employees, and this is the most powerful tool to enhance
efficiency in the organization. AAI website with domain name
64 www.airportsindia.org.in or www.aai.aero is a popular website giving a host of
information about the organization besides domestic and international flight Airport Authority of
India (AAI)
information of interest to the public in general and passengers in particular.
Hence, in brief, the functions of the Airport Authority of India include,
 Design, Development, Operation and Maintenance of international and
domestic airports and civil enclaves.
 Control and management of the Indian airspace extending beyond the country’s
territorial limits, as accepted by ICAO.
 Construction, Modification and Management of passenger terminals.
 Development and Management of cargo terminals at international and domestic
airports.
 Provision of passenger facilities and information systems at the passenger
terminals at airports.
 Expansion and strengthening of operation area, viz. Runways, Aprons, Taxiway
etc.
 Provision of visual aids.
 Provision of Communication and Navigation aids, viz. ILS, DVOR, DME,
Radar etc.
 Ensuring safe and secure operations of aircraft, passengers, and cargo in the
country.

4.6 OTHER SERVICES OF AAI

AAI is also related to functions and operations that are not taking place within the
physical infrastructure of the Airport. Some of these related functions and activities of
AAI are mentioned below:

4.6.1 Consultancy Services of AAI:

Airport Authority of India of confers various consultancy services like,
i. Airport Feasibility Studies (Site selection/Technical Feasibility, Topography
Surveys, cartography and Soil & pavement Investigation Facilities, Airport
Obstruction Clearance Surveys, Air Traffic Forecasts & Normative Surveys)
ii. Airport Development Services (Concept to commissioning service for new green
filed airports.
iii. Preparation of TOR, Preparation of DPRS, Mandatory ministry clearances, RFP
for module implementation/Scrutiny/Award.
iv. Airport Commercial Viability Studies/Airport Audit Services.
v. Airport Master Planning.
vi. Designing, Evaluation & Construction of Air Passenger Terminals/Air Cargo
Terminals and Airport Pavements, Design of Aircraft Hangars and Supporting
Infrastructure, Airport Electrical Installations/Approach and Night Landing
Facilities, Remodeling, Modernisation of Airports. 65
Airport Handling vii. Planning, Installation, Operation & Maintenance of Radars, Nav Aids, Visual &
Non-Visual Landing Aids, and Communication Facilities.
viii. Air Space &Air Traffic Management, Air Route Re-Structuring.
ix. Development of SIDS, STARS, IAL Procedures, Obstruction Charts.
x. Computerisation (Cargo Handling, Integrated Passenger Information System,
Automatic Self Briefing System, Airport Terminal Information System, Air Traffic
Management and Airlines Billing.
xi. Automatic Message Switching System.
xii. Training (Air Traffic Controllers, Airport Air Side Management (Ground Flight
Safety), Radar & Nav. Aids & Communication Equipment, Engineers, Airport
Terminal Management, Airport Fire Services.
xiii. Flight Calibration of Airport Ground Facilities (Commissioning & routine flight
check of RADAR System, VOR, DME, NDB, ILS, VASI, PAPI etc.

4.6.2 AAI Startup Initiatives

The startup initiative offers AAI the opportunity to leverage its startup ecosystem to
drive innovation in its functions, leading to more efficient airports and a better passenger
experience. Launched on the 16th of January 2016, this program provides an excellent
opportunity to work with India’s Airports Authority towards customizing and developing
relevant airport innovations at airports across the country. Selected startups are provided
with funding and mentorship by the Airports Authority of India. Startups are judged
based on the following criteria:
 Relevance in terms of AAI’s core mandate
 Potential incremental value add/ savings
 Innovativeness of idea
 Team capability in terms of ability to deliver
 The willingness of the team to dedicate resources for the POC(Proof of Concept)
 The criticality of the problem that the startup is trying to serve
Major Focus Sectors for AAI Startup Initiative - Innovate for Airports program is on,
 Logistics  Security Solutions
 Airport Operations  Robotics
 IT& Data Analytics  Air Navigation System
 Renewable Energy  Passenger Delight

4.6.3 Fire Training Centers

i. Fire Service Training Centre, Kolkata
Fire Service Training Centre, Kolkata also known by its acronym as FSTC,
established in the year 1954, at Kolkata by the Ministry of CivilAviation, Govt. of
66
India to meet the requirement of trained fire safety personnel for fire & rescue Airport Authority of
India (AAI)
services in the aviation sector. FSTC is a premier training centre in the field of
aviation fire and rescue service which works towards developing the professional
skills and upgrading the knowledge of rescue and fire fighters. Also, conduct Basic
Training Course for private candidates and advance course in fire and rescue for
Officer and staff of ports & shipping industries.
ii. Fire Training Centre, New Delhi
In the year 1976, International Airports Authority of India, Government of India
Undertaking established Fire Training Centre to meet the training requirement of
fire safety personal for International Airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Chennai& Trivandrum.
Both training centers are enlisted in training directory of International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) and advisory circular of Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). Training Centre at New Delhi is an ICAOTRAINAIR PLUS CERTIFIED
centre and Training Centre at Kolkata is in line for certification.

4.7 REVENUE FOR AAI

A significant portion of the Airport Authority of India’s revenue is generated from landing/
parking fees and fees collected by providing Air Traffic Control services to aircraft
over the Indian airspace. Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and Mumbai International
Airport (MIAL), the two private airports under concession agreements with the AAI,
signed during the privatization process in 2006, have to pay a percentage of their
revenue to the government authority. DIAL pays 45.99 percent and MIAL38.7 percent
of its revenues as fees to the AAI. Around twenty-five percent of AAI’s revenues
come from these privatized airports. AAI’s revenue makes it one of the few profitable
public sector units.

Check Your Progress-2

1. What are the functions of AAI?

4.9 FURTHER READINGS

 Edissa Uwayo (2016) Airline and Airport Operations, Chennai: Notion Press
 Official website of Airport Authority of India https://www.aai.aero
 Airport Authority of India Annual reports

4.10 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress - 1

1. See section 4.1 and 4.2 to frame your answer

2. See section 4.2 and frame your answer
3. See section 4.4 and frame your answer

Check Your Progress - 2

1. See section 4.5 and frame your answer

2. See section 4.6 and frame your answer
3. See section 4.7 and frame your answer

4.11 ACTIVITIES
1. Collect the details of airports managed by Airport Authority of India
2. Analyze the ongoing construction and consultancy projects of Airport Authority of
India
3. Know the board members and key managerial personnel of AAI.

68
IATA
UNIT 5 IATA
Structure

5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Historical development of IATA
5.3 IATA Members and Membership
5.3.1 Classification of IATA Members
5.4 Functions and Roles of IATA
5.4.1 Aims of IATA
5.4.2 IATA Activities and services
5.4.3 Industry collaboration
5.5 Bills and Settlement Plan
5.5.1 Significance of BSP
5.6 Relevance of IATA in Aviation Sector
5.7 Let Us Sum Up
5.8 Further Readings
5.9 Clues to check your progress Exercises
5.10 Activities
5.11 Annexure

5.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 discuss about IATA and its historical journey,
 list the regional offices of IATA,
 discuss the roles and responsibilities of IATA,
 describe the concepts of Bills and Settlement Plan; and
 explain the relevance of IATA in the aviation sector.

5.1 INTRODUCTION
Aviation Industry act as an instrument of national development for any country.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the one of the prime international
bodies which represent, lead, and serve the commercial aviation industry. Today with
more than 290 member airlines, 480 strategic partners and some 100,000 IATA
accredited agent comprising of nearly 82% of total world’s air traffic and reliable service
providers, IATA aims to deliver products and services.
In present times, like always, IATA as an organisation is striving to add value and
enhance global air transport by actively participating in appropriate policy framing and
pushing the slowed global travel demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic related
69
Airport Handling travel lockdowns at different boundaries. Also, to cope with the such future events
including the current one, IATA launched a unique mobile application, hosting verified
test and vaccine information to build confidence among nations to open their boarders
are few such steps. Additionally, they are conducting webinars on mental health resilience
and employee wellness and ways of elevating operational aircraft safety.
In this unit you will learn about the aims, objectives, significance and historical
development of this international entity. Additionally, you will learn how parities in aviation
industry interact and conduct business using Billing and Settlement plans.

5.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF IATA

International Air Transport Association is a trade
association of scheduled domestic and international
airlines. It is a voluntary, non-political organization,
which follows democratic decision-making
procedures. This body is free from prejudices of any
political philosophy or economy, resulting countries
come together to discuss matters of mutual concern.
It gives wider representation to all the stakeholders and work for building mutual
trust among the members. Furthermore, governments with differential geopolitical
and strategic opinion and interest also get benefited from this neutral forum and
work towards common aspiration of connecting people and bringing world closer
harmoniously.
In the Post-World War II world, representative of various nation assembled at Chicago
to negotiate Air transport system. As a result, a proposal was put forward by, majorly,
three countries Canada, USA and Britain to complement ICAO (International civil
aviation organisation) work. The body proposed was the successor of European
originated International Air Traffic Association which was in operation from post WWI
(1919) to the outbreak of the WWII in 1939. The main purpose of the new body was
to discuss the passenger fare and cargo rates.

Photograph 1: Image of Meeting at Havana (Source: Google)

On 19April 1945, the International Air Transport Association came into being in Havana,
Cuba, a northern Caribbean Island nation at the tri-junction of the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf
of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. By 1975, there was internal review started to
70
revamp the IATA operations and functions. The major features of this “new” IATA IATA
are:
 A two-tier membership structure, enabling airlines to choose whether or
not they wish to engage in tariff discussions or to participate solely in
the non-commercial or trade association activities which, in fact,
represent the bulk of IATA’s work;
 Flexibility for airlines to develop innovative fares in response to market
developments;
 Provision for ICAO observers and outside party presentations at traffic
conferences, including the Agency Conferences;
 A spring-cleaning of outdated rules and regulations such as those relating
to in-flight service.
(Source: FTL Report R80-7: Air Transportation in The 198o’s, And The Role Of Iata; 1980)

5.3 IATA MEMBERS AND MEMBERSHIP

IATA members are spread across some 120 countries with 50 offices worldwide to
strive for the common aspirations of safe, secure, and hassel free travel experience
to the national and international passengers. The five-regional distribution of IATA
are:

1. The Americas

2. Europe

3. North Asia

4. Africa & Middle East

5. Asia Pacific

IATA membership is open to all the schedule and non-schedule airlines and other
associate members. The members enjoy certain benefits such as: -

 Get a platform to voice their concern on a unified demand which boost the
interest of members;

 Get international recognition;

 Get quick updates of industry change;

 Get a range of financial services;

 Get the professional and training support along with other expert services.

As on 2019, IATA members represent 82% of total scheduled traffic (revenue tonne-
kilometres) when total scheduled passengers’ traffic was 3.1 billion, of which 1.3 billion
were global traffic. Further, total scheduled freight traffic was 56 million tonnes, of
which 37 million tonnes were international and total scheduled cargotonne-kilometres
was 235 billion tonne-kilometres, of which 204 billion tonne-kilometres were global
movement.
71
Airport Handling 5.3.1 Classification of IATA Members
The members of IATA are classified as Active, Assiciate and Allied Members. The
membership rules and benefits are mentioned below:
ACTIVE MEMBERS ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ALLIED MEMBERS
1. Anyone having license of 1. Any air transport 1. Anyone after availing the
scheduled flight enterprise /firm operating membership can do
operations and domestically in their business with airlines,
authorisation from national sovereign purchase or sell airlines
competent authority to territory and qualifies as tickets. They can also use
carry passenger, ICAO member is eligible IATA Logo for their
baggage, mail and cargo to be associate members. business operation.
are Active Members.
2. Only after a cushion 2. Travel Agencies, Tour
2. Currently there are some period of 90 days they operators are few
290 airlines form 120 can be upgraded to active examples of this type of
countries (as on 2019) member by the Executive members who can sell
Committee, on applying their products and
for this type of services on behalf of
membership. original air service
providers.
3. This is open for all the
parties operating in 3. Only after approval on
transport sector, hotels, the application submitted
resorts and have travel to the executive
trade businesses or is committee, these become
indirectly involved in any allied members.
of the touristic activities.
NOTE: Membership may
terminate due to breach of
one or more articles of the
association or any regulation
or failure of compliance to
any procedure or found using
unprofessional and illegal
practices.

NOTE: In case of rejection of application of any type of membership, the applicant can reapply in the
next General meeting. However, there is no binding on the authorities to accept the membership and
decision taken to be concluding.

IATA in India
Geographically, India lies in the Eastern Pacific region among the five IATA regional distribution
zones. In India IATA has two offices, one at the financial capital of India i.e., IATA Mumbai
at Andheri (E), Maharashtra and another at National Capital Region of India i.e., IATA
India Private limited at Gurugram, NCR (Delhi).

Check Your Progress-1

1. Write short note on historical development of IATA.

3. What are the membership types of IATA?

5.4 FUNCTIONS AND ROLES OF IATA

International Air Transport Association is an international body with few primary
functions as given below: -

(i) Ensure safe, regular and economical air transport to the passenger.

(ii) Give platform to collaboration.

(iii) Curb the uneconomic and unreasonable competition

(iv) Promote engagement in innovation in aircraft designing for civil purposes.

(v) Encourage travelling between different nation for touristic purpose.

(vi) Allow travel agents and tour operators to associate on a common platform and
build strong networking for the public good.

(vii) Facilitate training, webinars and various educational courses to keep up to the
industry changes dynamically for members as well as professionals.

(vii) Coordinate with other tourism, travel, cargo, airlines, hospitality related national,
international organisations to bridge the industry gap.

5.4.1 Aims of IATA

The mission of IATA is to lead, serve and advocate the interest of their members.
The key area includes safety, security, and environment; and to simplify aviation
business process, passenger convenience while reducing the cost and increasing the
efficiency and efficacy, with reasonable rules and charges coupled with sensible
regulations.

IATA involves many committees, subcommittees, panels, boards, working groups and
task forces composed of airline experts. They meet to develop industry policies and
standards involved in airline operation. These comprise matters like travel and cargo
agency, agent staff training, airmail, work towards reduction of bureaucracy in customs
and immigration procedures; industry finance, security, technical and traffic services;
and user charges, such as airport landing fees, air traffic control charges and security
costs.
73
Airport Handling 5.4.2 IATA: Activities and Services
IATA in aviation offer wide ranging services as below: -
 Ensures the passenger, cargo and their luggage and carriers’ safety and security.
 Facilitates members in flawless payment process.
 Reduction in the fair charges, fees and taxes enabled accessibility for everyone.
 Encourages practice of Fast Travel solutions by easing the regulatory
restriction.
 Streamlining the legal system and environment to strengthen the global aviation
Industry.
 Works in promoting sustainable aviation fuel to combat environmental issues.
IATA as an international body provides many services. Services of IATA can be
categorised as: -
1. IATAAccreditations: It accredits travel agencies, cargo companies and airlines
involved in global passenger, cargo and mail movement. It provides Travel Industry
Designator Service (TIDS) which simplifies the booking process and transfer of
commission directly to the sales intermediaries who are recognized by industry
suppliers from airlines, hotel& resort chains, cruise lines, car rental companies,
theme parks, to rail companies. It authorises travel agents to sell tickets on behalf
of airlines. It also enables travel companies to access Billing and Settlement Plan.
BSP helps in quick invoicing and payment between parties involved. In addition to
that it also schedules certificate programs, webinars and interesting course on Air
Ticketing and Cargo for travel agents and professional, including students for
enhancing career graph.
2. Intelligence & Statistics: It offers business Intelligence to the members, and
releases current air transport statistics periodically, maintain global aviation data
management and share insights for passengers. Every data collected is mined
properly and used for improving the customer experience. It is the most authentic
source for data and related stats on which world rely and compute their future
targets, after proper interpretation of the global trend.
3. Financial Services: IATA facilitate simple, secure and effective financial network
throughout industry among all the players like Airlines, airport authorises, air
navigation service providers, other professional and industry stakeholders.
4. IATA Location Identifiers Codes: It assigns unique codes to cities, airlines,
airports, countries which are used at various travel documents for ease. Like every
train every airline has a code. In case of airline, it is a 2-letter alpha numerical
code. Likewise for all cities and its airport there is 3 letter alpha codes. Every
country has 2 letter alpha code and individual flights have alpha numeric codes
used as prefix by the airline code.
Examples:
Indigo Airlines– 6E Kolkata - CCU Bangladesh – BD
Indigo Kolkata – Mumbai flight at 04:35 Hrs (code -> 6E318)
74
5. Consultation: It has got more than 50 years of expertise and experience in handling IATA
airlines, safety and security of airport, cargo, passenger, cargo handlers, ground
handling companies. IATA also extends their consultation services in environment,
economy and flight operations.
6. Safety & Flight Operations Solutions: The players get benefited from the expert
team of IATA on flight operations, safety measures and practices. The three IATA
conference zone, air traffic management, quality control along with flight operation
etc also taken care by them.
7. Security and Airport Solutions: IATA offers security training to all the concerned
stakeholders. Also, they actively look into construction, renovation, maintenance
and operations. IATA also specifies various guidelines to carry live animal, digital
cargo, HAZMAT (Dangerous Goods).
8. Conferences: Conduct and facilitate annual meeting with members to discuss the
bottlenecks and challenges of the industry.
9. Innovation Hubs: IATA has innovation wing and think tanks that promotes start-
ups, data science labs, organise hackathons to deal with the dynamism of the
industry.

5.4.3 Industry collaboration

IATA is a globally accepted organisation of airlines and in operation from more than 50
years. Its members include airlines and airport authorises, travel and ground handling
agents, travellers, air traffic management bodies, freight forwarders, various government
and policymakers, customs authority.

Fig 1: Collaboration and association of IATA

The body has grown exponentially, helping in development of various standards, practices
and procedures to regulate as well as to achieve satisfactory customer experience.
Given below is the brief discussion on major collaborators of IATA:-
1. IATA & Airlines & Airports
 It supports airlines in selective critical IATA programs, policies, and services.
 Low-cost carriers (LCCs) get benefited of many IATA products and services.
75
Airport Handling  Airline’s primary concern, of security, gets enhanced along with the reputation
of the carrier.
 Being in the IATA’s network, allows airlines to get continuously updated about
the change in the aviation Industry.
 Airlines get updated about the new hazards and safety risks, and can be part
of the evolving tools& guidelines.
 Airlines also get direct access to the information published on the safety and
flight operation development around the year.
 IATA accredited airlines get benefited of campaigns run by the IATA on
passenger rights, emission, security, aviation charges, airport slots etc.
 Airlines accredited by IATA are encouraged to develop and adopt sustainable
practises and environment friendly step by introducing innovation and
technology.
2. IATAand Travellers
 For travellers it streamlines the travel experience by enhancing safety, security,
and pocket friendly travel mode alternative.
 It promotes through its campaign a uniform core principle on passenger rights
that has been incorporated by ICAO. Rights included are listed below: -
a) Right to care
b) Rerouting
c) Refunds
d) Compensation incase of cancellation
e) Safeguarding in case of incidents /accidents related to air travel.
f) Making travel accessible for all (inclusive growth) For Example: people
with reduced mobility etc.
g) Protects against mishandling of passenger baggage.
h) Instructs Airlines on safety of passengers onboard, inflight and during the
journey.
i) Traveller is guided by various travel manuals like Live Animal Regulation
for carriage of pets.
3. IATA& Air Traffic Management
 IATA contributes to implementation of harmonised ATM (Air Traffic
Management) framework
 IATA contributes to various communication, navigation and surveillance
technology.
 IATA’s work with air navigation service provides across the globe improves
cost efficiency.
76
4. IATA & Freight Forwarder IATA

 Freight forwarders are integral part of the supply chain & global aviation &
marine trade. They handle the movement of good and services from point A
to point B. the cargo Agents gets accredited by IATA allowing them to join
global distribution network of IATA member airlines.
 The cargo Agent adheres to the Dangerous Goods manual /Hazard material,
live animal manual etc developed by IATA.
 IATA recently launched its e-AWB link, an Industry tool for freight forwarders
which is acting as gateway to digital cargo community.
5. IATA & Government & Policy Makers
 IATA build standards through experts and develop global value chain and
define the regulations governing the ever-dynamic industry.
 IATA collaborates with government to address some real aviation industry
challenges like security, rate & taxation, environment policy, etc.
6. IATA & Travel Agent & Ground Handler
 Travel Agent cannot be member; however, travel agent can get IATA
accredited.
 IATA accreditation allows them to sell tickets on behalf of IATA member
airline.
 With IATA accreditation, Airlines gets access to the IATA’s BSP(Billing and
settlement Plan). (Explained BSP in later section of the chapter)
 Accredited Travel Agent gets unique identification throughout the industry
with “IATA Numeric Code”.
 Accredited Travel Agent can use IATA’s logo on their website and physical
office premises which helps in greater visibility and credibility among other
market players/competitors.
 As on 2021 54,000 IATA accredited Travel Agent are working in 217
countries and territories.

Check Your Progress-2

1. What are the major functions of IATA?

5.5 BILLINGAND SETTLEMENT PLAN (BSP)

BSP settlement plan is a system designed by IATA that truly facilitates the travel agents.
As per IATA, the Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) is a system designed to simplify
the selling, reporting and remitting procedures of IATA Accredited Passenger Sales
Agents. It has successfully facilitated the distribution and settlement of funds between
travel agents and airlines, safely and securely.
Bills and Settlement Plan is a neutral ticketing system installed in all IATA travel Agencies
worldwide except USA where equivalent to BSP,ARC (Airline’s Reporting
Corporation) is used as well as some other countries where it is not available. BSP
enables ticketing mission through Global Distribution System (GDS) for members only.
It is an IATA Product governed by more than 100 resolutions. It was launched for the
first time in Japan in the year 1971 and today this system is used worldwide in over
180 countries with it’s on time settlement rate of 99.999%.
Basically, BSP is used for issuance of airline tickets and to collect the corresponding
revenue seamlessly. Before this system’s creation, each airline use to remit ticket
stock to travel agency against huge guarantee and used to receive statement of sale
from them, in order to monitor and collect. This made the process lengthy and very
expensive. So, the inception of BSP made sales, reports, procedures and invoicing
very fast between the involving parties. Not only this, it also provides timely statistics
of the market which travel agency use to monitor and use the system. The participants
of BSP system are: -
1. Airlines - All the IATA and non –IATA airlines members.
2. IATA Accredited Agents - All IATAAccredited Agents in the BSP country
of operation. As and when a new BSP commences operations in a country, all
Agents are notified by IATA and invited to participate.
3. General Sales Agents (GSAs) and Airport Handling Agents (AHA)-
GSAs and AHAs on nomination by the airline can participate, subject to the
airline entering into a standard agreement.

BSP

Airlines BSP System IATA Travel Agent Bills

78
5.5.1 Process of BSP IATA

There is a BSP for each country or group of country. For example, BSP Central and
West Africa consist of 12 countries and in total there are approximately 110 such BSP
in the world for 181 countries. However, there are certain countries who do not use
BSP but some equivalent system and in some countries, it is not available for
administrative reasons. For example, Algeria, Belarus (Europe) and some around 21
other African countries do not use BSP. However IATA implements BSP in new
countries. Likewise, in Asia/Oceania there are 14 such countries and only two in
America (Cuba & USA). Further, in Russia there are two system active, namely BSP
and TCH.

BSP is one time cost to airlines called entry cost. At present it is standardised to $5000
per BSP regardless of the country size, which means that an Airline company pays the
same amount for access to BSP in two different countries.

After BSP is implemented by the accredited Agent, Agent receives a range of electronic
ticket numbers for ticketing from the Ticket System Provider (TSP) , which authenticate
Agent to issue tickets on their behalf. This gives them access to BSP Link along with all
the instruction on issuance of electronic tickets generation. Thereafter from the Agent’s
TSP, information regarding the issued tickets is transmitted on daily basis to the data
processing centre (DPC). On receiving the data from DPC, it processes all the relevant
data and produces an Agent Billing Analysis for each Agent. This data is then compiled
for one or more reporting periods.

Furthermore, the sales analysis made by each Agent is forwarded to each BSP Airlines.
The Agent applies for single net periodic remittance of all the BSP transaction made on
behalf of BSP Airlines. The mode of payment is by electronic funds transfer (EFT) or
direct debit (DD). All the incoming data and address are audited by the Accounts
department of each BSP Airlines. The periodic remittance is the most significant role of
BSP.

5.5.2 Significance of BSP

BSP system is now widely used in the travel and tourism industry as it is beneficial for
all concerned. Benefits of BSP can be discussed as:

 The Agents gets benefited as they can issue one sales report and remit one
amount to a central point and the sales are recorded electronically.

 As for the Airlines, it reduces the work through electronic ticketing.

 It reduces the resources required for billing and collection for the parties
involved in business transactions.

 It offers electronic distribution of bills, generation of debit / credit memos via

BSP Link.

 It strengthens the financial control by centralisation and grouping.

 It allows to monitor and seamless flow of documents, without compromising

on the quality, by a neutral organisation.
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Airport Handling
5.6 RELEVANCE OF IATA IN THE AVIATION
INDUSTRY
Travel and Tourism contributes hugely to the worlds trade. Politically, it plays a vital
role in establishing healthy relation between countries. It acts as soft power among
nations in the growing dynamic geopolitical equations. With globalisation, world has
become a global village and to achieve this and facilitate the same, aviation has played
a crucial role by connecting people. To achieve this IATA is aiding by providing voice
to the unvoiced.
In the recent times of covid world, the world air traffic was badly impacted due to
various restrictions and partial or complete travel bans by some countries. Tourism
was already accounting for more than 9.5 % of the total world trade, with approximately
30% of the service sector and about 13%of the global employer. Perhaps, it was likely
to become the largest global industry by the corner of this millennium but unfortunately
pandemic has slowed the process, and pushed us all a few years back in the same
journey. Tourism industry has the capacity to alleviate poverty and engine the economy
of any country. Therefore, in recent times many countries, who were earlier completely
relying on their oil reserves, and developing nations have started to harness tourism as
their alternative source of earning.
Aviation and Tourism are closely interwoven since tourism requires accessibility. At
the same time the presence of several International, National and Regional organisations
like IATA, ICAO, WTO, WATA, ASTA, PATA etc. ensures that tourism activities are
conducted without any administrative issues. IATA is one such organization that helps
its members in codifying the work ethics, HR norms, marketing and promotional
measures along with various safeguard measures for aviation industry, thus aiding travel
services. Notably, it assists in removing travel services related bottlenecks.
IATA and Pandemic (COVID times)
The pandemic of SARS-CoV (COVID 19), has given a great blow to the global
travel industry. As per IATA’s report in the month of February 2021, the International
passenger traffic gone down significantly. To bring the aviation sector back on track,
IATA has taken serval measures in collaboration with other stakeholders of the industry.
Few such Initiatives include launching of an innovative measures like, travel bubble,
flights for repatriation and “Vaccine Passport” or “Travel Pass” or digital health pass,
with the aim to revive international air travel. This helped to manage secure flow of the
testing and vaccine information among the stakeholders like the government, airlines,
laboratories, and travellers in whole. Thus, IATA has to play very dynamic roles and
take up varied responsibility, as the mankind keep on experiencing new challenges
every now and then.

Check Your Progress - 3

1. What do you understand with Bills and Settlement Plans?

5.7 LET US SUM UP

The various national, regional, and international bodies working for the dynamic global
travel industry are called tourism organisations. IATA is one such organisation responsible
for making air travel safe, secure, as well as universally sustainable and accessible,
while building a robust aviation network among the members. The role and responsibility
of IATA are dynamic and extremely varied. Most importantly, it takes care of the
safety, security of the global passenger as well as the industry stakeholders. IATA has
also teamed up with aircraft manufactures to develop earth friendly, less polluting fuel
engines. IATA plays an important role in travel and tourism industry as aviation is an
important component of tourism. Aviation industry gives the impetus for fast travel and
access to remote destinations. IATA helps in ensuring that bottlenecks related to travel
services are removed and ticketing procedures becomes easier. BSP is one such
initiative of IATA which has come to the aid of Travel Agents. At the same time coding
system of IATA has made ticket booking easier and hassle free. IATA is important for
the safety and security of airplane, passengers and cargo; and for the smooth and
hasslefree functioning of the travel industry.

5.8 FURTHER READINGS

 IATA official Website
 IATA Ground Operation Manual
 IATAAirline & Airport Code

5.9 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress - 1

1. See section 5.2 and frame your answer

2. See section 5.3 and frame your answer
3. See section 5.3.1 and frame your answer
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Airport Handling
Check Your Progress - 2

1. See section 5.4 and frame your answer.

2. See section 5.4 .1 and frame your answer.
3. See section 5.4 .2 and frame your answer.

Check Your Progress - 3

See section 5.5 and frame your answer.

See section 5.5.1 & 5.5.2 and frame your answer.
See section 5.5.1 and frame your answer.

5.10 ACTIVITIES
1. Make a group of 3 to 5 student and visit to the nearest travel Agency or tour
operator unit to understand their engagement with IATA, if any.
2. Compare the roles of IATA with other tourism organisation you know. Identify the
differences.

5.11 ANNEXURE
IATA Phonetics

ALPHABET PHONETICS ALPHABET PHONETICS

A Alpha N November

B Bravo O Oscar

C Charlie P Papa

D Delta Q Quebec

E Echo R Romeo

F Foxtrot S Sierra

G Golf T Tango

H Hotel U Uniform

I India V Victorr

J Juliet W Whisky

K Kilo V X-Ray

L Lima Y Yankee

M Mike Z Zulu

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ABBREVIATIONS IATA

AWB Air waybill

AAI Airports Authority of India
ACK Acknowledge
ACFT (A/C) Aircraft
APU Auxiliary Power Unit
ATA Actual time of arrival
ATC Air Traffic Control
ATD Actual Time of departure
ADV Advice
ASAP As soon as possible
ATT Attention
AVIH Live animal in hold
AME Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
ACM Additional Crew Member
AOG Aircraft on Ground
ARR Arrivals
ATF Air Turbine Fuel
AFT Rear
1. Rate class code indicating Basic charge as used in the rate class box of the
AWB BCAS Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
CAP, CPT Captain
CISF Central Industrial Security Force
CNX Connection
CTC Contact
CAT Category
CAUT Caution
2. Rate class code indicating SCR as used in the rate class box of the AWB
CC Charge Collect
CCA Charges Correction Advice
CTM Cargo Transfer Manifest
CVD Cash Value Documents
83
Airport Handling CY Currency
DEP Departure
DGCA Directorate General of Civil
Aviation DGR Dangerous Goods Regulations
DMG Damage
DACC Delivery against Consignee copy
ETA Estimated time of arrival
ETD Estimated time of departure
FOB Free on Board
FLT Flight
FOC Free of Cost
FYL For Your Information
FWD Forward
GCR General Cargo Rate
GPU Ground Power Unit
GSD Ground Service Department
GSV Ground Service Vehicles
IATA International Air Transport
Association ICAO International Civil Aviation
Organization INR Indian Rupee
3. Rate class code indicating rate per kgs as used in the rate class box of t he AWB
KGS Kilograms
LMC Last minute change(s)
MCO Miscellaneous Charges Order
MSG Message
4. Rate class code indicating Min. charges as used in the rate class box of the
AWB. MTCE Maintenance
MCA Ministry/Minister of Civil Aviation
MEL Minimum Equipment List
5. Rate class code indicating normal less than 45 kgs. rate, as used in the rate lass
box of the AWB
NCV No Commercial Value

84 NVD No Value Declared

NA Not available IATA

NEG Negative
OPS Operations
FSC Flight Service Centre
PP Charges prepaid
PAX Passengers
PPT Passport
6. Rate class code indicating the quantity 45 kgs and over rate as used in the rate
class box of the AWB
RGDS Regards
RTA Revised time of arrival
RTD Revised time of departure
SCR Specific Commodity Rate
SLI Shippers Letter of Instruction, for dispatch of goods
STA Schedule time of arrival
STD Schedule time of departure
STBY Stand-by
XXL Cancel
XXLD Cancelled
XXLN Cancellation

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Airport Handling
UNIT 6 INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION
ORGANIZATION- ICAO
Structure

6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 History of ICAO
6.2.1 ICAO Asia and Pacific (APAC) Office
6.3 Strategic Objectives of ICAO
6.4 Functions and Roles of ICAO
6.5 Conventions on International Civil Aviation
6.6 Freedoms of Air
6.7 Let us Sum Up
6.8 Further Readings
6.9 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
6.10 Activities

6.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
 discuss the origin of ICAO and its objectives,
 list and describe the role and functions of ICAO,
 explain the importance of Chicago Convention,
 examine and interpret the salient features of Warsaw and Montreal Convention;
and
 state the relevance of Freedom of Air in aviation sector.

6.1 INTRODUCTION
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized organization of the
United Nations in the field of civil aviation. It devises and controls the principles and
processes of international air navigation. It also looks after the planning and development
process to ensure safe and timely growth of international air transport. The International
Civil Aviation Organization Council adopts, recommends and sets standard practices
related to air navigation, infrastructure development, flight inspection, facilitating border-
crossing procedures for international civil aviation; and prevention of unlawful
interference. ICAO determines the protocols for air accident investigation which are
succeeded by transport safety authorities, in the countries signatory to the Chicago
Convention on International Civil Aviation.
ICAO is fairly different than other international air transport organization, since it is
specifically empanelled with the international authority i.e. UN. The other Organizations
86
working in the area of civil aviation that can be compared to ICAO include IATA International Civil Aviation
Organization – ICAO
(International Air Transport Association) a trade association representing airlines;
CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organization) an organization for Air navigation
service providers (ANSPs); and the Airports Council International, a trade association
of airport authorities.
In this Unit we will discuss about the formation of ICAO, objective behind the formation
of ICAO as well as the role and functions of ICAO. We will also discuss the major
aviation conventions and how they have impacted the aviation industry.

6.2 HISTORY OF ICAO

The predecessor to ICAO was International Commission for Air Navigation (ICAN).
It carried out its maiden convention in 1903 in Berlin, Germany, but no official agreements
were finalized between the eight countries which attended the convention. The second
convention was also held in Berlin in 1906 which was attended by twenty-seven
countries. The third convention which was held in London in 1912 finalized the first
radio call signs to be used by aircraft. ICAN sustained its operations until 1945.
On 7th December 1944 a convention took place in Chicago, Illinois, wherein Fifty-
two countries signed the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known
as the Chicago Convention. Under the convention, a Provisional International Civil
Aviation Organization was to be developed, which in turn was to be replaced by a
permanent organization when twenty-six countries ratified the convention. Thus, PICAO
started operating on 6th June 1945, replacing the earlier organization ICAN. The twenty-
sixth country ratified the convention on 5th March 1947 and, consequently, PICAO
was disestablished on 4th April 1947 and replaced by ICAO; which started its operations
the same day with its headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In October 1947,
ICAO was incorporated as an agency of the United Nations under its Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC).

6.2.1 ICAO Asia and Pacific (APAC) Office

The Asia and Pacific Office of ICAO was established in Melbourne, Australia in 1948
as the Far East & Pacific Office. The office was relocated to Bangkok, Thailand in
1955 and renamed as the Asia and Pacific Office (APAC) in 1980. The Regional Sub-
Office (RSO) was inaugurated on 27th June 2013 and is hosted in Beijing by the Civil
Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The APAC Office is accredited to 39
contracting States, and maintains liaison with two Special Administrative Regions of
China and 13 other Territories. The Asia/Pacific Region covers vast airspace, with 49
Flight Information Regions.
The primary role of the APAC Office is to foster the planning and implementation by
the States of the ICAO for the safety, security and efficiency of air transport. The
diversity of APAC Region as reflected in the different levels of air navigation system
development and implementation of aviation security provisions, coupled with continued
air traffic growth posed a major challenge. The attainment of safe, secure and
environmentally friendly air transportation across the region requires a strong commitment
and closecollaboration amongst states, the aviation industry, and safety/security partners
to ensure integrity, capacity building and support for ICAO initiatives. The APAC
Office pledges its support to stakeholders and continues its efforts to oversee the
highest levels of aviation achievement in the region.
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Airport Handling
6.3 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF ICAO
In present times, along with the core research and diplomatic capabilities, ICAO also
serves as a noteworthy coordination in civil aviation through its Regional Offices setup
in seven different regions. It also carries out outreach educational programs, develops
coalitions, capacity building activities and conducts training and auditing workshops
world over as per the needs and priorities set forth by the governments. The terms
stipulated under ICAO standards never surpass the predominance of national regulatory
body. The local and the national regulations are always enforced in by sovereign states,
which needs to be lawfully adhered to by air operators, who make use of available
airspaces and airports. Just like INTERPOL is not an international police force, similarly
ICAO is not an international aviation regulator. ICAO cannot arbitrarily shut or put a
ceiling on a country’s airspace, close down routes, or criticize airlines or airports for
poor customer service or safety performance. ICAO as an organization has some
distinctive objectives that are discussed sequentially below:
1. Safety
Safety is a foundation value-offering of quick and reliable air services, and
international collaboration on aviation safety by participating state governments
and industry groups through ICAO, that has helped to create commercial aircraft
the safest way to travel.
The 193 countries which collaborate by means of ICAO are presently working
towards the mutually agreed upon global safety target of zero fatalities by the year
2030; in cognizance with the growth of their regulatory capacities, while pursuing
a variety of activities and targets pertinent to current core areas of global aviation
safety planning, oversight, and risk mitigation.
ICAO is also working towards enabling the safety standardization which is needed
to integrate today’s developments in aircraft design, propulsion, autonomous control,
and personal mobility; while enhancing overall network performance.
2. Air Navigation Capacity and Efficiency
The coming 20 years will see tremendous change in the aviation sector, specifically
in flight operations and air traffic management (ATM). We already have new aircraft
types and airspace users who are showcasing next-generation innovations,
integrating advanced technologies and sophisticated operational decision- making
processes.
ICAO is helping member States to manage the implementation of new innovations
by ensuring the global harmonization of these activities, while maximizing the use
of the existing technologies. ICAO is also ensuring all integration proceeds
respectful of all required safety and sustainability objectives.
3. Aviation Security and Facilitation
The comprehensive air passenger experience involves many requirements relating
to effective travel document, border management, information sharing, the
identification of high-risk travelers, the screening of people and cargo for security
purposes, global anti-terrorism objectives, and many other inter-related priorities
88
which member countries must address. Due to the overlapping and complementary International Civil Aviation
Organization – ICAO
nature of these programmes and activities, governments have formalized Security
and Facilitation as a joint and official Strategic Objective for international aviation;
and they continuously pursue new strategic planning and other policy and standard
innovations through ICAO to address their latest challenges.
4. Economic Development of Air Transport
Air connectivity being a crucial catalyst for sustainable development, ICAO enables
the surfacing of a coherent and harmonized world regulatory framework; along
with the liberalization of international air transport, and the declaration of
infrastructural and airspace capacity constraints, in order to ensure the sustainable
development of an economically viable civil aviation system.
ICAO does this by facilitating cooperation among member States and through the
provision of economic policies, regulatory guidance, and accurate, reliable and
consistent aviation data.
5. Environmental Protection
ICAO serves as a multilateral platform for cooperation on International Aviation
Environmental Protection. Over the years, national governments who participate
together under the Chicago Convention, also commonly referred to as ‘ICAO
Member States’, have agreed to concentrate their aviation environmental
collaboration on three core areas:
 Climate change and aviation emissions,
 Aircraft noise, and
 Local air quality
Countries are pursuing these objectives through ICAO primarily by the
development of new global aviation standards. They have also agreed to the
aspirational goals for international aviation, and have prioritized ICAO’s
Environmental Protection resources on:
 Airframe, propulsion, and other aeronautical and technological innovations,
 Optimizing flight procedures to reduce fuel burn,
 Increasing the production and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels and
clean energy, and
 Implementing the Carbon Offsetting Reduction Scheme for International
Aviation (CORSIA).

Check Your Progress - 1

Q1. Multiple choice questions-select the right answers.

A) What is the full form of ICAO?
i. Indian Civil Aviation Organization
ii. International Civil Aviation Organization
89
Airport Handling iii. Industrial Central Aviation Organization
iv. Industrial Civil Aviation Organization
B) When was ICAO established?
i. 1 April 1947
ii. 4 April 1947
iii. 11 April 1947
iv. 14 April 1947
Q2. True/false questions
A) ICAO headquarters are situated in Montreal, Canada:
(i) True
(ii) False
B) UNICEF is the parent organization of ICAO which provides financial and technical
support
(i) True
(ii) False
Q3. Discuss briefly the history of ICAO.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
Q4. What are the various strategic objectives of ICAO?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................

6.4 FUNCTIONS AND ROLES OF ICAO

ICAO and IATA often cooperate to streamline international air traffic but their design
is markedly different and they serve different purposes — the former is concerned
with regulating international travel at a state-level whereas the latter is focused on the
private sector. The most obvious distinction between the reporting codes used by
ICAO and IATA is very simple — ICAO codes are four (4) letters, whereas IATA
codes are three (3) letters. Confusingly, many international airports, airlines, and web-
based flight radars employ Both ICAO and IATA codes for the same things — making
it sometimes difficult to discern the purpose and distinction. For example: O’Hare
International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, USA is colloquially known as ORD — the
IATA abbreviation. However, its official reporting code is KORD — the ICAO
abbreviation. Frankfurt am Main Airport in Frankfurt, Germany is colloquially known
90 as FRA(IATA), whereas its international reporting code is EDDF (ICAO).
The ANC (Air Navigation Commission) is a technical body within ICAO. The ANC International Civil Aviation
Organization – ICAO
commission comprises of 19 commissioners, who are nominated by ICAO’s contracting
states and are finally appointed by Council of ICAO. Commissioners who although
are nominated by their states, serve as independent experts, do not serve as state or
political representative. International Standards and Recommended Practices are
developed under the direction of the ANC through the formal process of ICAO Panels.
Once approved by the commission, standards are sent to the council, the political
body of ICAO, for consultation and coordination with the member states before final
adoption. The many roles and functions of ICAO can be summarized as:
1. Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs): These are technical
specifications adopted by the Council of ICAO, in accordance with Article
37 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, in order to achieve “the
highest practicable degree of uniformity in regulations, standards, procedures
and organization in relation to aircraft, personnel, airways and auxiliary services
in all matters in which such uniformity will facilitate and improve air navigation”.
SARPs are published by ICAO in the form of Annexes to Chicago Convention
(discussed in the next section). SARPs do not have the same legal binding
force as the Convention itself, since Annexes are not international treaties.
Since, States agreed to “collaborate in securing uniformity” not to “comply
with”, each Contracting State may notify the ICAO Council of differences
between SARPs and its own regulations and practices. Those differences are
published in the form of Supplements to Annexes.
A Standard is defined by ICAO as “any specification for physical
characteristics, configuration, material, performance, personnel or procedure,
the uniform application of which is recognized as necessary for the safety or
regularity of international air navigation and to which Contracting States will
conform in accordance with the Convention”.
A Recommended Practice is defined by ICAO as “any specification for physical
characteristics, configuration, material, performance, personnel or procedure;
the uniform application of which is recognized as desirable in the interest of
safety, regularity or efficiency of international air navigation and to which
Contracting States will endeavour to conform in accordance with the
Convention”
2. No Country Left Behind: The No Country Left behind (NCLB) initiative
highlights ICAO’s efforts to assist States in implementing ICAO Standards
and Recommended Practices (SARPs). The main goal of this work is to help
ensure that SARP implementation is better harmonized globally so that all States
have access to the significant socio-economic benefits of safe and reliable air
transport. The NCLB also promotes ICAO’s efforts to resolve Significant Safety
Concerns (SSCs) brought to light through ICAO’s safety oversight audits as
well as other safety, security and emissions-related objectives.
3. Background: In 2014, ICAO organized its first ever ICAO Council off-site
strategy session. The purpose was to determine how ICAO can better
communicate with and assist its Member States. One of the major points
covered during these meetings was the fact that there are still large
discrepancies with respect to how some States implement ICAO SARPs. 91
Airport Handling The off-site determined that ICAO should focus its activities on States with
higher accident rates or security threats and review what the Organization can
do to better encourage developed countries to provide more comprehensive
assistance to developing countries. It also resolved that ICAO itself should
provide more direct assistance to developing countries by playing a more
active coordination role between States and by helping to generate the political
will needed for States to pool resources, participate in regional efforts, earmark
voluntary funds and build capacity. The NCLB initiative was endorsed to
help coordinate and publicize any Organization-wide activities consistent with
these priorities.

6.5 CONVENTIONS ON INTERNATIONAL CIVIL

AVIATION
Civil Aviation industry, advanced and established itself as we know today based on
many resolutions and agreements. These resolutions could be reached after
understanding the problems in air travel and finding ways to sort these issues. There
are primarily three important Conventions that have affected Civil Aviation industry as
we know of today. These conventions are:
1. Chicago Convention
Convention on International Civil Aviation (also known as Chicago Convention),
was signed on 7 December 1944 by 52 States. Pending ratification of the
Convention by 26 States, the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization
(PICAO) was established. It functioned from 6th June 1945 until 4th April 1947.
By 5th March 1947 the 26th ratification was received. ICAO came into being on
4th April 1947. In October of the same year, ICAO became a specialized agency
of the United Nations linked to Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The
Convention on International Civil Aviation set forth the purpose of ICAO:
 “WHEREAS the future development of international civil aviation can greatly
help to create and preserve friendship and understanding among the nations
and people of the world, yet its abuse can become a threat to the general
security; and
 WHEREAS it is desirable to avoid friction and to promote that cooperation
between nations and people upon which the peace of the world depends;
 THEREFORE, the undersigned governments having agreed on certain
principles and arrangements in order that international civil aviation may be
developed in a safe and orderly manner and that international air transport
services may be established on the basis of equality of opportunity and
operated soundly and economically.
Second World War was a powerful catalyst for the technical development of the
aeroplanes. A vast network of passenger and freight carriage was set up during
this period, but there were many obstacles, both political and technical, to evolve
these facilities and routes to their new civilian purposes.
Subsequent to several studies initiated by the United States, as well as various
consultations it undertook with its Major Allies, the U.S. government extended an
92
invitation to 55 States to attend an International Civil Aviation Conference in Chicago International Civil Aviation
Organization – ICAO
in 1944.
These delegates met at a very dark time in human history and travelled to Chicago
at a great personal risk. Many of the countries they represented were still occupied.
In the end, 54 of the 55 States invited, attended the Chicago Conference, and by
its conclusion on 7th December, 1944, 52 of them had signed the new Convention
on International Civil Aviation which had been realized.
Known then and today more commonly as the ‘Chicago Convention’; this landmark
agreement laid the foundation for the standards and procedures for peaceful global
air navigation. It set out as its prime objective, the development of international
civil aviation “…in a safe and orderly manner”, and such that air transport services
would be established “on the basis of equality of opportunity and operated soundly
and economically.”
Chicago Convention also formalized the expectation that a specialized International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) would be established, in order to organize
and support the intensive international co-operation which the fledgling global air
transport network would require. ICAO’s core mandate, then as today, was to
help States to achieve the highest possible degree of uniformity in civil aviation
regulations, standards, procedures, and organization.
Due to the usual delays expected in ratifying the Convention, the Chicago
Conference presciently signed an Interim Agreement which foresaw the creation
of a Provisional ICAO (PICAO) to serve as a temporary advisory and
coordinating body.
The PICAO consisted of an Interim Council and an Interim Assembly, and from
June 1945 the Interim Council met continuously in Montreal, Canada, and consisted
of representatives from 21 Member States. The first Interim Assembly of the
PICAO, the precursor to ICAO’s triennial Assemblies in the modern era, was
also held in Montreal in June of 1946. On 4th April 1947, upon sufficient ratifications
to the Chicago Convention, the provisional aspects of the PICAO were no longer
relevant; and it officially became known as ICAO. The first official ICAO Assembly
was held in Montreal in May of that year.
During this march to the modern air transport era, the Convention’s Annexes have
increased in number and evolved such that they now include more than 12,000
international Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs); all of which have
been agreed by consensus by ICAO’s now 193 Member States.
These SARPs, alongside the tremendous technological progress and contributions
in the intervening decades on behalf of air transport operators and manufacturers,
have enabled the realization of what can now be recognized as a critical driver of
socio-economic development and one of humanity’s greatest cooperative
achievements – the modern international air transport network.
2. Warsaw Convention
On 17th August 1923, the French government proposed the convening of a
diplomatic conference in November 1923 for the purpose of concluding a
convention relating to liability in international carriage by air. The conference was
formally deferred on two occasions due to reluctant behavior of the governments 93
Airport Handling of various nations to act on such a short notice without the knowledge of the
proposed convention. Finally, between 27th October and 6th November, the first
conference met in Paris to study the draft convention. Since most of the participants
were diplomats accredited to the French government and not professionals, it was
agreed unanimously that a body of technical, legal experts be set up to study the
draft convention prior to its submission to the diplomatic conference for approval.
Accordingly, the International Technical Committee of Legal Experts on Air
Questions (Comité International Technique d’ Experts Juridiques Aériens, CITEJA)
was formed in 1925. In 1927–28 CITEJA studied and developed the proposed
draft convention and developed it into the present package of unification of law
and presented it at the Warsaw Conference, where it was approved between 4
and 12 October 1929. It unified an important sector of private air law.
The Convention was written originally in French and the original documents were
deposited in the archives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Poland. After coming
into force on 13 February 1933, it resolved some conflicts of law and jurisdiction.
Between 1948 and 1951 it was further studied by a legal committee set up by the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and in 1952 a new draft was
prepared to replace the convention. However, it was rejected and it was decided
that the convention be amended rather than replaced in 1953. The work done by
the legal committee at the Ninth Session was presented to the International
Conference on Air Law which was convened by the Council of the ICAO and
met at The Hague from 6th to 28th September 1955. The Hague Conference
adopted a Protocol (the Hague Protocol) for the amendment of the Warsaw
Convention. Between the parties of the Protocol, it was agreed that the 1929
Warsaw Convention and the 1955 Hague Protocol were to be read and interpreted
together as one single instrument to be known as the Warsaw Convention as
amended at the Hague in 1955. This was not an amendment to the convention but
rather a creation of a new and separate legal instrument that is only binding between
the parties. If one nation is a party to the Warsaw Convention and another to the
Hague Protocol, neither state has an in strument in common and there fore there is
nomutual international ground for litigation.
3. Montreal Convention
Montreal Convention, signed in 1999, replaced the Warsaw Convention system.
The Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99) establishes airline liability in the case of
death or injury to passengers, as well as in cases of delay, damage or loss of
baggage and cargo. It unifies all of the different international treaty regimes covering
airline liability that had developed haphazardly since 1929. MC99 is designed to
be a single, universal treaty to govern airline liability around the world.
MC99 gives consumers better protection and compensation and facilitates faster
air cargo shipments, while airlines enjoy greater certainty about the rules affecting
their liability. Universal ratification of MC99 by States provides significant benefits
to all parties:
 Passengers benefit from fairer compensation and greater protection.
 Shippers and those involved in the air cargo supply chain benefit from the
ability to make claims without the need for expensive and time-consuming
litigation. They are also able to replace paper documents of carriage, such as
94
Air Waybills, with electronic versions, thus facilitating faster and more efficient International Civil Aviation
Organization – ICAO
trade.
 Airlines also benefit from greater certainty about the rules governing their
liability across their international route network. IATA is thus advocating for
the urgent ratification of MC99 by all remaining states.
 Finally, MC99 also establishes the legal framework that allows airlines to
make use of electronic documentation for shipments, thereby reducing costs
and increasing efficiency.
However, only 132 of the 191 ICAO-contracting States, or 68% of the total
members are parties to it. A number of fast-growing aviation markets in Asia, such
as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, have yet to sign up. This means that a
patchwork of liability regimes continue exists around the world. The result is
unfairness, confusion and complexity in determining which regime covers a particular
passenger or cargo itinerary. Claims handling and litigation from accidents or
incidents are unnecessarily complicated.
Recognizing the significant benefits that MC99 offers, the 39th Assembly of the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that took place in 2016 adopted
Resolution A39-9. This urges all States that have not done so to ratify MC99 as
soon as possible. IATA is supporting this Resolution and is working with
governments to promote the benefits of MC99 and urge ratification.

6.6 FREEDOMS OF AIR

Traditionally, an airline needs the approval of the governments of various countries
involved before it can fly in or out of a country or even fly over another country without
landing. Before World War II, this did not present too many difficulties since the range
Of commercial planes was limited, and air transport networks were limited and nationally
oriented. In 1944, an International Convention was held in Chicago to establish the
framework for all future bilateral and multilateral agreements to use international air
spaces. Five freedom rights were designed, but a multilateral agreement went only as
far as the first two freedoms (right to overfly and right to make a technical stop). The
first five freedoms are regularly exchanged between pairs of countries in Air Service
Agreements. However, the remaining freedoms are becoming more important.
Freedoms are not automatically granted to an airline as a right; they are privileges that
have to be negotiated and can be the object of political pressures. All freedoms beyond
the First and the Second have to be negotiated by bilateral agreements; such as the
1946 agreement between the United States and the UK, which permitted limited “fifth
freedom” rights. The 1944 Convention has been extended since then, and there are
currently nine different freedoms:
1. First Freedom of the Air - the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled
international air services, granted by one State to another State or States to
fly across its territory without landing (also known as a First Freedom Right).
2. Second Freedom of the Air - the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled
international air services, granted by one State to another State or States to
land in its territory for non-traffic purposes (also known as a Second Freedom
Right). 95
Airport Handling 3. Third Freedom of The Air - the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled
international air services, granted by one State to another State to put down,
in the territory of the first State, traffic coming from the home State of the
carrier (also known as a Third Freedom Right).
4. Fourth Freedom of The Air - the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled
international air services, granted by one State to another State to take on, in
the territory of the first State, traffic destined for the home State of the carrier
(also known as a Fourth Freedom Right).
5. Fifth Freedom of The Air - the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled
international air services, granted by one State to another State to put down
and to take on, in the territory of the first State, traffic coming from or destined
to a third State (also known as a Fifth Freedom Right).
ICAO characterizes all “freedoms” beyond the Fifth as “so-called” because
only the first five “freedoms” have been officially recognized as such by
international treaty.
6. Sixth Freedom of The Air - the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled
international air services, of transporting, via the home State of the carrier,
traffic moving between two other States (also known as a Sixth Freedom
Right). The so-called Sixth Freedom of the Air, unlike the first five freedoms,
is not incorporated as such into any widely recognized air service agreements
such as the “Five Freedoms Agreement”.
7. Seventh Freedom of The Air – the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled
international air services, granted by one State to another State, of transporting
traffic between the territory of the granting State and any third State with no
requirement to include on such operation any point in the territory of the
Recipient State, i.e the service need not connect to or be an extension of any
service to/from the home State of the carrier.
8. Eighth Freedom of The Air – the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled
international air services, of transporting cabotage traffic between two points
in the territory of the granting State on a service which originates or terminates
in the home country of the foreign carrier or (in connection with the so-called
Seventh Freedom of the Air) outside the territory of the granting State (also
known as a Eighth Freedom Right or “consecutive cabotage”).
9. Ninth Freedom of The Air - the right or privilege of transporting cabotage
traffic of the granting State on a service performed entirely within the territory
of the granting State (also known as a Ninth Freedom Right or “stand
alone” cabotage).

Check Your Progress-2

1. What are the roles and responsibilities of ICAO?

6.7 LET US SUM UP

ICAO was formed in the year 1944 as a expert organization of the United Nations, to
encourage the safe and systematic expansion of international civil aviation across the
globe. Amongst many other priorities, it formulates standards and regulations essential
for aviation security, safety, capacity, efficiency and environmental protection. ICAO
serves as the platform for cooperation in all verticals of civil aviation between its 192
Member States.
Aviation development pertains to a wide array of infrastructure, manpower, guidance,
and related skill development activities. The critical goal of all these efforts is to
comprehend a safe and efficient air transport establishment in a given State, which is in
parity with ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and tactical
objectives for the world air transport system.
ICAO acts as a mutual platform for collaboration on international aviation environmental
protection. In the past years, the governments of different countries who participate
collectively under the Chicago Convention, also usually referred to as ‘ICAO Member
States’, have mutually agreed upon to focus their aviation environmental collaboration
on below mentioned three core areas- Climate change and aviation emissions, Aircraft
noise, and Local air quality. Countries are primarily pursuing these objectives via the
development of new global aviation standards through ICAO. The member states
have agreed to frame and achieve aspirational goals for international civil aviation, and
have also prioritized ICAO’s Environmental Protection resources on - Airframe,
propulsion, and other aeronautical and technological innovations, optimizing flight
procedures to reduce fuel burn, Increasing the production and deployment of sustainable
aviation fuels and clean energy; and Implementing the Carbon Offsetting Reduction
Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

6.8 FURTHER READINGS

 Ruwantissa Abeyratne , Springer (2019) Law and Regulation of Air Cargo
 Steven Truxal, Routledge (2018) Economic and Environmental Regulation of
International Aviation: From Inter-national to Global Governance (Routledge
Research in International Commercial Law)
 ICAO, McGraw Hill Education(2017) Emergency Response Guidance for Aircraft
Incidents Involving Dangerous Goods
97
Airport Handling  Ruwantissa Abeyratne , Springer (2012) Strategic Issues in Air Transport: Legal,
Economic and Technical Aspects
 ICAO (2011)Air Traffic Services: Annex 11 to the Convention on International
Civil Aviation

6.9 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress-1

1. A (ii)
B (ii)
2. A (i)
B (ii)
3. See section 6.1.1 and frame your own answer
4. See section 6.2. and frame your own answer

Check Your Progress-2

1. See section 6.2 and frame your own answer

2. See section 6.5 and frame your own answer
3. See section 6.2 and frame your own answer

6.10 ACTIVITIES
1. Compare the roles of ICAO with other tourism organisation you know and discuss
with classmates.
2. Find out about freedom of air and its implication for the Indian aviation industry.
3. Read news articles from newspapers/ travel magazines regarding new development
in the aviation industry and discuss.

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Familiarization
UNIT 7 FAMILIARIZATION WITH OAG – I with OAG-I

Structure

7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 History of OAG
7.3 Country Codes
7.4 International Location Indication Systems in Aviation
7.5 City Codes and Airport Codes
7.6 Airlines Codes
7.7 Let Us Sum Up
7.8 Further Readings
7.9 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
7.10 Activity

7.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 explain what is OAG,

 discuss the need of coding system in aviation,

 differentiate between the coding system of IATA and ICAO,
 identify country, city, airport and airline by their codes; and
 interpret OAG using the codes.

7.1 INTRODUCTION
As one of the world’s largest industries, tourism uses multiple modes of transport. Air
Transportation is just one of many but an important one since it’s fastest and it’s popular
for international travel. Air travel came with certain problems arising from multiple flight
schedules, airports with similar sounding names, more than one airport in a city; add to
it the ever changing (increasing or decreasing) number of schedules airlines. This led to
the demand of ABC World Airways Guide during the time of manual ticketing. This
guide has now merged with OAG since 1993.
OAG, Official Airline Guide, is a guide providing information on the different aspects of
aviation industry. It is useful for both airline passenger as well as cargo services
information. OAG plays an important role in the air transportation as an Air Travel
Intelligence reference. This unit will introduce you to the OAG , the concept of designated
coding and the importance of the coding system in the aviation industry. OAG codes
for different cities, airports and airlines are also mentioned in this unit.

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Airport Handling
7.2 HISTORYOF OAG- OFFICIAL AIRLINE GUIDE
The Official Airline Guide (OAG) is an air travel intelligence reference that provides
data on airline schedules, cargo and aviation analytics. The “Official Aviation Guide of
the Airways” was first published in the United States in February 1929, and it listed 35
airlines with a total of 300 flights. OAG title first appeared in the September issue of
the Guide after it was taken over by a competitor publication in 1948. OAG began in
Chicago, but in 1968 relocated to Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Following
Reed Elsevier’s 1993 purchase of OAG Inc., which already owned ABC International,
the ABC and OAG brands were combined. All items from the combined ABC and
OAG businesses were rebranded as OAG in August 1996.
Flight schedules were grouped and published by city pair in 1958, rather than under
distinct sections for each airline timetable, thanks to developments in computer
technology. Initially, this Quick Reference Edition only covered North American flights.
In 1962, a separate International Quick Reference Edition was released, which included
the rest of the world. The two Timetable Editions were published in the traditional style
for several years longer. The last Worldwide Timetable Edition was published in March
1969.
In 1962, OAG began supplying data to the first computer reservations systems and
created the first tailored airline timetable. The OAG Quick Reference Editions began
incorporating computer-generated connecting flight information and tariff data in the
late 1960s and early 1970s; both of which were ordered by city-pair and combined
with the flight information.
The IATA Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) for the interchange of
airline schedule data was developed with OAG’s help. This organisation, which was
founded in 1972, is the key supplier of protocols and formats for the global aviation
industry. In 1983, the OAG Electronic Edition was introduced, which included both
flight and pricing information.
In present times, since 2009 OAG started to supply airlines schedules and Minimum
Connection Time(MCTs) to Global Distribution Systems Travelport. OAG also partners
with the largest GDS in the world Amadeus and TravelSky (You will learn about GDS
in Unit 11). In June 2010 OAG created new technology (Schedules Dynamic) to
deliver the most up-to-date airline schedule changes to airlines, OTAs, GDSs and
reservation systems. OAG has a strategic partnership with IATA and contributes to its
SSIM Standards Board and working groups.
Other than information on airlines, in collaboration with IATA, OAG’s databases also
include cargo flight information that is updated daily. Worldwide cargo schedules from
freighter aircraft to road feeder services, origin/destination information, flight details,
airline code, airport, and aircraft type are all available in the OAG. Furthermore, OAG
offers a comprehensive reference guide for cargo flights that is updated monthly to
provide visibility of all flight options available. Data can be customized to specifically
contain the parameters desired by the user.
OAG is the official airline guide with passenger airline and cargo information but to
access information from it you will need to understand the terms that are used.
You will learn more about the process of using OAG in Unit 8. In this unit we will
100 discuss one of the most important aspects of air transport, the coding system. You
need to know about the coding system to access information from OAG. Coding Familiarization
with OAG-I
system is the building blocks on which information is exchanged in the aviation industry

7.3 COUNTRYCODES
All countries are represented by a 2-letter and 3-letter country code based on the
International Naming Convention (ISO - International Organization for Standardization
3166). These short codes are intuitive so they can be used as a universal and instant
informative representation for each country. These abbreviations are used in postal
services, world currencies, travel and business activities, as well as web address
identification. Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes
(geocodes) developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data
processing and communications. This list of countries and abbreviations was also
published by the United Nations.
ISO country codes are internationally recognised codes that designate every country
and most dependent territories with a two-letter or three-letter combination; it is similar
to an acronym that stands for a country or state. The two-letter country code is used in
top-level domains (for countries) on the Internet such as. us (United States),.fr (France),
and.de (Germany).
The three-letter code is also frequently used at events involving international participation
from several nations, such as sports meetings or song competitions, where abbreviations
such as CAN (for Canada), DNK (for Denmark), and AUS (for Australia) can be
seen (for Australia).
The two-letter codes (ISO alpha-2), and the three-letter codes (ISO alpha-3) for
countries, dependencies, and other places are listed below:
1. African Country Codes:
For African continent find the country abbreviations below -

2 - Letter 3 - Letter Country Name

DZ DZA Algeria
AO AGO Angola
BJ BEN Benin
BW BWA Botswana
BF BFA Burkina Faso
BI BDI Burundi
CM CMR Cameroon
CV CPV Cape Verde
CF CAF Central African Republic
TD TCD Chad
KM COM Comoros
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Airport Handling
CG COG Congo
CD COD Congo, Democratic Republic of
CI CIV Côte d’Ivoire
DJ DJI Djibouti
EG EGY Egypt
GQ GNQ Equatorial Guinea
ER ERI Eritrea
ET ETH Ethiopia
GA GAB Gabon
GM GMB Gambia
GH GHA Ghana
GN GIN Guinea
GW GNB Guinea-Bissau
KE KEN Kenya
LS LSO Lesotho
LR LBR Liberia
LY LBY Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
MG MDG Madagascar
MW MWI Malawi
ML MLI Mali
MR MRT Mauritania
MU MUS Mauritius
YT MYT Mayotte
MA MAR Morocco
MZ MOZ Mozambique
NA NAM Namibia
NE NER Niger
NG NGA Nigeria
RE REU Reunion
RW RWA Rwanda
SH SHN Saint Helena
ST STP Sao Tome and Principe
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Familiarization
SN SEN Senegal with OAG-I

SC SYC Seychelles
SL SLE Sierra Leone
SO SOM Somalia
ZA ZAF South Africa
SS SSD South Sudan
SD SDN Sudan
SZ SWZ Eswatini, formerly known as
Swaziland
TZ TZA Tanzania
TG TGO Togo
TN TUN Tunisia
UG UGA Uganda
EH ESH Western Sahara
ZM ZMB Zambia
ZW ZWE Zimbabwe

2. Antarctica Country Codes

Famous as the coldest planet and the land of the penguins the two letter codes of the
Antarctic countries are:

2 - Letter 3 - Letter Country Name

AQ ATA Antarctica
BV BVT Bouvet Island
TF ATF French Southern Territories
HM HMD Heard Island and McDonald Islands
GS SGS South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands

3. Australia & Oceania Country Codes

Australia is a country and a continent too. It also has a lot of islands that surround it in
an area in a common term known as Oceania. The country codes for Australia and
Oceania abbreviations are:
2 - Letter 3 - Letter Country Name
AS ASM American Samoa
AU AUS Australia
103
Airport Handling
CK COK Cook Islands
FJ FJI Fiji
PF PYF French Polynesia
GU GUM Guam
KI KIR Kiribati
MH MHL Marshall Islands
FM FSM Micronesia
NR NRU Nauru
NC NCL New Caledonia
NZ NZL New Zealand
NU NIU Niue
NF NFK Norfolk Island
MP MNP Northern Mariana Islands
PW PLW Palau
PG PNG Papua New Guinea
PN PCN Pitcairn Islands
WS WSM Samoa
SB SLB Solomon Islands
TK TKL Tokelau
TO TON Tonga, Kingdom of
TV TUV Tuvalu
UM UMI United States Minor Outlying Islands
VU VUT Vanuatu
WF WLF Wallis and Futuna

4. Asia Country Codes

Asia, a land of most populated countries of the world, has their own country codes.

2 - Letter 3 - Letter Country Name

AF AFG Afghanistan
AZ AZE Azerbaijan
107BH BHR Bahrain
BD BGD Bangladesh
104
Familiarization
BT BTN Bhutan with OAG-I

IO IOT British Indian Ocean Territory

BN BRN Brunei Darussalam
KH KHM Cambodia
CN CHN China, People’s Republic of
CX CXR Christmas Island
CC CCK Cocos (Keeling) Islands
CY CYP Cyprus
GE GEO Georgia
HK HKG Hong Kong
IN IND India
ID IDN Indonesia
IR IRN Iran, Islamic Republic of
IQ IRQ Iraq
IL ISR Israel
JP JPN Japan
JO JOR Jordan
KZ KAZ Kazakhstan
KP PRK Korea, Democratic People’s
Republic of
KR KOR Korea, Republic of
KW KWT Kuwait
KG KGZ Kyrgyzstan
LA LAO Lao People’s Democratic Republic
LB LBN Lebanon
MO MAC Macao
MY MYS Malaysia
MV MDV Maldives
MN MNG Mongolia
MM MMR Myanmar
NP NPL Nepal
OM OMN Oman
105
Airport Handling
PK PAK Pakistan
PS PSE Palestinian Territory
PH PHL Philippines
QA QAT Qatar
SA SAU Saudi Arabia
SG SGP Singapore
LK LKA Sri Lanka
SY SYR Syrian Arab Republic
TW TWN Taiwan
TJ TJK Tajikistan
TH THA Thailand
TL TLS Timor-Leste
TR TUR Turkey
TM TKM Turkmenistan
AE ARE United Arab Emirates
UZ UZB Uzbekistan
VN VNM Vietnam
YE YEM Yemen

5. Europe Country Codes

44 European countries are recognized as per UN. While 51 European Countries have
their own country codes as per IATA, and they are:

2 - Letter 3 - Letter Country Name

AX ALA Aland Islands

AL ALB Albania

AD AND Andorra

AM ARM Armenia

AT AUT Austria

BY BLR Belarus

BE BEL Belgium

BA BIH Bosnia and Herzegovina

BG BGR Bulgaria, Republic of

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Familiarization
HR HRV Croatia with OAG-I

CZ CZE Czech Republic (Czechia)

DK DNK Denmark
EE EST Estonia
FO FRO Faroe Islands
FI FIN Finland
FR FRA France
DE DEU Germany
GI GIB Gibraltar
GR GRC Greece
GG GGY Guernsey
VA VAT Holy See (Vatican City State)
HU HUN Hungary
IS ISL Iceland
IE IRL Ireland
IM IMN Isle of Man
IT ITA Italy
JE JEY Jersey
LV LVA Latvia
LI LIE Liechtenstein
LT LTU Lithuania
LU LUX Luxembourg
MK MKD Republic of North Macedonia
MT MLT Malta
MD MDA Moldova
MC MCO Monaco
ME MNE Montenegro
NL NLD Netherlands
NO NOR Norway
PL POL Poland
PT PRT Portugal
RO ROU Romania 107
Airport Handling
RU RUS Russian Federation
SM SMR San Marino
RS SRB Serbia
SK SVK Slovakia (Slovak Republic)
SI SVN Slovenia
ES ESP Spain
SJ SJM Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands
SE SWE Sweden
CH CHE Switzerland
UA UKR Ukraine
GB GBR United Kingdom

6. North American Country Codes

The codes of different North American countries and territories are:

2 - Letter 3 - Letter Country Name

AI AIA Anguilla
AW ABW Aruba
BQ BES Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
CA CAN Canada
CU CUB Cuba
CW CUW Curaçao
DM DMA Dominica
DO DOM Dominican Republic
SV SLV El Salvador
GL GRL Greenland
GD GRD Grenada
GP GLP Guadeloupe
GT GTM Guatemala
HT HTI Haiti
HN HND Honduras
JM JAM Jamaica
MQ MTQ Martinique
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Familiarization
MX MEX Mexico with OAG-I

MS MSR Montserrat
AN ANT Netherlands Antilles
NI NIC Nicaragua
PA PAN Panama
PR PRI Puerto Rico
BL BLM Saint Barthelemy
KN KNA Saint Kitts and Nevis
LC LCA Saint Lucia
MF MAF Saint Martin
PM SPM Saint Pierre and Miquelon
VC VCT Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
SX SXM Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
TT TTO Trinidad and Tobago
TC TCA Turks and Caicos Islands
UM UMI United States Minor Outlying Islands
US USA United States of America
VI VIR United States Virgin Islands

7. South America Country Codes

South American continent includes both Brazil and Colombia. The country code for
the continent of South America is:

2 - Letter 3 - Letter Country Name

AR ARG Argentina

BO BOL Bolivia

BR BRA Brazil

CL CHL Chile

CO COL Colombia

EC ECU Ecuador

FK FLK Falkland Islands (Malvinas)

GF GUF French Guiana

GY GUY Guyana
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Airport Handling
PY PRY Paraguay
PE PER Peru
SR SUR Suriname
UY URY Uruguay
VE VEN Venezuela

7.4 INTERNATIONAL LOCATION INDICATION

SYSTEMS IN AVIATION
Travel by air has an international and beyond-border character and it requires standard
regulations and operational procedures between countries. Standard airport codes
are required for the right and accurate communication, for the safe operation of aircraft
and air navigation services. There has been issue of lingual diversity and different
pronunciation of the same destination. At the same time we may have more than one
destination with the same name or more than one airport in the same destination.
Uniformity among the various countries and destination across the world was needed,
and to provide the same the code system was invented.
Codes ensure that one reaches the desired destination city and airport, irrespective of
the place of origin as each airport, city, country and airline has a unique identity using
the alphabetic/alphanumeric code or numeric code. It goes without saying that codes
are indispensable in the travel business. The codes are multiple and are used for ticket
booking, itinerary making and even in CRS/GDS.
Airport codes are also known as airport location indicators or airport location identifiers.
In aviation, location indicators symbolize the name and the geographical location of an
airport, a navigational aid or a weather station. There are two international location
indication systems in aviation, one provided by IATA and another by ICAO. The
difference between the coding systems of both is mentioned below:

The International Civil Aviation International Air Transport

Organization (ICAO) Airport Association (IATA) Airport Codes
Codes and IATA location identifiers

ICAO assigns a four-digit indicator to There are many types of airports (such
airports (aerodromes) and other as aerodromes, military airports, air
geographical fixed locations. open to stripes etc.). Only the airports
commercial air transport have an
Small airports that do not have an airport assigned 3 letter IATA code.
code (generally those without scheduled
commercial flight) may have an ICAO
code. The coverage of ICAO airport
codes is broader than the IATA airport
codes

The geographic location determines the An airport must have an IATA location
location specific code in the ICAO code to commence any commercial
airport coding system. Certain activity. However, IATA codes are not
classifications among continents, designated only for airports.
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Familiarization
regions, countries and sub-regions in the with OAG-I
countries are used.

ICAO member states use ICAO codes IATA codes are used wherever in
their official aeronautical publications for communication with the public is
operational planning and communication. involved. A traveler sees the IATA codes
Personnel, including flight and air traffic displayed on the travel documents
controllers, uses ICAO codes for flight publicly available such as flight schedules,
planning, flight information services, and reservations, air tickets, baggage tags,
documents with aeronautical members, dispatchers, and boarding
information such as NOTAMs (Notice passes.
to Air Man), and meteorological reports.

The first letter of the airport identifier Unlike the ICAO coding system, IATA
assigned to a continent, representing location indicators generally are assigned
country or a group of countries. While according to any particular The basic
the second letter represents the country, rules for the IATA codes are:
the third letter represents the FIR (Flight
Information Region) in the country. The i. The first three letter of the current/
last character represents the specific past name of the city: Singapore SIN,
letter of that particular airport. Mumbai (Bombay) BOM, Beijing
(Peking) PEK
For example, E is used for Northern
Europe and L for Southern Europe. ii. A three-letter combination from the
While LEBL identifies Barcelona–El city name: Munich MUC
Prat Airport, LEBB ICAO code
identifies Bilbao Airport in Spain. LEBL, iii. A three-letter combination from the
the ICAO code of Barcelona–El Prat name of the airport: London
Airport, consists of the below Heathrow LHR, Omega Airport,
components: L: Continent and region Namibia OMG;
(Example: Southern Europe - L) E: iv. Former airport code/name of the
Represents a country or a group of
district: Orlando Airport (former
countries within that region (Example:
McCoy Air Force Base) MCO,
CGK Spain - E) B: Identify an FIR in
Chicago O’Hare Airport (Orchard
the country (Example: Barcelona FIR -
Field Airport) ORD, Jakarta
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
B) L: Identify an aerodrome or another
(Jakarta Cengkareng Airport)
geographic location (Example:
Barcelona–El Prat Airport - L) v. A city served by more than one airport
will be assigned a Metropolitan Area
Code. For example, LON for London
City (Metropolitan Area) and LCY for
London City Airport and LHR for
London Heathrow Airport

However, there is not a strict rule or pattern that is followed for some of the locators.
For example, since the airport code DUB was already assigned for Dublin when
Dubai International opened, the airport code of DXB was selected. For most airports
in the USA and Canada, ICAO codes are prefixed one-letter IATA codes. For
example, IATA (LAX) and ICAO (KLAX). Although ICAO and IATA codes are
unique codes, and most major airports have both ICAO and IATA codes.
111
Airport Handling
Check Your Progress-1

1. Pick up the countries which are neighbours of your own country and write down
the two letter codes for the same.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
2. Randomly pick up five countries from each continent and write the two letter
country codes of these countries.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
3. Write down the two letter codes of the following countries:
Switzerland Sweden
Canada Japan United Kingdom Australia
Germany United States

7.5 CITY CODES AND AIRPORT CODES

IATA assigns different codes for cities and airport since one single city may have more
than one commercial airports. In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often
named after the airport itself instead of the city it serves; while another code is used to
refer to the city itself.
Every official airport in the world—from the largest, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta
International Airport (ATL), to the smallest, Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport on the
Caribbean island of Saba (SAB)—is assigned a three-letter code.
An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code,
or simply a location identifier, is a three – letter geocode designating many airports and
metropolitan areas around the world as defined by the International Air Transport
Association (IATA). The characters prominently displayed on baggage tags attached
at airport check-in desks are an example of one of the ways these codes are used.
The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is
administered by the IATA’s headquarters in Montreal. The codes are published semi-
annually in the IATAAirline Coding Directory.
As mentioned earlier IATA and ICAO both have their codes but they do differ. ICAO
codes are four-letter codes used by appendant body of the United Nations to designate
international flights and govern the standards of air travel. IATA codes are three-letter
codes used by a non-governmental trade organization to efficiently identify airports,
airlines, and flight paths for consumers. Few important and commonly used airport and
city codes of the world are:
112
Familiarization
Airport Airport Country City City with OAG-I
Code Code
[A]
ADL ADELAIDE INT’L AUSTRALIA ADELAIDE ADL
AEP AEROPARQUE JORGE ARGENTINA BUENOSAIRES BUE
NEWBERY
AKL AUCKLAND INT’L NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND AKL
AMS AMSTERDAM-SCHIPHOL NETHERLANDS AMSTERDAM AMS
ARN ARLANDA SWEDEN STOCKHOLM STO
ATH ATHINAI GREECE ATHENS ATH
ATL HARTSFIELD ATLANTA U.S.A. ATLANTA ATL
INT’L
AUH ABU DHABI INT’L U.A.E. ABU DHABI AUH
[B]
BAH BAHRAIN INT’L BAHRAIN BAHRAIN BAH
BCN BARCELONAELPRAT SPAIN BARCELONA BCN
BEY BEIRUT INT’L LEBANON BEIRUT BEY
BHX BIRMINGHAM INT’L U.K. BIRMINGHAM BHX
BKK SUVANARBHUMI INT’L THAILAND BANGKOK BKK
BMA BROMMA SWEDEN STOCKHOLM STO
BNE BRISBANE INT’L AUSTRALIA BRISBANE BNE
BOS LOGAN INT’L U.S.A. BOSTON BOS
BRE BREMEN GERMANY BREMEN BRE
BRU BRUSSELS NATIONAL BELGIUM BRUSSELS BRU
BSL BASEL SWITZERLAND BASEL BSL
[C]
CAI CAIRO INT’L EGYPT CAIRO CAI
CAN BAIYUN INT’L CHINA GUANGZHOU CAN
CCS SIMON BOLIVAR VENEZUELA CARACAS CCS
CCU NETAJI SUBHAS INDIA CALCUTTA CCU
CHANDRA BOSE INT’L
CDG CHARLES DE GAULLE FRANCE PARIS PAR
CGH CONGONHAS BRAZIL SAO PAULO SAO
CGK SOEKARNO-HATTA INDONESIA JAKARTA JKT
CGN COLOGNE/BONN MEIGS GERMANY COLOGNE CGN
CGX FIELD CHRISTCHURCH U.S.A. CHICAGO CHI
CHC INT’L NEW ZEALAND CHRISTCHURCH CHC
CLE CLEVELAND HOPKINS U.S.A. CLEVELAND CLE
INT’L 113
Airport Handling
CMB BANDAANAYAKE INT’L SRI LANKA COLOMBO CMB
CPH COPENHAGEN DENMARK COPENHAGEN CPH
CPT CAPE TOWN INT’L S. AFRICA CAPE TOWN CPT
[D]
DAL LOVE FIELD U.S.A. DALLAS DAL
DCA NATIONAL U.S.A. WASHINGTON WAS
DC
DEL INDIRA GANDHI INT’L INDIA DELHI DEL
DEN DENVER INT’L U.S.A. DENVER DEN
DET CITYAIRPORT U.S.A. DETROIT DTT
DFW DALLAS/FORTWORTH U.S.A. DALLAS DAL
INT’L
DLC DALIAN ZHOUSHUIZI CHINA DALIAN DLC
INT’L
DPS NGURAH RAI INDONESIA DENPASAR DPS
DTW WAYNE COUNTY U.S.A. DETROIT DTT
DUB DUBLIN IRELAND DUBLIN DUB
DUS RHEINE-RUHR GERMANY DUSSELDORF DUS
DXB DUBAIINT’l U.A.E. DUBAI DXB
[E]
EWR NEWARK U.S.A. NEW YORK NYC
CITY
EZE MINISTRO PISTARINI ARGENTINA BUENOSAIRES BUE
[F]
FBU GARDENMOEN NORWAY OSLO OSL
FCO LEONARDO DA VINCI ITALY ROME ROM
(FIUMICINO)
FRA FRANKFURT INT’L GERMANY FANKFURT FRA
[G]
GIG RIO DE JANEIRO INT’L BRAZIL RIODE JANEIRO RIO
GLA GLASGOW INT’L U.K. GALSGOW GLA
GOT LANDVETTER SWEDEN GOTHENBURG GOT
GRU GUARULHOS INT’L BRAZIL SAO PAULO SAO
GVA GENEVA COINTRIN SWITZERLAND GENEVA GVA
[H]
HAJ HANOVER GERMANY HANOVER HAJ
HAM HAMBURG GERMANY HAMBURG HAM
HAN NOI BAI VIETNAM HANOI HAN
HEL HELSINKI-VANTAAN FINLAND HELSINKI HEL
114
Familiarization
HKG HONG KONG INT’L CHINA HONG KONG HKG with OAG-I
HLP HALIM PERDANA INDONESIA JAKARTA JKT
KUSUMA
HNL HONOLULU INT’L U.S.A. HONOLULU HNL
HOU HOBBY U.S.A. HOUSTON HOU
[I]
IAD WASHINGTON DULLES U.S.A. WASHINGTON WAS
INT’L DC
IAH INTERCONTINENTAL U.S.A. HOUSTON HOU
IND INDIANAPOLIS INT’L U.S.A. INDIANAPOLIS IND
[J]
JED KINGABDULAZIZ INT’L SAUDIARABIA JEDDAH JED
JFK J.F. KENNEDY INT’L U.S.A. NEW YORK NYC
JNB TAMBO INT’L S. AFRICA CITYJOHANNES- JNB
BURG
[K]
KHH KAOHSIUNG INT’L TAIWAN KAOHSIUNG KHH
KHI JINNAH INT’L PAKISTAN KARACHI KHI
KUL KUALA LUMPUR INT’L MALAYSIA KUALA KUL
LUMPUR
KWI KUWAIT INT’L KUWAIT KUWAIT KWI
[L]
LAX LOSANGELES INT’L U.S.A. LOSANGELES LAX
LGA LA GUARDIA U.S.A. NEW YORK NYC
CITY
LGW GATWICK U.K. LONDON LON
LHR HEATHROW U.K. LONDON LON
LIM JORGE CHAVEZ INT’L PERU LIMA LIM
LIN LINATE ITALY MILAN MIL
LIS LISBON PORTUGAL LISBON LIS
LOS MURTALAMUHAMMED NIGERIA LAGOS LOS
LUX FINDEL LUXEMBURG LUXEMBURG LUX
LYS SAINT EXUPERY INT’L FRANCE LYON LYS
[M]
MAD BARAJAS SPAIN MADRID MAD
MAN MANCHESTER U.K. MANCHESTER MAN
MAO EDUARDO GOMES INT’L BRAZIL MANAUS MAO
MDW MIDWAY U.S.A. CHICAGO CHI
MEB ESSENDON AUSTRALIA MELBOURNE MEL 115
Airport Handling
MEL MELBOURNE INT’L AUSTRALIA MELBOURNE MEL
MEX MAXICO CITY INT’L MEXICO MEXICO CITY MEX
MIA MIAMI INT’L U.S.A. MIAMI MIA
MLH MULHOUSE FRANCE MLHOUSE MLH
MMA STURUP SWEDEN MALMO MMA
MNL NINOY AQUINO INT’L PHILIPPINES MANILA MNL
MSP NONNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL U.S.A. MINNEAPOLIS MSP
INT’L
MUC FRANZ JOSEF STRAUSS GERMANY MUNICH MUC
MXP MALPENSA ITALY MILAN MIL
[N]
NUE NUERMBERG GERMANY NUREMBERG NUE
[O]
OPO PORTO PORTUGAL PORTO OPO
ORD O’HARE INT’L U.S.A. CHICAGO CHI
ORY ORLY FRANCE PARIS PAR
[P]
PDX PORTLAND INT’L U.S.A. PORTLAND PDX
PEK CAPITAL CHINA BEIJING PEK
PER PERTH AUSTRALI PERTH PER
PHL PHILADELPHIA INT’L U.S.A. PHILADELPHIA PHL
PHX SKY HARBOR INT’L U.S.A. PHOENIX PHX
PIT PITTSBURGH INT’L U.S.A. PITTSBURGH PIT
PNH PHNOM PENH INT’L CAMBODIA PHNOM PENH PNH
PUS KIMHAE KOREA PUSAN PUS
PVG PUDONG INT’L CHINA SHANGHAI PVG
[S]
SAN SAN DIEGO INT’L U.S.A. SAN DIEGO SAN
SEA SEATTLE-TACOMA INT’L U.S.A. SEATTLE SEA
SEL KIMPO INT’L KOREA SEOUL SEL
SFO SAN FRANCISCO INT’L U.S.A. SAN SFO
FRANCISCO
SFS SUBIC BAY PHILIPPINES SUBIC BAY SFS
SGN TANSONNHAT INT’L VIETNUM HO CHI MINH SGN
CITY
SHA PUDONG CHINA SHANGHAI SHA
SIN CHANGI SINGAPORE SINGAPORE SIN
SJU LUIS MUNOZ MARIN PUERTO RICO SAN JUAN SJU
116 INT’L
Familiarization
STR STUTTGART GERMANY STUTTGART STR with OAG-I
SVO SHEREMETYEVO RUSSIA MOSCOW MOW
SXF SCHONEFELD GERMANY BERLIN BER
SYD KINGSFORD SMITH AUSTRALIA SYDNEY SYD
(MASCOT)
SYR HANCOCK INT’L U.S.A. SYRACUSE SYR
[T]
THF TEMPELHOF GERMANY BERLIN BER
THR MEHRABAD IRAN TEHRAN THR
TLV BEN GURION INT’L ISRAEL TELAVIV TLV
TPE TAOYUAN INT’L TAIWAN TAIPEI TPE
TSA SUNG SHAN TAIWAN TAIPEI TPE
TXL TEGEL GERMANY BERLIN BER
[V]
VCE MARCO POLO ITALY VENICE VCE
VCP VIRACOPOS BRAZIL SAO PAULO SAO
VIE VIENNA INT’L AUSTRIA VIENNA VIE
[W]
WAW FREDERIC CHOPIN POLAND WARSAW WAW
WLG WELLINGTON INT’L NEW ZEALAND WELLINGTON WLG
[Y]
YMX MIRABEL CANADA MONTREAL YMQ
YOW MCDONALD CARTIER CANADA OTTAWA YOW
INT’L
YUL PIERRE ELLIOTT CANADA MONTREAL YMQ
TRUDEAU
YVR VANCOUVER INT’L CANADA VANCOUVER YVR
YYZ LESTER B. PEARSON CANADA TORONTO YTO
INT’L
[Z]
ZRH ZURICH SWITZERLAND ZURICH ZRH

These city and airport codes are important for anyone wishing to book a ticket on any
flight. Remembering them will make the process of ticketing swifter.

Check Your Progress-2

1) Divide the world into country wise and try writing three letter codes of the airports/
cities of the country.
....................................................................................................................
117
Airport Handling ....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
2) Make a list of fifty such countries where the airport codes are different from the
city codes.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
3) Provide the three letter airport codes of the following airports:
 London City Airport
 Gatwick Airport London
 Heathrow Airport London
 Luton Airport
 Stansted Airport
 London Southend Airport
2) Which Indian airports are represented by the following
 RJA AMD
 TIR BHU
 VGA BHJ
 BHO VTZ

7.6 AIRLINES CODES

IATA Airline Designator Code are used as designators for reservations, schedules,
timetables, telecommunications, ticketing, cargo documentation, legal, tariffs and/or
other commercial/traffic purposes. IATA Codes are an integral part of the travel industry
and essential for the identification of an airline, its destinations and its traffic documents.
They are also fundamental to the smooth running of hundreds of electronic applications
which have been built around these coding systems for passenger and cargo traffic
purposes.
 Airline Accounting Codes and Airline Prefixes are essential for the
identification of passenger and cargo traffic documents, processing of
passenger accounting transactions, cargo transactions and other commercial/
traffic purposes.
 Baggage Tag Issuer Code (BTIC), combined with the tag, serial numbers
are used to identify each piece of checked luggage through all baggage handling
processes. They help provide a unique identifier during the complete journey.
This unique identifier forms the basis of what is known as the “License Plate”.
 IATA Airline Designators, sometimes called IATA reservation codes, are
118 two- character codes assigned by the International Air Transport Association
(IATA) to the world’s airlines. Airline designator codes follow the format xx(a), Familiarization
with OAG-I
i.e., two alphanumeric characters (letters or digits) followed by an optional
letter.
These codes are helpful as it helps in identifying whether the airline a passenger is
boarding is the correct one. Baggage can also be traced based on the codes on the
baggage tags. It is also much easier to book a ticket using the codes, both in saving
time as well as in avoiding confusion about the destination or airline. While considering
the huge volume of humanity crossing across the globe every day using the airlines, the
purpose of these codes become relevant.
Continuation to this IATA also assigns a numeric code of three letters which are used
for its all-accounting document as the starting three numbers i.e, tickets, airway bills,
etc. Some examples are AI(Air India), 6E (Indigo), UK (Vistara),AA(American
Airlines), etc. The list of important airlines codes, both two letter alphanumeric codes
and three letter numeric codes are mentioned below:

Airline Airline Country Carrier IATA

Code Code (*)
[A]
001 AMERICAN AIRLINES INC. U.S.A. AA AAL *
014 AIR CANADA CANADA AC ACA *
055 ALITALIA - COMPAGNIA ITALY AZ AZA *
AEREAITALIANA S.P.
057 AIR FRANCE FRANCE AF AFR *
063 AIR CALEDONIE CALEDONIA SB ACI *
INTERNATIONAL
086 AIR NEW ZEALAND LTD. NEW NZ ANZ *
ZEALAND
098 AIR INDIA LTD. INDIA AI AIC *
139 AEROMEXICO MEXICO AM AMX *
205 ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS CO., JAPAN NH ANA *
LTD.
244 AIR TAHITI NUI TAHITI TN THT *
257 AUSTRIANAIRLINESAG AUSTRIA OS AUA *
260 AIR PACIFIC FIJI FJ FJI *
288 AHK AIR HONG KONG LTD. HONG KONG LD AHK
555 AEROFLOT RUSSIAN RUSSIA SU AFL *
AIRLINES
656 AIR NIUGINI PTY LTD. NIUGINI PX ANG *
768 AIR NIPPON CO., LTD. JAPAN EL ANK
988 ASIANAAIRLINES INC. KOREA OZ AAR *
999 AIR CHINA LTD. CHINA CA CCA *
119
Airport Handling
[B]
125 BRITISH AIRWAYS P.L.C U.K. BA BAW *
[C]
005 CONTINENTALAIRLINES, U.S.A. CO COA *
INC.
160 CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS CHINA CX CPA *
LTD.
172 CARGOLUXAIRLINES INT’L LUXEM- CV CLX *
S.A. BURG
297 CHINAAIRLINES LTD TAIWAN CI CAL *
781 CHINAEASTERNAIRLINES CHINA MU CES *
784 CHINASOUTHERNAIRLINES CHINA CZ CSN *
[D]
006 DELTAAIR LINES, INC. U.S.A. DL DAL *
560 DALAVIA FAR EAST RUSSIA H8 KHB
AIRWAYS
[E]
077 EGYPTAIR EGYPT MS MSR *
176 EMIRATES SKY CARGO U.A.E. EK UAE *
695 EVAAIRWAYS CORP. TAIWAN BR EVA *
[F]
023 FEDEX U.S.A. FX FDX *
105 FINNAIR O/Y FINLAND AY FIN *
[G]
126 GARUDA INDONESIA INDONESIA GA GIA *
[H]
043 HONG KONG DRAGON HONG KONG KA HAD *
AIRLINES LIMITED
[I]
096 IRAN-AIR IRAN IR IRA *
[J]
131 JAPAN AIRLINES CO. LTD JAPAN JL JAL *
688 JAPAN ASIAAIRWAYS CO., JAPAN EG JAA *
LTD.
[K]
074 KLM ROYAL DUTCH NETHER- KL KLM *
AIRLINES LANDS
180 KOREAN AIR LINES CO., KOREA KE KAL *
120 LTD.
Familiarization
[L] with OAG-I
020 LUFTHANSACARGO AG. GERMANY LH DLH *
[M]
232 MALAYSIAAIRLINES MALAYSIA MH MAS *
SYSTEM BERHAD
289 MIAT-MONGOLIAN MONGOLIA OM MGL *
AIRLINES
[N]
012 NORTHWESTAIRLINES, INC. U.S.A. NW NWA *
933 NIPPON CARGO AIRLINES JAPAN KZ NCA *
[P]
079 PHILIPPINE AIRLINES, INC. PHILIPPINES PR PAL *
214 PAKISTAN INT’LAIRLINES PAKISTAN PK PIA *
403 POLAR AIR CARGO INC. U.S.A. PO PAC
[Q]
081 QANTAS AIRWAYS LTD. AUSTRALIA QF QFA *
[R]
285 ROYAL NEPALAIRLINES NEPAL RA RNA *
CORP.
[S]
117 SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES SWEDEN SK SAS *
SYSTEM(SAS)
603 SRILANKAN AIRLINES LTD. SRI LANKA UL ALK *
618 SINGAPORE AIRLINES LTD. SINGAPORE SQ SQC *
724 SWISS INT’LAIR LINES LTD. SWITZERLAN DLX SWR *
774 SHANGHAIAIRLINES CO., CHINA FM *
LTD.
[T]
217 THAIAIRWAYS INT’L THAILAND TG THA *
PUBLIC CO., LTD.
235 TURKISH AIRLINES INC. TURKEY TK THY *
[U]
016 UNITED AIRLINES, INC. U.S.A. UA UAL *
250 UZBEKISTAN AIRWAYS UZBEKISTAN HY UZB
406 UNITED PARCEL U.S.A. 5X UPS *
[V]
738 VIETNAM AIRLINES VIETNAM VN HVN *
932 VIRGIN ATLANTIC U.K. VS VIR *
121
Airport Handling
Check Your Progress-3

1. Please mention the two letter and three letter codes of the following airlines:
i. IndiGo v. Air Asia India
ii. Air India vi. Vistara
iii. Spice Jet vii. Alliance Air
iv. Go Air viii. TruJet
2. Select 30 random countries of the world and pick up the national carrier or the
flag carrier of the particular country and write their two letter and three letter
codes.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

7.7 LET US SUM UP

OAG or official airline guide is introduced to the learners in this unit. At the same time
the use and relevance of codes by IATA and ICAO is also being discussed. Country
codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes (geo codes) developed to
represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications.
Several different systems have been developed to do this. A student of travel and
tourism must know the two letter codes of the major countries.
An airport code is a three- or four-letter code used to identify a particular airport in
documents relating to passenger reservations and ticketing as well as flight timetables,
luggage tags, air traffic control, and other standard industry procedures.
The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Location Identifier is a unique 3-
letter code (also commonly known as IATA code) used in aviation and also in logistics
to identify an airport. IATA numbers are used as the travel agent identifier in reservations
to allow suppliers, including hotels, to pay commissions.
The International Air Transport Association has assigned each airline a 2- letter code
and each airport a 3-letter code. These codes are assigned, so that these codes can be
used for identification in documents and communication systems.

7.8 FURTHER READINGS

 https://abbreviations.yourdictionary.com/articles/country-abbreviations.html
 https://www.kwe.co.jp/en/useful-contents/code1
 https://www.kwe.co.jp/en/useful-contents/code2#code2-A-world
 https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/country_code_list.htm

122
Familiarization
7.9 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS with OAG-I

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress-1

1. Refer to 7.3 and answer

2. Refer to 7.3 and answer
3. Refer to 7.3 and answer

Check Your Progress-2

1. Refer to 7.3 and 7.4 to answer

2. Refer to 7.4 to answer
3. Refer to 7.4 to answer
4. Refer to 7.4 and answer

Check Your Progress-3

1. Refer to 7.6 and answer

2. Refer to 7.6 and answer

7.10 ACTIVITY
1. Collect all the members of the class. Divide yourself in teams and ask each team
members to prepare flash card; where the name written on a separate card be it
currency, country, airlines, city etc., and the code written separately on another
card.
2. Now shuffle the cards and distribute randomly the cards to each individual. The
students have to find the right pair of his/her card. The person who finishes with
the pairing of the right cards is declared the winner of the game.

123
Airport Handling
UNIT 8 FAMILIARIZATION WITH OAG – II
Structure

8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Working of Official Airline Guide (OAG)
8.3 Minimum Connecting Time
8.4 Air Tariff
8.4.1 Bereavement Fares
8.4.2 Factors affecting Air Tariff
8.5 Global Indicators
8.6 Modes of Payment
8.7 Let Us Sum Up
8.8 Further Readings
8.9 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
8.10 Activity

8.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
 explain the importance of OAG for making air travel itinerary,
 interpret how OAG works,
 explain concept of MCT-Minimum Connecting Time,
 define air tariff and describe its types; and
 discuss the factors affecting the air tariff

8.1 INTRODUCTION
Official Airline Guide (OAG) has always been at the centre of the aviation industry. It
is today a worldwide flight data and information solutions provider that brings buyers
and suppliers of air travel and transportation together for the commercial airlines, cargo
sector, and corporate business travel markets. OAG is a platform that provides easy
and instant access to discover air transport dynamics, evaluate on-time performance,
supervise competing firms’ operation, find prospects and obtain understanding of
potential results. It is fuelled by the world‘s most extensive air travel flight database, as
well as cutting-edge tools and commercial predictive analysis. You have read about the
history and importance of OAG along with some commonly used codes in the previous
unit. In this unit we will discuss about the different kinds of information that is available
in the OAG and the way to access this information. In other words, the using of OAG
will be explained in this Unit.
124
Familiarization
8.2 WORKING OF OFFICIAL AIRLINE GUIDE with OAG-II

(OAG)
Official Airline Guide (OAG) is the key forair travel. It is a sourceofairtravel intelligence
that includes information on airline schedules, cargo, and aviation statistics; and explains
the schedule of all the flight, flight codes, signage usage, and airport codes, as well as
flight numbers, days of the week, different types of aircraft, number of stops, classes of
services provided on a given flight, and the departure and arrival times. OAG also
provides a comprehensive cargo flight reference guide that is updated monthly to provide
visibility of all available flight possibilities. Data can be adjusted to include only the
parameters that the user desires. Furthermore, OAG offers in-depth analysis of airline
and airport data, including flight frequency and capacity trends, route-specific flight
statistics, and airport performance. Other modules available to choose from include
Schedules, Connections, Traffic, Demand, Mapper, and DOT. As an airline/agent or a
person, one can tailor the platform to meet their needs.
Different airlines provide their own schedules and information guides in various formats.
This timetable’s purpose is to provide information about the timetable and schedules of
the flights that they operate. Keeping track of so many multi-timetable books and
flights is a difficult undertaking. As a result, a single worldwide airline timetable was
devised, and OAG now provides this service. In fact, OAG offers the best trip planning
and booking tools in the industry for sophisticated travel plans all over the world. Let
us now find out how to use fundamental flight information offered by OAG. Detail
about the information as per the OAG is discussed below. The information on any
page must be read from left to right, from one column to the next.
1. Departure City: The first step is to look for the Departure city, which is
displayed in a large font for easy tracking. Names of the cities are mentioned
in bold, in English, and in alphabetical order. City name are also be mentioned
as three letter code of the city.
Flight schedules must be read in a specific order. The “FROMTO” format is
used for city-to-city timetables. Before the city, the word “FROM” is written
in a bold and smaller font. Just beneath the city, “LT” or the “LOCALTIME”
variation from GMT is shown in the guide. The “.” is mentioned before all of
the city’s airports. If a city has more than one airport, the name of the entire
airport as well as its three-letter code will be provided. As you have read in
the previous unit, airport codes are different from city codes. In case an airport
has more than one terminal, then the terminal name of the airport will also be
mentioned for ease of reading and understanding.
2. Check in time: Prior to the flight’s scheduled departure, one must report for
both airline and governmental formalities. Check – in time refers to the period
of time before a flight that one must arrive at the airport, to complete the
necessary paperwork. Check-in time is shown both in hours and minutes;
and will vary based on the airlines and even individual flights. The abbreviations
commonly used in this section are:
 DOM for Domestic Flights
 INT for International Flights
125
Airport Handling  Mins for Minutes
 Hrs for Hours
3. Surface Transport: This title refers to surface transportation by either rail or
road transportation. It provides information on the various terminals and surface
transportation services available between city centres and airports. The
“journey time” will mention the average transportation times between the
terminals and the airport. The terminal check- in times for rail will be mentioned.
It may also have information on bus services operated between the airports
and neighbouring cities which are served by the same airport.
4. Destination City: Destination city must be looked up, once the departing
city has been located, in order to complete the itinerary. As in the case of
departing city, destination city will be again in an alphabetical order with its
three-letter code, in case the city has multiple airports, the code and name of
each airport where arrivals take place will be listed.
Flights, whether director with stopovers, are all listed in the OAG guide.
Direct flights will be mentioned first in the list in alphabetic order, followed by
the flights that require a transfer, one or more. Flight details are listed with
lines in between for special note application, if any that exists or applies for
the said flight. The arrival and departure time uses the 24-hour clock timings
and are given in bold. The flights details also indicate the validity of the operation
of the flights, i.e., first day(“From”) and the last day(“To”) as well as the days
of the week when the flights are operational.
Two important columns mention the timing of the flight. Departure time from
the departure city will be mentioned in the local time of the country, proceeded
by the three-letter code of airport, for cities which have more than one airport.
Arrival time at the destination is again provided in the local time of the
destination, followed by the three-letter code of the airport at the destination.
Importantly, in case the flight does not arrive on the same day, few symbols
are used to indicate the arrival day:
 Arrival on the next day is indicated by *
 Arrival on the third day is indicated by +
 Arrival fourth day is indicated by §
 Arrival on the previous day is indicated by –! (Only where the date lines
cross over takes place).
The Flight Number comprises of two sections – the two letter alphabetic
IATA airlines code and the second is the numeric code. The numeric code
informs reader about the exact route number of the airlines.
Aircraft or the type of equipment is also mentioned in the OAG guide. These
are explained in the “General Information” section under the head “Aircraft
Codes” (Encoding and Decoding) of the OAG guide.
Class of services are also been mentioned and the bookings that are applicable.
eb & this symbol in the column named class indicates whether or not the flight
is a “Shared Designator” or a “Code Share” flight which means that the airlines
designator used in the number actually does not operate the flight.
126
Stops refer to intermediate stops which are taken enroute. “M” as a symbol is Familiarization
with OAG-II
used which stands for multi sector. Just under the head “Flight Routings” the
Multi Sector flight routings is mentioned.
5. Transfer Connection: OAG not only provides direct connections, but also
transfer connections. The flight schedules also include change of flight between
the origin and destination, which could be one or more.
OAG cannot give all the information about the transfer connection. Under such
circumstance, client may come across restrictions. Hence as a travel agent you will
have to look up the timetables of separate airlines, to check flights between the departure
and arrival cities to ensure transfer connections. We can refer to these as Unpublished
Transfer Connection. It is also important to find the Minimum Connecting Time; it is
discussed in the next section. Air travel itinerary with connecting transfers will look like
as given below:

Airport Codes Departure Arrival Flight Aircraft Class Stops

From To Time Day/Date Time Day/Date VS 301 Boeing 787 Y 0
DEL LHR 1130 2 1620 2 (Economy)

BOM MEL 0145 1 0005 2 CX 660/ Boeing 777 J 1

CX 105 & Airbus (Full fare (14 hr
A350 Business) 30 min
HKG)
Table 8.1 : Air Travel Itinerary with connecting transfers

8.3 MINIMUM CONNECTING TIME

Minimum Connecting Time (MCT) is the amount of transfer time agreed upon in advance
by airlines and airport authorities that is considered sufficient for a passenger to connect
between an arriving flight and a departing flight. MCT is the amount of time that the
airport has determined is required for an able-bodied passenger to connect to a
continuing aircraft. There is a minimum connecting time that every commercial airport
in the globe needs to follow. The Minimum Connecting Time period is determined by
factors such as airport layout, security, and whether the connection is between an
international and domestic flight or between international flights or between domestic
flights. Although there are exceptions, most internet booking engines and airline websites
will not provide flights with layovers that violate the Minimum Connection Time(MCT)
restriction.
In India, while travelling the Minimum Connecting Time for passengers that need to be
adhered to are:
 Domestic to Domestic flights between 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes
 Domestic to International flights 1 hour and 15 minutes
 International to Domestic Flights 1 hour and 30 minutes
 International to International Flights 1 hour
MCT exits both for passengers as well as cargo. In Cargo context, MCT can be
defined as the smallest time interval required to transfer cargo from one flight to a
connecting flight. 127
Airport Handling MCTs are governed by IATA PSC Resolution 765, and they must be followed by all
the ticketing and reservations outlets, as well as automated reservations systems. The
MCT Data Elements were not included in the prior versions of IATA Standard Schedule
Information Manual. However, it is consequently critical to guarantee that MCTs are
accurately established, maintained, and cited and utilised consistently at all times. The
requirements for submitting and applying the MCT for processing are described in the
Minimum Connecting Time. Optional features such as suppressions, code share
indicators, and other options are available to help with industry-wide deployment.
It is conceivable to arrange a connection that does not match this condition when
buying a series of one-way flights on your own. Airlines are not obligated to provide
assistance, such as a free ticket on the next trip or monetary recompense, if you
miss a flight with a connection that does not meet the MCT. This is especially true
for flights operated by separate airlines, as they aren’t obligated to assist you in
rebooking if you miss a connection due to an issue with another provider. To put it
another way, if your tickets don’t meet the MCT and you miss your connecting flight,
you’re on your own to travel to your final destination.
OAG plays a vital role when it comes to providing information to all industry players.
100,000 industry-standard individual minimum airport connection times and airline-
specific exclusions are updated daily in the OAG to provide benefits such as:
- To assure and provide accurate, viable, and practical flight connections to
consumers.
- To perform a thorough competitor analysis.
- To avoid re-bookings due to broken connections, and thus save money on
processing.
- To energize the cutting-edge self-booking technology that is revolutionising
the industry.
Thus, to ensure the safety and smooth operations at the airport and passenger’s flawless
experience, it is essential for all airlines, airports and allied industry players to adhere to
Minimum Connecting Time. Since MCT is determined by the airline, connecting points,
terminals, and, in some cases, the route class. It is important to remember that MCT
limits on minimum connected time must be followed.

Check Your Progress - 1

1) What do you understand about the term ‘OAG’?

128 .......................................................................................................................
3) Explain the term Minimum Connecting Time. Familiarization
with OAG-II
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

8.4 AIR TARIFF

The price one pays to travel by an airline is known as the airfare. This price includes a
basic fare as well as all applicable taxes and levies. It is possible to purchase a one-
way or round-trip ticket, and the fares are generally based on these trips. Even though
a ticket is for the same seat on the same aircraft, airline fares are not all created equal.
It’s difficult to keep track of all the different fares given by any airline, due to the
complexity of the carriers’ fare schedules.

As a definition, a fare or tariff is usually used in reference to air travel while the terms
rates or tariff are used with hotels. According to ATPCO (Airline Tariff Publishing
Company), a fare or tariff is not only the amount a passenger pays, it also contains the
conditions for travel at this amount – that are the rules and/or restrictions that must be
satisfied in order to qualify for a specific fare/tariff. Fares can be of two types - published,
and unpublished. While for special cases negotiated fares (corporations, or government
agencies/organizations may have fares negotiated with an airline at a lower rate) are
also available.

While booking a ticket, regardless of whether it is using a published or unpublished

fare, there are letters that are assigned to different fares. These letters indicate the class
of service, not simply indicating economy or business class, but also the type of fare
that was purchased. Now, let us discuss the types of fares in details:

1. Published Tariffs - A published fare is one that is available for purchase by

anyone. Published airfares can be purchased directly from the airline or through
any travel agent, both traditional and OTA (Online Travel Agent). You could call
the airline, or check for prices online, and published fares will be immediately
available for purchase. The rules of such fares are readily available and if there is
more than one airline offering the same fare you can count on the rules being
virtually the same.As the airline tries to maximise income for a given flight, published
fares can change many times a day. Whether purchased through a travel agency,
an internet travel agency, or the airline directly, an advertised fare will normally be
the same price.

For the passengers who are adult would be charged full published fare as normal
but there is a discount for a child less than 12years and infant less than 02years.
These discounts are as under:

 Child (should be less than 11/12Year)-25% Discount of the Adult fare

 Infant (should be less than 02Year)- 80% Discount of the Adult fare. At the
time of booking it should be kept in mind that infant hold NO SEAT, so do not
book separate seat for the infants
129
Airport Handling Types of Published Airfares based on round-trip or one-way travel are:

i. APEX Fares: These are Discounted International Fares and these fares
usually require tickets to be purchased in advance (such as 7, 14, or 21 day
minimum advance purchase). These fares will also have other restrictions,
like non-refundable, change fees, are just a few of the possible restrictions.
Usually, these kinds of fares are the cheapest fares for round trips and are
popular among the tourists who are travelling on leisure travel, and have a
fixed date of travel.

ii. Discount Fares: These fares tend to have a smaller price tag, and are offered
for a limited time (seat sales would fall into this category). They usually have a
long list of restrictions such as specific travel dates, minimum and maximum
stay(for example, a minimum Saturday night stay, a maximum 30 day stay),
etc. Unlike most published fares, it is important to make sure that you are
aware of the fare rules and restrictions on discounted (seat sale) fares because
seat sale fares come and go quickly; and the rules and restrictions can be
harder (sometimes impossible) to retrieve online.

iii. Excursion fares: These fares are lower priced fares that involve restrictions
like advance purchase, time of year, minimum/maximum stay, etc. They can
be for either domestic or international travel
iv. Unrestricted, Flexible, or Full Fares are the titles given to the most
expensive tickets. You pay for a ticket that allows you to refund or change the
ticket as necessary for fares that can be purchased at any time, even the same
day of travel. This change is also referred to as endorsing the ticket.
v. Joint Fares: These fares are offered by airlines when they share code with
another airline on select routes. They essentially give passengers a price break
when you are using more than one airline to get somewhere. Joint fares have
their own set of restrictions, not unlike those already mentioned for excursion
and discount fares.

vi. Through Fare: This is the fare to a destination reached by traveling through
a gateway city. It could be combined with any of the fare types listed above,
and used to obtain a lower price when you are not simply flying from point A
to point B, but are rather connecting through other points to get to the
destination.

vii. Group Fares: This type of fare is usually used for the groups travelling to
specific destination. Minimum number of passenger in a group should not
less than 10. Group fares can be offered by airline on querying about
availability of seats and number of passengers. Somehow these fares are
also non refundable but can be rebooked with a difference of published
fare.

It is important to note here that for the sake of profits, airlines will not offer every
seat on an aircraft at discounted fares, or excursion fares. As flights fill, the least
expensive fares disappear regardless of how far in advance it is. Other than a
passenger on a full fare ticket, one can be certain that there will be many restrictions
130
involved with the airfare- minimum/maximum stay; time of day; weekday, weekend Familiarization
with OAG-II
price differences; change fees; mileage (on through fares you maybe restricted to
a certain number of miles to get you to your destination), advance purchase; youth/
child/senior rule differences; etc. So for many fare types, even more fare rules.
Considering that airline tickets are contracts between passengers and airlines, it is
important to know what you are looking for.
2. Unpublished Fares: Unpublished fares are also known as consolidated fares
and are offered by consolidators or bucket shops. An unpublished fare works a
bit differently and if you called an airline looking for the rules to an unpublished
fare you will not find them. They are not offered for sale by the airline online or
over the phone. These can be seats that a consolidator purchased and can offer
at highly discounted rates. The fare rules could literally contain anything from
absolutely no changes allowed to free changes as long as availability exists.
They may or may not allow for advance seat selection or the accumulation of
frequent flyer miles.
As mentioned earlier, irrespective of the particular rules of each fare type, letters
are assigned by the airlines to indicate the kind of ticket and the type fare on which
the ticket has been purchased. These letters are
 F, Pare the letters most commonly used to indicate First Class.
 J, C are the letters most often used to represent Business, or Executive Class.
 Y is almost universally used to indicate a full fare economy ticket.
 B, H, L, M, V, etc. are just some of the letters indicating subclasses (reduced,
restricted, and/or discounted fares).
 X, U, R are a few of the letters commonly used to indicate a fare purchased
from a consolidator
These letters vary by airline and in value. On one airline B may be indicative of a more
expensive ticket. On another airline L may represent a ticket booked on a seat sale.

8.4.1 Bereavement Fares

Bereavement Fare refers to the fare available for one to fly for a family funeral, or to
see a terminally ill relative. During such time of emotional and mental stress, one is
unlikely to shop around for airfares. Many airlines therefore offer a bereavement fare,
or compassionate fare, that is offered only to family members traveling for a death in
the family, or imminent death. Usually, these fares have the following feature-
i. They are not always the lowest fare, but are last minute fares that can be
booked right up until departure time.
ii. They are offered for family members traveling to a funeral.
iii. They can also be offered for family members in the case of imminent death,
where a family member is gravely ill.
iv. Bereavement fares usually entail a discount off of a full fare (unrestricted fare),
and are often more expensive than the cost you would pay for a seat sale
ticket.
131
Airport Handling v. Bereavement fares tend to be very flexible, permitting free changes and stays
of up to 30 days with no minimum stay requirements.
vi. Discounts range from 10 to 75 percent off of full fare prices. The discount
most often offered is 50 percent off of full fare.
vii. In case of more than one airline to get to the destination, one will need to buy
separate tickets and ask about each airline’s policy.
viii. One can secure the discount prior to travel only if all the required information
is provided.
ix. Afewairlineswillonlyrefundthevalueofthediscountaftertraveliscompleted.
x. However, all airlines that offer bereavement fares will allow you to apply for a
refund after travel is completed (usually you must apply for a refund within 90
days after completion of all flights, along with the required documentation).
xi. Bereavement fares may not be available to all destinations offered by an airline.
There are less bereavement fares offered for traveling internationally.
xii. Where bereavement fares are offered for international travel, the value of the
discount may only be given upon return with death certificate because
information is harder to verify.
xiii. Bereavement fares are offered over the phone or in person at the airline’s
ticket counters.
xiv. Bereavement fares MUST be done via the Airline directly and not via a GDS.
It is better to have a travel agent who can call around and find the best options
for Bereavement fare and flights.
It is pertinent to note that in recent years many airlines have been cutting their bereavement
fare options.

8.4.2 Factors Impacting Airfares / Tariff

Fares and rules come together to establish an auto pricing system (identifying a fare
electronically). Tariff, carrier, rule, market, and quantity are among the 13 components
of a fare. Airlines set tariffs depending on a variety of factors, including the number of
seats available in each fare category, reservation time periods, competitor pricing on
similar flights, and the sort of passengers who will be travelling on a given aircraft.
Historical demand is examined using computer-assisted revenue management systems
to determine the number of seats made available for sale at various rates. To determine
above given prices, certain factors are responsible:
1. Seasonality- Seasonality plays a significant role in ticket pricing all across
the world. The reason a round-the-world ticket price varies by season is
simple- more people have time off during these months of the year to travel
and visit friends and family, and airlines take advantage of this.
2. Distance- Distance is the most important factor in deciding the cost of a
plane ticket. The cost of an airline ticket varies depending on the distance you
intend to travel. The higher the cost of a flight ticket, the greater the distance
132
travelled and the longer the trip duration. It is said to be nearly inextricably Familiarization
with OAG-II
linked to the flight ticket pricing structure.
3. Time of Purchase- The time of buying your tickets, makes a difference.
You’ll pay a significant premium if you buy at the last minute - often within
seven days before departure, as business travellers do (which is why airlines
love their road warriors). Domestic tickets are best purchased between three
and a half months, and two or three weeks prior to departure.
4. Class of Travel- Fare pricing and availability are now regulated by a system
of ‘booking classes.’ These are a series of letters that denote the fare level
charged and are distinct from travel class (for example, economy, premium
economy, and business class). Since their inception, they have changed and
diversified, and different airlines utilise distinct booking classes. The common
ones are- F for full-fare first class, J for full-fare business class and Y for full-
fare economy.
5. Competition- Competition is crucial in resulting fluctuating flight tariff. Since
aviation industry has no monopoly, numerous competitors have their own
pricing systems to compete with one another. You’ll notice that the airlines will
come up with innovative deals and discounts to aid their business.
6. Flight Timing- It also matters when you fly Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
often Saturdays are the cheapest days to fly due to low demand. Holidays
such as Diwali and Christmas, as well as other must-fly periods such as summer
vacations, are among the most expensive times to travel. Not just this, the
departure time of the day also affects the tariff of a particular flight. For
example- Morning and late-night flights are generally more expensive than the
others.
7. Fuel cost and other surcharges- Fuel is a significant portion of airline
expenditures, and it must be paid by fares. Airlines must analyse how prices
are changing and forecast future costs because sales are typically months in
advance(although they also hedge and fix prices in advance). Other surcharges
and taxes of a particular country also make up a good factor in deciding
airline tariffs.
While we are discussing OAG and Air fare in this Unit, let us also understand another
factor that plays an important role in determining the fare – Global Indicator.

8.5 GLOBAL INDICATORS

Global Indicators are two letter codes used for fare construction in the aviation industry
to determine the routing to which the fare applies. They give a platform for developing
safety and air navigation indicators in a consistent manner. The indicators can be utilised
as Safety Performance Indicators (SPI) to support the effective implementation of State
Safety Programs (SSP) and Safety Management Systems (SMS) in countries and industry.
Global Indicator assignment is one of the first steps in the construction of fares. Unless
one is able to identify the correct global indicator for a routing, one will most probably
end up choosing the wrong fare for the itinerary. Hence learning Global indicators is Vital.
In the airline industry, there are nine worldwide indicators that are employed. 133
Airport Handling

Figure 8.1: Global Indicators

134 Source: iata.org
The fundamental routing that the fare applies to is indicated by a two-letter indicator Familiarization
with OAG-II
used in tariff design. In the airline industry, there are nine worldwide indicators that are
employed.
1. Atlantic and Pacific Route (AP) - Through the Atlantic and Pacific between
Areas 2 and 3.
2. Atlantic Route (AT) - via the Atlantic between Area 1 and 2/ Area 3 (Other than
SA)
3. Eastern Hemisphere (EH) -
- inside Area 2 or within Area 3 (other than TS/RU/FE)
- between Area 2 and Area 3 through Eastern Hemisphere
4. Far East (FE) - between Russia (in Europe)/Ukraine and Area 3 with nonstop
service between Russia (in Europe)/Ukraine and Area 3 other than Japan, Korea
(Dem. People’s Rep. of), Korea (Rep. of)
5. Pacific Route (PA) - between Area 3 and Area 1 via Pacific (other than between
SWP and South America via North America and North/ Central Pacific)
- not eligible for non-stop services between Canada/USA and the South Asian
Subcontinent
- between TC1 and TC2 (through the Pacific and TC3) PN between South
America and the South West Pacific via North America but not via Area 3
except SWP
6. Russian (RU) - between Russia (in Europe) and Area 3 provides nonstop service
between Russia (in Europe) and Japan, Korea (Democratic People’s Republic
of), and Korea (Republic of); not via another European country (Ies).
7. South Asian (SA) - via the Atlantic only via point(s) in South East Asia, South
Asian Subcontinent, Korea (Dem. People’s Rep. of), Korea (Rep. of), South
Atlantic Area, Central Africa, Southern Africa, Indian Ocean Islands, or via direct
transatlantic services between Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and
South East Asia, South Asian Subcontinent, Korea (Dem. People’s Rep. of),
Korea (Rep. of), South Atlantic Area, Central Africa, Southern Africa, Indian
Ocean Islands
8. Trans Siberain Route (TS) - between Areas 2 and 3 (Trans-Siberian route),
with a sector providing nonstop service between Europe and Japan, Korea
(Democratic People’s Republic of), Korea (Republic of) (other than RU/FE)
9. Western Hemisphere (WH) - within Area 1 (Western Hemisphere)
These indicators also assist users analyse aviation data, extract actionable
information, and make data-driven decisions, resulting in greater capacity and
efficiency.

8.6 MODES OF PAYMENT

In today’s environment, purchasing an aeroplane ticket is quite convenient. To purchase
a ticket in the past, you had to go to an airport or a travel office. Today, purchasing 135
Airport Handling tickets is quick and easy thanks to the Internet, and many airlines accept a variety of
payment methods. The most common ones are:
1. Paypal- With over 100 million active PayPal accounts worldwide, this mode of
payment is becoming increasingly popular among online customers. Several airlines
allow customers to buy tickets online and pay with PayPal, which establishes a
secure connection between your bank account and the vendor. There may be
several exceptions of course.
2. Bank Transfer - This service is often only provided to certain banks or consumers.
They demand that funds be transferred to the appropriate account using a local
bank ATM or your online banking website.
3. Cash - It is quite a prevalent mode of payment when purchasing physically through
an agent or at the airline kiosk. In most of the cases either there is an emergency or
the customers don’t possess other methods of payment.
4. Gift Cards/Reward Points - Gift cards/reward points are an acceptable means
of payment whether you buy your aircraft ticket straight from an airline or through
a third-party travel company. Many airlines accept them for full or partial payment
in a range of denominations. Third-party websites also provide gift card that can
be used for flights, hotels, and other travel-related bookings, as well as incentives
earned from past transactions. These are great for frequent travellers who can use
the money on the card to pay for their flight.
5. Debit Cards - One of the most commonly used modes of payment. Debit cards
are an easy swipe and go method to pay for flight tickets without a worry of any
credit over you. The amount directly gets deducted from the bank account linked.
6. Credit Cards - Almost all airlines accept credit cards as a form of payment, whether
you buy tickets in person, through a travel agent, or on the airline’s website. A credit
card is also a legitimate means of payment if you purchase your plane ticket from a
third-party website. Some airlines allow you to purchase a ticket online using your
credit card in a safe manner, as long as the card passes security requirements.
Out of all these modes of payment, Credit cards are the most popular one. These
come in various types:
- Visa
- MasterCard
- Amex
- Diners Club
- RuPay
- Maestro
Most airlines and/or airport lounges have special access or facilities for certain
types of credit card holders. A few common benefits of paying through a credit
card are:
1. Accumulating rewards - This is one of the most common and best features of
almost all credit cards. With every purchase you accumulate reward points which
can be redeemed in various ways for several types of services, be it flight ticket or
else. Many airlines assign frequent flyer points as well to certain credit card holders
136 for their frequent purchases through that particular card.
2. Lounge Access - Several airlines/airports provide free access or special services Familiarization
with OAG-II
to certain credit card holders. A privilege no one would say no to.
3. Credit Score - Paying through credit cards and clearing the liabilities in time,
improved your credit score enabling for many more credit facilities in future. It
also puts you in the good books of tax authorities as well.
4. Check in Privileges - Sometimes a few airlines may provide speedy check in
services with free upgrade, etc. if you are in possession of a certain credit card
used for frequent flying.

Check Your Progress-2

1) List out the types of Tariffs an airline has.

8.7 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have explained the working of OAG. OAG makes the task of the
reservation agent, coordinator and as well as the air traffic controller easier by providing
updated and accurate information. Reading OAG from left to right we can find flights
to our destination city. IATA codes are very important for anyone wanting to use the
OAG since the name of the cities, airport as well as the Airline are mentioned in OAG
in the form of codes. Deciphering the OAG is all about finding the correct flight and
airline based on the itinerary. Knowing how to use OAG is one of the most important
things to be referred to when planning an itinerary for air travel. Minimum Connecting
Time (MCT) for different sectors is important and must be considered while preparing
air travel itinerary.
Air Tariff an important part of air travel and its types like, published and unpublished
tariffs, as well as bereavement fare were explained. Though many airlines are no longer
offering bereavement air fare. Factors like seasonality, day of the week, timing and
competition, among other things greatly impact the pricing of a flight ticket. This Unit
covers the theoretical aspects of the topics however, when practised in real life things
can be different depending on the situations, ever changing policies, and other factors.

8.8 FURTHER READINGS

 Air Fares and Ticketing by Doris S. Davidoff and Philip G. Davidoff
 Airline Operations and Management by Gerald N. Cook and Bruce G. Billig
137
Airport Handling  The Future of Pricing by Boyd, E.
 Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey by G R Gopinath Captain

8.9 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress-1

1) Refer 8.1
2) Refer 8.2
3) Refer 8.3

Check Your Progress-2

1) Refer 8.4
2) Refer 8.4.2

8.10 ACTIVITY
Visit a nearby Travel Agency and see if they have a printed (old) OAG for you to refer
to or check out sample pages of OAG online and try to read the information on the
pages using codes.

138
Familiarization
UNIT 9 FAMILIARIZATION WITH TRAVEL with OAG-II

INFORMATION MANUAL (TIM)

Structure

9.0 Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 How to Read TIM Passports
9.2.1 Types of Passports
9.2.2 Checking Passports
9.2.3 Information from the Passports
9.3 How to Read TIM VISAs
9.3.1 Types of VISA
9.3.2 Validity of VISA
9.4 How to Read TIM Health
9.5 How to Read TIM Tax
9.6 How to Read TIM Customs
9.7 How to Read TIM Currency
9.8 Travel Insurance
9.9 TIMATIC
9.10 Let Us Sum Up
9.11 Further Readings
9.12 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
9.13 Activity

9.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 explain the role and importance of TIM in aviation sector
 list and describe the types of information that can be found in TIM.
 interpret the information in TIM regarding passports, VISA, health, and other
regulations;
 perform the role of a travel agent with accuracy and efficiency.

9.1 INTRODUCTION
International travel always requires a multitude of documents and formalities; and these
documents are not uniform universally. Documentation rather depends on the country
of origin and destination, transit countries, purpose of travel, type of residency, type of
passport, as well as health conditions. In the current pandemic and health scares globally
the health status has become all the more important as governments are trying to cope
Up with the spreading infection. Travel agents and airlines need to have a comprehensive 139
Airport Handling book of information that will give information for all the countries globally. Travel
Information Manual or TIM, as it is popularly known, is a practical and handy manual
containing up-to-date entry regulations for air travelers, and is published by INDP (i.e.
IATA Netherlands Data Publications).
Airlines and Travel Agents, both, depend on TIM to provide advice on the
documentations required for travelling internationally to the passengers, at the time of
booking. Airlines also use it at the time of boarding to ensure passengers have sufficient
travel documents for their destination and any transit points. In case any passenger
does not have the required travel documents they maybe barred by the airlines from
travelling abroad. TIM is the world’s leading source for information on air travel
requirements. It has an extensive network of sources from the travel industry, immigration
authorities and World Health Organization to ensure reliable and comprehensive
information for the people serving the travel industry. Earlier, TIM was published monthly;
now the digital version of TIM is available is updated every month.
TIM is the world’s leading source of Passport, Visa, Health, Airport Tax, Customs
and Currency documentation cum regulation rulebook for passengers and it is the
most reliable or trustworthy name in the air industry for travel. It has been providing
excellent information since its inception i.e. from 1963 for travel. TIM contains
information on travel procedures, restrictions and regulations for more than 200
Countries. Like a dictionary, TIM is arranged under country heads and is
alphabetically arranged. Under each head there are sub-headings from which
information about a certain country can be extracted. There are six section or heads
in TIM, namely-
i. Passport
ii. Visa
iii. Health
iv. Airport Tax
v. Customs
vi. Currency
In this unit we will discuss these six sections of TIM and how they are read and
interpreted for the purpose of air travel. The use of each section will be discussed as it
is important for tourism professional to be able to access and use TIM. One thing
noteworthy is that the information contained in TIM is only applicable to the passengers
travelling byAir. Different regulations may apply to passengers travelling and arriving in
a country overland or by sea. It is therefore advisable to check specific regulations
with embassy or consulate of the country concerned.

Check Your Progress-1

1. What do you understand by TIM?

9.2 HOW TO READ TIM PASSPORTS

Passports and visas were not required for travel between countries in Western Europe
in late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was only after World War I did passports and
visas become widely accepted as necessary travel documentation. Passports and visas
were essentially the same type of travel credentials in ancient times. We will discuss
about Passport in this section and about VISA in the next.
Passport is a document for travel and it is issued by the government of a country of
residence which certifies the nationality or the identity of its holder. It is basically helpful
for international travel. They are customary documents which contains various
information related to a citizen of a country such as his/her name (First & Surname),
date of birth, place of birth, Photograph, signature etc. It helps to identify an individual
and at times it may have a bar code which makes it a machine readable passport.
Every traveler needs to hold a valid passport or equivalent document for all international
travel. TIM under each country will show a different validity of the passport for the
tourist/traveler to enter. Most of the countries require a validity of six months but countries
like UK, USA require a passport to be valid for a minimum of one year duration.
Indeed it is the agent’s responsibility to ensure that client’s understand their
responsibilities and obtain all necessary information and documentation needed for
their journey.

9.2.1 Types of Passport

Types of Passports as issued by Indian government are mentioned below:
1. Ordinary Passport (also known as a tourist or normalpassport): This form
of passport is issued to citizens and other nationals and is the most common.
2. Official Passport (service passport, often known as a special passport):
Issued to government personnel and their dependents for work-related travel.
3. Diplomatic Passport: Issued to diplomats and other government officials
for overseas travel linked to their jobs, as well as their dependents. Although
Most people who have diplomatic immunity have diplomatic passports, just
holding a diplomatic passport does not imply diplomatic immunity. Government
of the country must provide diplomatic status, which includes diplomatic
immunity as a benefit.
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Airport Handling 4. Emergency Passport (temporary passport): Issued to people whose
passports have been lost or stolen and who do not have enough time to get
new ones. This is when the term laissez-passer comes in handy. National
governments issue Laissez-Passer (Let Me Pass) passports as emergency
passports or for humanitarian travel. International organisations (most notably
the United Nations) also provide laissez-passer to its officers and workers
for official travel.
5. Family Passport/Joint Passport: This is a passport that is issued to family
members such as the father, mother, son, and daughter. There is only one
person who has a passport. The passport bearer has the option of travelling
alone or with one or more family members. A family member who is not the
passport holder is not permitted to travel without the permission of the passport
holder.
In case you are a passport holder or need to advice a client about getting a passport,
you need to know the difference between the terms renew and reissue. Renew refers
to extending the validity of a passport while Reissue means a new passort is reissued in
case a new one is required due to change in information.
Trend of countries using the biometric information in a microchip embedded in the
passport is fast becoming popular. These biometric passports store information for
identification purpose which may be in the form of facial recognition, eye or iris
recognition or fingerprint recognition. In the recent pandemic times most of the airports
like Dubai International Airport, Heathrow International Airport etc, have adapted
“no touch system”. The chip in the machine stores the digital image of each biometric
feature of the traveller. The evaluation (appraisal or comparison) of biometric data is
done exterior to the chip of the passport through e-borders (i.e. electronic border)
control systems.

9.2.2 Checking Passport

To check the passport requirements using TIM the following procedures are outlined
below:
1. Step 1
Establish the nationality as on the passport or ID document, the client will be
travelling on. This is mandatory as some countries allow dual nationality or
some people hold two kinds of travel document example: Mr. Shah wants to
travel to Dubai and hold a refugee card from Palestine and may have an
Australian Passport. An Australian passport Mr. Shaw will get a visa on arrival
but for the refugee card Mr. Shaw needs to have a visa in advance. A more
humble way of enquiring a customer is to ask her/him about the travel document,
on which she/he intends to travel.
A good standard operating procedure is to request for a copy of the client’s
travel document/ passport.
2. Step 2
Next step involves establishing all countries to be visited or transited. Often a
common error committed by travel professionals or the traveler is to ignore
the transit countries which can pose a problem. Example: A traveler with
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Indian passport travelling to Costa Rica transiting through New York, requires Familiarization with Travel
Information Manual (TIM)
an American transit visa ; while a client with an Australian passport doing the
same will not require the transit visa.
Best practice is to read the entire passport section of each country. All the
countries are listed in alphabetic order.
3. STEP 3
Validity will also be mentioned for a traveler as and when he/she enters the
country. Continuing with the example of Egypt, it states that each visitor passport
must be valid for three months beyond the intended period of stay.
Let’s check another example, that is of Bahamas. The exemption section of
Bahamas includes exemption of passport requirement for Canadian and
American passport holders. Others need a validity of six months. Often a
warning is mentioned in this particular case that passengers travelling to
Bahamas via the US should hold correct transit visa of US. It is indicative of
an agreement between Bahamas and US.
At times, in the TIM, subhead in the passport section may have sections
like - PASSPORT Required except for holders of:
The above information means that every passenger requires a passport to
enter the country unless they are the passenger who holds certain other
document which provides them exemption. Thus, there is a list of exemption.
For example, Egypt section shows that holders of Laissez Passer issued by
United Nations or to Palestinians by Jordan, Lebanon, Syria etc. will not in
addition require a passport to enter Egypt.
To acquaint or to know more about or the Laissez Passer document one can
refer to the front section of the TIM. It will be found under the head Terms
and Definitions, in the section about type of passports and other travel
document. As a travel professional one need to understand what a laissez
passer is or any other similar document is and who all are entitled for it. This
will allow one to give proper advice to the passenger holding the Laissez
Passer document that they are exempted from needing a passport to enter a
particular country.

9.2.3 Information from the Passport

Summarizing the type of information found in the passport section of TIM:
i. EXEMPTIONS: Individuals exempt from needing a passport to gain entry
into country.
ii. VALIDITY: The time period for which the passport is valid.
iii. ADMISSION/TRANSIT RESTRICTIONS: Details of circumstances and/
or persons who will be refused entry or possibly transit through the country.
iv. ADDITIONALINFORMATION: This will illustrate any further notes relating
to the laws of the country concerned. For example visitor to certain countries
maybe required to register themselves with the police or an authority within a
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Airport Handling stated number of days of arrival. For examples: Pakistan nationals arriving in
India need to register themselves with the local intelligence unit (LIU) of the
city/district they intend to stay at and have sought permission for.
v. MINORS: Occasionally country information details regulations relating to the
minors under the age of 16 travelling in and out of the country. Example;
restrictions on minor travel existed earlier in the Middle East as the minors
were at risk of being used as camel jockeys.
The section should not be browsed or skipped but be read properly and carefully.
Few precautions need to be taken, as under:
i. If the client is making any transit stops, then the passport information of that
country must be checked. Problems are often caused because agents failed
to check passport requirement of transit countries.
ii. In addition, the information given in TIM is often qualified or supplemented
by a note, which appears as a number inside a black box. This should be read
too as it contains supplementary information.

9.3 HOW TO READ TIM VISAS

Visa is a government document or authority which allows a person or applicant to
visit a foreign country in a legal way. VISA or Visitor Intended to Stay Abroad,
allows an individual or the bearer to live in a particular country for a fixed duration or
even the number of permitted visits or even permit to work in a country. It may also
allow an individual to enter a particular region, district or a destination. In each
instance, a visa is subject to entry permission by an immigration official at the time of
actual entry, and can be revoked at anytime. The visa may be present on the passport
in form of a stamp or a sticker or a print document or even an electronic record of
authorization.
Visas have evolved into distinct secondary travel documents in the modern world, with
passports serving as the primary travel documents. As, the profile of applicants may
vary such as an ordinary citizen, diplomat, defense personnel etc., the type of Visa also
varies to meet the requirement of the traveller/ tourists.

9.3.1 Types of VISA

Each country has a plethora of visa types, each with its own set of titles. Few VISAs
are mentioned below:
1. Transit VISA is required to go from one country to another. Transit visa’s
validity is usually limited to a few hours to ten days, depending on the size of
the country and/or the circumstances of a particular transit itinerary.
 Airside transit visa, required by some countries for passing through their
airports without passing through passport control.
 Crew member, steward, or driver; visas are issued to persons employed
or trained on aircraft, vessels, trains, trucks, buses, and any other means
of international transportation, or ships fishing in international waters, and
are required by some countries to pass through their airports even without
going through passport control.
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2. For short visits to the host nation, a short-stay or visiting VISA is available. Familiarization with Travel
Information Manual (TIM)
Many nations distinguish between distinct types of trips, such as:
 private visas for private visits by invitation of country inhabitants.
 Tourist visa, valid for a limited time of pleasure travel with no business
activity permitted;
 Medical visa, valid for diagnosis or treatment in the host country’s hospitals.
 A business visa allows you to conduct business in the country. These
visas often preclude permanent employment, which would necessitate a
work visa.
 Working holiday visa, which allows young people to work for a period of
time while travelling between countries that provide a working holiday
programme.
 Athletes and performing artists (together with their support crew) are
granted an athletic or artistic visa.
 Cultural exchange visa, which is frequently given to sportsmen and
performers who are taking part in a cultural exchange programme.
 A refugee visa is given to people who are fleeing persecution, a conflict,
or a natural disaster.
3. Long-stay VISAs are valid for longer yet limited periods of time:
 student visa, which allows the holder to study at a higher education
institution in the issuing nation;
 temporary worker visa, which allows the holder to work in the host
country. These are more difficult to obtain than business visas, although
they are valid for longer periods of time. The H-1B and L-1 visas in the
United States are examples of this. The status of a temporary worker
may or may not grow into that of a permanent resident or naturalised
citizen, depending on the country.
 Journalist visas are required by various nations when journalists travel for
their respective news companies. Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia,
and the United States (I-visa) are among the countries that insist on this.
 A residence visa is issued to persons who wish to live in the host country
for an extended period of time. Long-term residence is required in some
countries to obtain permanent residency status.
 Asylum visas are granted to people who have faced or are likely to face
persecution in their home country as a result of their political activities,
opinions, or physical characteristics, or affiliation with a social group.
4. E-visa (Electronic visa) is stored in a database and not stamped or glued,
rather it would be a paper document given for travelling.
5. Immigrant (to let a bearer live permanently in a country) Vs. Non- immigrant
VISAs (to let a bearer to live temporarily in a country).
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Airport Handling 6. Schengen VISAs is Europe’s most widely used visa. It allows its holder to
enter, freely travel within, and exit the Schengen zone from any Schengen
member country. In the Schengen Area, there are no border restrictions. This
visa allows you to visit 26 European countries as many times as you like
within five years, as long as you don’t stay over the 90/180 day limit.
TIM’s information should be read in its entirety. The visa section assumes that all
nationals need visas except for those listed. Checking for visas is similar to passports.
Warning is also applicable to passenger who show up without proper papers and are
deported. Example for, in the VISA for Zimbabwe it states a warning:
Visas Warning says non compliance with the entry regulations will result in
refusal of entry and deportation of passenger to the point of origin.
The warning above states that the people who arrive into Zimbabwe without the proper
travel document will not be permitted to enter the country and will be deported back
from where they have travelled.
Example may also be of the country of origin where it is not mandatory that a passenger
needs to be vaccinated for COVID SAR2 but at the destination, Covid vaccination is
a mandatory requirement. So when a passenger arrives at the destination the papers
are considered incomplete and the passenger is deported. With more vigilant immigration
staff and automated check in process, a passenger without the necessary VISA
documents will not be allowed to board.
Taking example of Jordan, it mentions six exemptions for a visa entry into Jordan.
Abbreviations like TWOV is used which stands for Transit Without Visa means that
transit without a visa is permissible for special listed people. Time constraints may also
be important for a transit passenger. In this case of Jordan, passenger transiting for less
than six hours and does not intend to leave the airport area then no visa is required. In
case the transit passenger is travelling to another country within 24 hours of arrival into
Jordan they will not need a visa too, fulfilling the condition that they leave their passports
with the immigration.
There maybe Additional Information columns like in the case of Jordan it states that
travelers need to hold onward or return tickets. Also mentions that exit/re-entry permits
needed for Jordan for few such as those mentioned as Performing Artists on Artists
Visa (a singer for a show); and while exiting they should obtain a clearance certificate
from Income Tax Department.

9.3.2 Validity of VISA

VISA like passport has a validity period - the period of time between the granting of
your visa and the date on which it expires is referred to as visa validity. The visa validity
refers to the amount of time you are allowed to travel to a port of entry. Visas can
range from a single entry(application) to multiple/unlimited entries, depending on the
nationality.
i. A single-entry visa entitles the holder to only one entry into the nation.
As the name suggest, single entry VISA means one can enter only once into the
country of granting VISA. If you leave its jurisdiction, you must apply for a new
visa before returning. This is sufficient for the majority of trips and vacations.
Single-entry VISA is usually less expensive and easier to obtain.
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ii. A multiple-entry visa allows the holder to enter the country many times. Familiarization with Travel
Information Manual (TIM)
Multiple- entry VISA as the name suggests allows the traveler more than one
entry into the country of issuing Visa using that one visa. The terms of multiple-
entry visas differ based on the nation from which they are issued. While the visa is
still valid, the number of entries is often unrestricted. Multiple-entry VISAs, for
example, are divided into sub-types such as double-entry and triple- entry visas.
Multiple-entry visas, in most situations, allow the holder to enter the country of
issue an infinite number of times until the visa expires.

Check Your Progress-2

1) What are the different types of Passport? List two important information found in
Passport section of TIM.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
2) What is the difference between Transit/ Short/ Long term Visa? Cite with an
example each.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................

9.4 HOW TO READ TIM HEALTH

Health is very important matter of concern for entry into any country. Each country has
established certain health related requirements such as vaccination. For checking the
passenger’s health requirement for travelling, the following steps are involved
1. Establishing all the countries to be visited, in case the client is travelling to
more than one country
2. The order of visiting the countries is also of utmost importance. Since health
requirements can be different when one is flying out from different countries.
3. One needs to check the individual country listings under the heading “ Health”.
The infectious diseases included in TIM are selected on the basis of:
a. Diseases that have a sufficiently high global or regional prevalence to
constitute a significant risk for travelers;
a. b. Diseases that are severe and life-threatening, even though the risk of
exposure may be low for most travelers;
c. Diseases for which the perceived risk may be much greater than the real
risk, and which may therefore cause anxiety to travelers;
d. Diseases that involve a public health risk due to transmission of infection
to others by the infected traveler.
147
Airport Handling Picking up examples from Tanzania - the health box in TIM will include a small number
in a black box. This number refers to the GHI (General Health Information) section at
the starting of the TIM. The section provides further information on the areas where
infectious diseases such as yellow fever, cholera are endemic. GIH section will contain
diseases in alphabetical order; and the infected and endemic countries, areas, regions
are also mentioned. A travel professional needs to know that all the countries who are
signatories to WHO are bound by it (countries like Australia are not bound).
A world map with colors representing different diseases illustrates the endemic and
epidemic areas. For checking the certificate of vaccination, it is necessary to check
carefully the health regulations of:
 country of destination.
 country of departure (also for returning if applicable).
 transit stations.
A passenger will be asked to show the ‘Certificate of Vaccination’ wherever it is thus
mentioned in the GHI.A separate section for “Transit Documents Check”-”Vaccination
Certificates” exists and need to be checked while preparing the itinerary for a client.
Therefore, it is advisable for a passenger to contact his family doctor or the proper
authorities according to the regulations which are in force in the country of departure,
to get the proper vaccination completed. Common vaccination asked for are Yellow
Fever and Cholera vaccination and usually take up to 20 days to complete the
vaccination process. However the actual order of vaccination is very much a personal
decision of the physician concerned, based on both the country of departure and
expectations at the country of arrival.
The “International Certificates of Vaccination” booklet, which can be ordered from an
air carrier, must be duly filled in, signed by the proper authority. The International
Certificates of Vaccination in addition to being issued by country health administrations,
are also valid when originating from the health services of specialized agencies of the
United Nations, like FAO, UNESCO, WHO etc. These certificates should be signed
by the vaccinator and carry the official stamp of the agency concerned. To be valid in
international traffic, vaccination certificates must be printed in English and French; and
a third language may be added. Loose vaccination certificate are accepted if they are
in the same format.
In case of health suspicion with respect to PASSENGER, the passenger maybe put in
under the following conditions:
i. SURVEILLANCE: Passengers may be put under medical surveillance for
the period of incubation, calculated from the day of departure, in the event of
missing invalid certificate of vaccination.
ii. QUARANTINE: In case of missing/invalid certificates of vaccination
passengers may be placed in quarantine. (Note for airline station managers:
Whenevertheofficialhealthauthoritiesplaceanarrivingpassengerinquarantine a
detailed report should be sent in order to enable the carrier’s head office to
contact, if necessary, the WHO Geneva).
iii. CORONACOVID SARS VACCINATION/HEALTH PRECAUTION
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 The Passenger should be physically fir. Familiarization with Travel
Information Manual (TIM)
 Should carry a RTPCR test report 96 hours prior to travel.
 The rules keep on changing as still the travel world is adjusting to this new
challenge.
In case of health suspicion with respect to AIRLINES, aircraft may be put under:
i. DETENTION: Aircraft may be detained for a very brief period for the
purpose of disinfection if it carried on board a case of cholera or yellow
fever among its passengers.
ii. CORONACOVID SARS VACCINATION/HEALTH PRECAUTION
 The operations of the airlines will be suspended. Then the bubble
agreement process will be started.

9.5 HOW TO READ TIM TAX

Taxes play a vital role in the economic growth and development of a country. Revenue
from airport taxation plays an important role in the facility maintenance and development
of infrastructure of an airport. In TIM you will find information related to the collection
of airport taxes. An airport tax is a tax levied on passengers for passing through an
airport. These taxes will be listed for all the countries in TIM. For example taking the
case of Cuba, the box of Cuba would look like:
Tax: Airport Service Charge is levied on passenger leaving from:
i. Varadero or Havana Airport: USD 20
ii. All other airports: USD 15
Place of payment: Airport of departure. Exempt are:
 Diplomats based and accredited in CUBA;
 Children under 2 years;
 Transit passenger not leaving the transit area;
 Government employees travelling on duty.
 All the details of tax are provided.
Some countries charge a departure tax only when a person is leaving by air. Various
rules apply to the payment of the tax, including payment at the airport to those about to
catch a flight (sometimes only in the local currency and sometimes by credit card), or
by some prepayment method, or it may be charged to the airlines and included in the
airline ticket price.

9.6 HOW TO READ TIM CUSTOMS

The term Customs refer to the regulations governing the import and export of articles
carried as luggage or cargo by passengers and airlines. TIM’s customs regulation
stipulate for each country listed what items are permitted or prohibited. The Customs
section of TIM describes regulations relating to: 149
Airport Handling  Import and export allowance
 Baggage clearance
 Wild flora and fauna
 Prohibited articles
 Pets
 Firearms and other weapons
Custom regulations describe what passengers and airlines are allowed to carry as
luggage; and transport into and out of countries. These are rules covering a large variety
of items and as a general principle apply to many countries. One thing worth noting is
that all holiday purchases and gifts are subject to custom regulations.
Many countries for example are members of the Convention on the International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). There is a system through
which the international trade in endangered species is regulated. CITES does not just
govern the transportation of live animals and plants but also their parts and derivatives.
A complete list of protected species is published in IATA Live Animals Regulations.
Although travel agents are rarely involved in arrangements for the transport of such
goods, it is wise to be aware of the existence of CITES and how the client’s overseas
purchases may be affected. Pets for the purpose of TIM are considered to be cats,
dogs or pet birds. The regulation applies to pets only if they are:
 Accompanied by a passenger as personal baggage either in the cabin (if
allowed) or in the hold of the aircraft.
 Second important point is that it is not destined for commercial purposes.
Still it is advisable that when a passenger intends to transport a pet the agent must
consult the carrier and enquire if this is permitted. Most authorities require vaccination
certificates for cats and dogs, as well as veterinarian’s health certificate issued at the
point of departure. Some countries also insist on an import permit and in certain cases
animals have to undergo a period of quarantine.
Restrictions may also apply to transiting animals. Indeed import or transit of certain
animals may be prohibited altogether. Therefore it is wise to check the applicable
regulations before making any travel arrangements. It is also necessary to consult the
airlines, as they may have their own regulations concerning the transport of animals. A
country’s custom information as described in the TIM may be lengthy and may span
several pages. However the information is very simple to follow and needs to be checked
carefully to ensure that the passengers are aware of the regulations.

9.7 HOW TO READ TIM CURRENCY

Currency is one of the most important information provided by TIM. All countries in
the world do not follow the same currency system and neither does all of them allow
the same amount of currency to be carried into the country. TIM comes in handy as it
provides currency comprising of the following elements:
 Name of the country’s currency and its three letter abbreviation.
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 Limits, if any, of local and foreign currency that an individual is allowed to Familiarization with Travel
Information Manual (TIM)
import and export. These limits may differ between non residents and
residents.
 Conditions applicable to import and export of stated limits (if any).
 Restrictions, if any, applying to imports of precious metals such as gold and
silver.
 The currency section of TIM shows a country’s currency and its three letter
code.
 Travellers should be aware of the penalties for not complying with the
regulations. These range from heavy fines to imprisonment in many countries.
The individual country entries appear under a heading ‘currency’ and are
normally short sections which are clearly stated.
Apart from this, passengers must be aware how much of foreign currency is permitted
by any nation from/to the destination. For example in India the currency rule state:
 Local Currency (INR) 25,000/- max can be carried inside. (Not allowed for
nationals of Pakistan and Bangladesh residing outside of India.
 Foreign currency amounts exceeding USD 5,000 (or equivalent) in cash, or
USD 9,000 (or equivalent) in traveler’s cheques must be declared.
Currency import and export regulation is where FEMA(Foreign Exchange Management
Act) comes into the picture. According to this act, “All residents, including minors, are
able to remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year(April – March) for any permissible
current or capital account transaction, or a combination of the two.”
FEMA(Foreign Exchange Management Act) was adopted in 1999 to replace FERA
(Foreign Exchange Regulation Act). The objective of FEMA is to facilitate external
trade and payments and assist in the orderly development and maintenance of the
Indian Forex market. FEMA was created to address all of the flaws and shortcomings
of FERA and as a result, it enacted a number of economic reforms (major reforms). It
applies on:
- Foreign exchange.
- Foreign security.
- Export of any commodity and/or service from India to a country outside
India.
- Import of any commodity and/or services from outside India.
- Securities as defined under Public Debt Act 1994.
- Purchase, sale and exchange of any kind (i.e. Transfer).
- Banking, financial and insurance services.
- Any overseas company owned by an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) and the
owner is 60% or more.
- Any citizen of India, residing in the country or outside (NRI).
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Airport Handling
9.8 TRAVEL INSURANCE
Travel insurance is always advisable especially when one is travelling abroad. Travel
insurance is a type of insurance that covers both medical and financial problems that
may occur while travelling abroad. To that purpose, there are a variety of travel insurance
policies available that provide different type of coverage while travelling abroad. These
insurance plans provide benefits such as
 lost or delayed checked baggage,
 loss of important documents such as passports,
 personal accidents, and medical expenditures including dental treatment,
transportation to the hospital, and a daily hospital stipend
 personal liability and personal accident coverage,
 compensation in the event of a hijacking, and
 coverage for financial emergency assistance.
Although travel insurance may appear to most people to be an unnecessary investment,
but like immunizations, it is one of the many things that one must have when travelling.
Travel insurance, in addition to being a legal obligation, provides coverage for a variety
of emergencies, as discussed above. Hence, travel insurance is a must-have and an
unquestionably wise purchase when travelling, especially internationally.

9.9 TIMATIC
Technological improvements in modern time have now made TIM available digitally,
known TIMATIC, both in the GDS as well as in the web based platform. TIMATIC
stands for Travel Information Manual Automatic and is used by airlines to determine
whether a passenger can be carried, as well as by airlines and travel agents to provide
this information to travellers at the time of booking tickets (IATA). TIMATIC is the
database containing cross border passenger documentation requirements (IATA). This
is critical for airlines due to fines levied by immigration authorities every time a passenger
is carried who does not have the correct travel documentation. The information contained
in TIMATIC are about:
 Passport requirements and recommendations
 Visa requirements and recommendations
 Health requirements and recommendations
 Airport tax to be paid by the traveler at either departure or arrival airport
 Customs regulations relating to import/export of goods and small pets by a
passenger
 Currency regulations relating to import and export by a passenger
 Contains requirement for every nationality going to every country
 Serve as reservation and departure control systems
152
This digitally available TIMATIC is highly beneficial for the travel industry since the Familiarization with Travel
Information Manual (TIM)
information is available online. This has:
 Reduced fines and repatriation costs
 Reduced operational and staffing requirements
 Reduced training costs
 Increased penetration of self-service check-In
 Enhanced customer experience

Check Your Progress-3

1) List 5 countries each for which Yellow fever and Cholera vaccination is required?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
2) Mention the fields where FEMA can be applied.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
3) List the key benefits of TIMATIC.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................

9.10 LET US SUM UP

To understand the concept of TIM and be able to properly read it is a mandatory
requirement for a travel agent. The travel professional needs to read and apply
information supplied by TIM, relating to regulation for passports, visas, health, customs
and currency while preparing an itinerary for the clients. Travel professional should
also be able to provide correct and up to date information to the customer with the
help of TIM. Information in TIM may be lengthy and may span several pages since
it covers many areas of concern. However the information is very simple to follow
and needs to be checked carefully to ensure that the passengers are aware of the
regulations.

9.11 FURTHER READINGS

 Travel Information Manual: An IATA Publication
 TIMATIC on GDS (online resource)
153
Airport Handling
9.12 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES

Check Your Progress-1

1) Refer 9.1
2) Refer 9.1
3) Refer 9.1

Check Your Progress-2

1) Refer 9.2
2) Refer 9.2
3) Refer 9.3

Check Your Progress-3

1) Refer A& B 9.4

2) Refer 9.7
3) Refer 9.9

9.13 ACTIVITY
Try searching the parameters mentioned in the TIM for visiting at least two countries
from each continent. Ask your friends to do the same and then compare the requirements
between different countries.

154
Passenger Handling
UNIT 10 PASSENGER HANDLING SERVICES
Structure

10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Embarkation and Disembarkation
10.3 Responsibilities of Passenger Handling
10.3.1 Out of Pocket Expenses (OPE)
10.4 Passenger with Special Needs
10.5 Challenges of Passenger Handling
10.6 Let Us Sum Up
10.7 Further Readings
10.8 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
10.9 Activities

10.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
 explain the ticketing procedure,
 define the embarkation and disembarkation process,
 describe the steps of embarkation and disembarkation,
 discuss the responsibilities of passenger handling,
 identify and list the situations of passengers with special needs,
 define out of pocket expenses; and
 discuss the challenges of passenger handling.

10.1 INTRODUCTION
A passenger with respect to air travel is someone who travels in the aircraft of an airline
but is neither piloting it nor working on it. A passenger needs to have valid documents
and contract of carriage to be permitted to enter the airport as well as to board a flight
or disembark from the flight and enter the destination city. The contract of carriage
between the airline and the passenger is referred to as a passenger ticket. Passengers
must retain their passenger tickets with them at all times when travelling since they are
necessary right from for entering the airport, check-in as well as security, immigration
procedures and boarding the flight. Information reflected in the ticket / contract of
carriage between passenger and airline include the necessary information and notices
for travel, such as the Passenger’s Name, Itinerary, Fare, PNR (Passenger Name
Record), Departure/Arrival Gate(Optional), Value Added Services if any (Free Meals,
etc.), Code Share Flight if applicable, Stop Over Details if applicable, etc. These
tickets may or may not be refundable but they are definitely non-transferable.
155
Airport Handling As discussed in the previous unit, Travel Information Manual (TIM) is the manual that
provides all valid and accurate information with regard to travel documentation
requirements as well as passenger handling. Airlines have a specialized team of
professionally recruited and qualified employees who help in guiding customers through
the variety of services anticipated from a Passenger Services team. The range of services
hence provided in making passenger’s travel experience hassle free, are termed as
Passenger Handling Services. The Passenger Services team is in charge of providing
all international airlines, VVIP private fleet, and executive charter clients with a smooth,
professional, and seamless customer experience from arrival gate through boarding.
These personnel are on the front line serving the customer. The personnel have the
essential knowledge to properly represent the airline and guarantee that passengers
are handled smoothly at all stages of their airport experience. Passengers being customers
are the most important part of any service providing organisation and therefore careful
handling of passengers is important for any airline.
We have discussed passenger handling in Unit 1 wherein we have discussed about
passenger handling at different times in the airport. In this Unit we will discuss the
procedure of passenger handling by airline from check- in to Embarkation &
Disembarkation. Instruction for handling passengers with special needs as mentioned
in the TIM as well as challenges faced in passenger handling are discussed in sections
below.

10.2 EMBARKATION AND DISEMBARKATION

Embarkation is the process of loading passengers onto a passenger ship or aeroplane.
It is similar to and overlaps with individual boarding on planes and ships. The boarding
and stationing of passengers in accommodations (cabins) by personnel and crew
members is known as boarding or embarkation.
Refer to the Figure 10.1, we can see the procedure that is followed for incorporation
of the passengers onto a flight. We can break down this procedure into smaller steps
for better understanding:
Step 1:
Arrival at the airport - As the passenger arrives at the airport, they need to
produce a photo identity proof, along with the boarding pass if they have done
web check in or the ticket. This can either be in a digital form or a printout.
Step 2:
Check-in- Once the passenger has successfully entered the airport, they need to
head towards the check-in counter of the airline they are going to board. With the
modern facilities many airports have self-check-in kiosks set up by respective
airlines for the ease of the passengers. Passengers who have had web checked in
may proceed to the fast backdrop of counters and further to the next step security
check. However, other passengers may need to check in at the counter/kiosk, get
their baggage labelled, tagged and checked-in before proceeding towards Security
Check. Here the passengers would also be provided with proper boarding passes.
Step 3:
Security Check- This is an important step when it comes to embarkation procedure.
156 All passengers irrespective of their status, privileges, etc. are required to undergo
a Security Check. Under the step all the belongings of the passenger and they, Passenger Handling
themselves need to be scanned before moving on to embarkation.

Figure 10.1: Embarkation Procedure

Source: researchgate.net

Step 4:
Immigration check- A vital step when it comes to international travel is immigration
check. Passenger is required to show their valid travel documents in order to be
allowed by the respective government/authority to fly to the desired destination.
This step in itself involves a major step of documentation check. To ensure efficient
and smooth flow of services for the best of the passengers travelling experience,
proper travel documents are not only necessary but an important aspect. Based
on the latest trends and industry best practises, passengers’ assessment and
exceptional handling techniques involve proper documentation to be handed over
to the respective airline representative in order to save time, costly delays and
penalties.
Passenger is responsible for obtaining the correct entry permits at the airport of
not only the origin city/country but also of the destination. These documents are:
i Photo ID proof (Aadhar/Passport in India is preferred)
ii Valid ticket
iii Boarding Pass
iv Passport (for international travels)
v Visa (If Applicable)
vi Travel Insurance(if applicable)
vii Health Certificate(If Applicable)
viii Travel permits to sensitive areas (If Applicable)
157
Airport Handling ix Custom declaration form
x Forex Card/ Forex Currency
xi Proof of accommodation/ Hotel booking
xii Invitation / Sponsorship Letter (If Applicable)
The requirements of necessary travel documents may differ from airline to airline
and from country to country. It is always advisable to inform the passengers at first
point of contact for the requisites as may be needed to produce for effective
Embarkation Procedure.
Step 5:
Boarding lounge: It is a significant step when it comes to the embarkation procedure
where passengers wait at the lounge area when the specific boarding gate has
either not been confirmed or is already in operation with another flight. Here the
passengers can wait peacefully while being informed about their specific flight
arrival and departure status.
Step 6:
Boarding Gate: Passengers are called for boarding on flight through transport
vehicles or ramps in order of their seat allotment, privileges, status or special
requirement requests. The boarding passes of passengers are checked in
accordance with the manifest.
Let’s continue now with the Disembarkation procedure now. The act of passengers
and crew de-boarding an aeroplane is known as disembarkation. It is the procedure
for exiting an aircraft or removing goods/baggage from the aircraft’s holding area. This
procedure broadly involves four steps:
Step 1:
De-Boarding the aircraft: Most of the Airlines follow a set protocol when it
comes to the boarding from aircraft. Guests on board are informed prior to landing
that they would be deboarded in order of their row. Persons are not allowed to
exit until the passengers in front and behind them have vacated their seats, according
to the deboarding protocol. All passengers must remain seated until the row in
front or behind them becomes available. Passengers are also informed beforehand
about the belt number for their baggage claim in the aircraft itself. Prior to these
announcements the cabin crew would hand out the custom declaration form to the
international passengers for the ease of custom clearance on arrival. From the
aircraft the passenger may be transferred either on a transportation vehicle or on
the ramps to reach the arrival gate.
Step 2:
Immigration: The international passengers on arrival are required to go through
an immigration check at the arrival country. This would again require them to show
their respective travel documents for entry into the country. In case of improper or
false documents, as the case maybe, the destination country reserves the right to
deport the passenger immediately or hold the passenger until a proper clearance is
given.
158
Step 3: Passenger Handling

Baggage claim: After deboarding the aircraft and successfully passing through
the immigration check, passenger can collect their checked-in baggage from the
respective baggage belt. All the passengers are pre- informed during the flight
before deboarding about their baggage claim area and belt number. In case of
missing baggage, passenger must immediately inform respective authorities for
appropriate actions.
Step 4:
Custom clearance and departure: Once the passengers have deboarded, passed
through immigration check and claimed their respective checked- in baggage,
they are required to also pass-through customs for international passengers only.
At customs passengers are required to declare any items of significant value, as
may be permitted or not by the government/ authority of the respective country/s.
Falsely declaring at customs is a criminal offence, after successfully passing through
customs, passenger, can leave the airport.

10.3 RESPONSIBILITIES OF PASSENGER

HANDLING
Passenger handling for an airline in the airport involves many activities which can be as
mundane as giving directions to special request like meal or carrying medicines or even
accessibility issues. All the activities undertaken for the passenger may not be under
the domain of airline management. We can therefore broadly classify services offered
and responsibilities of passenger handling into two broad groups as discussed below:
1. Responsibilities of Airline Management:
Passenger handling responsibilities of an airline include airline bookings and
issuance of ticket, check-in facilities, instructions at the boarding gate for
passengers taking the departing flights, addressing passengers at the gate of
arriving flights, checked baggage transfer, and the processing of various other
inquiries. Customers who require assistance with wheelchairs, strollers, and
other items can request special requirements services from airlines. Services
that are the responsibility of airline management can be listed as below:
i. Issuing Ticket - Each passenger - adult, child, infant, or a pet - must
hold a valid ticket for the respective journey leg. Issuing a ticket is the
primary function of Passenger Handling Procedure. This involves the
function of providing airline representatives who are responsible for
handling ticket reservations, cancellations, rescheduling/rebooking, and
informing customers when a flight has been delayed or cancelled.
Passengers can now book their tickets on the airline website or they can
also purchase it from the counter on arrival at the airport. There are also
other ways to book an airline ticket- it can be also booked through travel
agents or stand-alone retail stores or partner online travel agents. Earlier,
all passengers were required to carry a printout of the ticket for entering
the airport however, in today’s time passengers can just carry a digital
copy of the ticket on their phone, tablet, etc. to gain entry at the airport.
Many passengers also prefer to carry their boarding passes which they 159
Airport Handling have procured through the web check-in process. Importantly, a passenger
travelling internationally need to show passport, and VISA along with the
ticket/ PNR.
ii. Cancellation and refunds - This function involves not only cancelling
tickets and processing refunds but also taking the requests of rescheduling
and rebooking tickets. Staff members who perform this function are
responsible for providing timely information of any flight cancellation,
reschedule, flight number change, terminal change, boarding or de-
boarding as well as gate change to the passengers and other respective
authorities. In case of cancellation or rescheduling of flights, if the policy
allows, the passengers can claim their full refund or compensation.
Generally, any cancellation from the airline’s end attracts full refund to the
customers. However, in case of cancellation from the passenger a certain
percentage of fee may be charged as cancellation fee.
iii. Special requests: The primary services of this function involve taking
meal requests, special service requests and even refund processes of the
special request made before, as the case may be. Now, with advanced
technology, this function can be performed virtually while booking tickets
online or through an agent; thus saving time and efforts of the passenger
as well as the airline staff. We shall discuss this function more in detail in
section 10.4.
iv. Passenger Check-In - This service comprises trained staff members
delivering check-in counter services such as boarding pass issuance and
paperwork checks. As per the airlines policy there may be privileged
members/ frequent flyer special queue for speedy access and customer
satisfaction. On arrival at the airport, the first thing a customer should do
is check-in. According to airline regulations, check-in must be completed
within a certain time-frame prior to boarding. This time period might range
from 30 minutes to 4 hours before the departure time and vary for different
airline and sector.
The check-in process is usually handled by the airline or a third - party
handling agency. Passengers normally check-in any baggage that they do
not want carry or are not permitted to carry to the cabin of the aircraft.
Passengers are given a boarding pass that includes their name, PNR
(Passenger Name Record), route leg, seat number, boarding gate, special
services requested, flight number, code share flight data, and stopover
information. It may also contain meal details, or upgrades as may have
been requested.
v. Baggage - This function of baggage handling covers several services
and is a very broad term. Baggage can be roughly be categorised into
three sections,
a. Check- in baggage: This type of Baggage is the one which
passengers’ hand over to the airline staff members at the checking
point. It is labelled and transported for loading on the flight. The
baggage which generally fall under this category are suitcases, large
bags, sometimes they could also be special equipment. Staff members
160 assist passengers with tagging luggage for easier identification as part
of this service. They also recommend labelling every luggage with Passenger Handling

their name, address, and phone number on both the inside and outside.
This service also involves weighing checked bags, and charging for
excess baggage.
b. Cabin baggage: This category of baggage includes small size bags
and suitcases of specific dimensions which can be easily stored in
the overhead cabinets on a flight. As per the individual airline policy,
each passenger can carry on board a free cabin baggage. A free
baggage allowance generally contains one piece of aircraft cabin
baggage and a hand bag for economy class passengers. Depending
on the business class facility or not, this allowance may vary. The
baggage carried here should not be confused with the carry - on
baggage.
c. Carry - on baggage: Baggage of this kind generally include laptop
bags, purses, handbags, et cetera. These are smaller in size and can
be easily carried by the passenger and even kept with them while on
the flight as they do not hinder the passage area.
An airline may refuse a carry-on baggage and may require the passenger
to check-in his baggage if it exceeds the quantity, weight and dimensions
as specified in respective policy. Excess baggage, over and above the
total baggage allowance, including carry-on and check-in baggage is liable
for baggage all owance charges as may be applicable. Although this
function may be considered a part of ‘passenger check-in’ function but
comes with a large area to be covered with more responsibility and hence
considered as a separate function.
Once the baggage has been checked-in, labelled, they are sent over to
the Baggage loading area, where the baggage is segregated as per the
flight, reconciled by the employees, and consolidated in trolleys to be
dispatched to the RAMP (Region of Aircraft Movement and Parking).
The baggage is hence loaded in the cargo section of the aircraft to be
transported at the destination.
vi Boarding Gate - Once the passenger has gone through check – in and
baggage drop, they move towards the boarding gate. This function involves
smooth transition of passengers from gate to the respective seats allotted
in the aircraft. The boarding gate staff of the airline announces the boarding
of passengers as per the privileges or seating plan wherein their boarding
passes are checked and compared to the manifest, and then transported
safely on the vehicle / ramp for on boarding. This also involves great
coordination with the airside staff members looking after technical aspects
and availability of transportation vehicles.
vii Cargo Management- The function of cargo management is an umbrella
term for baggage handling, transport, baggage claim and also providing
services for missing or baggage tracing by the airline.
2. Responsibilities of Externally Managed Teams:
There are other responsibilities with regard to the services that are offered to 161
Airport Handling the passengers in the airport by externally managed team, other than airline
management. These responsibilities are:
i Security Check : This function is of utmost importance when it comes
to safety and security of the passengers as well as the crew/ staff members
and airport. It requires thorough scrutiny of passenger’s belongings along
with physical scanning of the passenger himself/herself. The authority of
permitting or not permitting a passenger inside the airport or transferring
to the gate for boarding remains with the security personnel. He/she may
demand for the opening of all the baggage for a re-check, in case of any
suspicion. This function carries a great responsibility to ensure safety of
all. In most of the airports, after the security check, a stamp shall be
placed on the boarding pass and/or hand baggage tag. Security check-in
in almost all the airports of India is undertaken by CISF personnel.
ii Baggage Screening: In some airports, there will be a mechanism to
screen/ check the baggage, especially check-in baggage. X-Ray scanner
is used to screen the baggage with the prime objective to check whether
any object that could be used as a weapon, or a bomb or otherwise
could pose a threat to flight security is not in the baggage. This is usually
can be arranged before to the check-in counter.
iii Immigration: This function is not required in domestic sector flights.
However, it plays a vital role when it comes to international travels. The
personnel assigned with immigration responsibility have a great skill of
understanding body language with attention to detail when scanning the
travel documents. Immigration is permission for a passenger to travel
from one country to another. In the passenger handling procedure, this
process is performed twice, at the origin country and at the arrival country.
By the virtue of job description, immigration personnel have the authority
to not permit a passenger to carry on with the travel places any further.
This is an important area as far as the entry and exit from a country is
concerned. Once the passenger completes the emigration check for an
international trip, the person has left the country in the official records. If
he/she wants to enter back to the country, he/she has to pass through the
same system in the arrival location. At the emigration/passport control
centre, the officials will verify the boarding pass, the passport and the
visa for entering the other country, the passenger is travelling to. Once the
documents are found in order, the travel will be recorded in the official
system of the country and exit stamp will be entered in the passport
(nowadays, everything is electronic and hence placing stamp may not be
there in all the airports).
iv Customs: Although this function is primarily performed by a separate
police force, while the airline staff members are there to assist in case
required. The cabin crew is also responsible partially for provision of
smooth custom clearance service. Cabin crew must inform the passengers
prior to landing to fill in the custom declaration form and provide assistance
if required. The passenger, after collecting the baggage, moves on to the
customs area and verify that the baggage that is being carried does not
have any unlawful items into the country. Baggage screening mechanism
162
is available at the customs area as well. For the passengers, there are two Passenger Handling
ways to move ahead through customs:
 Green channel: This is for the passengers who do not have any
dutiable goods. Though Green channel passengers are not subject
to any customs formalities, spot-checks are undertaken occasionally.
 Red channel: It is for passengers who bring in dutiable goods from
other countries. Passengers accomplish the formalities required by
the Customs and required duty amount is remitted for the identified
dutiable items.
v Air Traffic Control- The personnel performing air traffic control services
have great technical know-how and they support by providing real time
updated information of weather, facilities status at departure and arrival
airports, appropriately informing about aircraft parking spot with taxi-in
and taxi-out route and any other services as may be required for hassle
free arrival and departure of flights.
vi Passenger Facilitation - This function primarily focuses on the crucial
yet not very obvious areas of Passenger Handling Procedure with the
aim to provide an “end-to-end” passenger experience that is secure,
seamless and efficient. The services under this category not only
encompass the tasks performed by staff members but also those at the
lounge area, shopping arena, toilet facilities, etc.
As we have learned above about various functions involved in Passenger Handling
Procedure, these functions are not limited as listed. Each airline and airport may perform
these functions as per their own standard policies or may skip or add a few additional
functions.

10.3.1 Out of Pocket Expense (OPE)

Out of Pocket Expense (OPE) are a type of provisional compensation offered by
airlines around the world to help passengers deal with the difficulty caused by mishandled
baggage. The Out-of-Pocket Expenses are paid under three circumstance – Delayed,
Damaged or Lost Baggage. Out-of-Pocket Expenses, is offered on any of these three
occasions but there are exception and few limitations according to which the Airlines
offer the passengers this interim relief. The limitations are:
 As a standard practice, the maximum OPE is usually US $125 (Per ticketed
passenger).
 When possible, customers should be limited to US$25 each day.
 OPE should not be permitted until the day after the missing baggage is reported.
 Before authorising the OPE, the contents must be appended to the file.
 Counsel passengers to keep their boarding passes and receipts, and explain
how they can be compensated.
 Customers at home are not eligible for OPE.
 Customers whose bags are displayed as out of delivery are not eligible for
OPE. 163
Airport Handling  Non-Revue, Buddy Pass, and other subsidised airline employee passengers
are not eligible for OPE.
 AHL should be duly documented with OPE details and submitted.
There is an exception to the rule wherein the passenger themselves were at fault for the
baggage being held. For example, if the passenger had mistakenly packed battery or
electrical item in checked in baggage.

Check Your Progress-1

1. What do you understand about the term ‘Ticket’?

10.4 PASSENGERS WITH SPECIAL NEED

Passengers who identify as having special needs (as specified by each airline) will be
required to fill out a special needs form. The passengers with special needs require
individual attention on enplaning, deplaning, during flight, in an emergency evacuation
and during ground handling. The passengers with special need can also be important to
the Airline or the country. Generally, but depending on the airline, ‘passengers with
special needs’ includes but is not limited to:
1. Incapacitated passengers: Passengers are considered incapacitated when
their physical, medical or mental condition requires individual attention which
is not normally extended to other passengers. Passengers with reduced mobility
are also referred to as “medically compromised”. The requirement becomes
apparent from special requests made by the passengers and/or their family or
by the medical authority or from obvious abnormal physical or mental
conditions observed and reported by airline staff or industry associated persons
(travel agents, etc). Incapacitated passengers are identified in airline messages
by AIRIMP codes, as listed below:
a. MEDA (Medical Case)
164
b. STCR (Stretcher passenger) Passenger Handling

c. WCHR (Wheelchair- R for Ramp)

d. WCHS (Wheelchair- S for Steps)
e. WCHC (Wheelchair- C for Cabin)
f. BLND (Blind Passenger)
g. DEAF (Deaf Passenger)
2. Pregnant Woman: Pregnant women can fly up to the 28th week of their
pregnancy without a doctor’s report. Pregnant women expecting one baby
can fly with a doctor’s report that states that they are fit to fly by air carriage
between 28-36 weeks. After that, they are no longer fit to fly even with medical
clearance. Medical clearance must be dated maximum 7 days prior to the
flight. The doctor’s name and surname, diploma number and signature must
be shown clearly on the medical clearance.
3. Infants: Many airline policies vary for how old babies have to be to fly. From
the medical point of view, many require babies to be at least one week old
and some accept babies older than 14 days of birth for carriage and he/she is
accompanied by an adult passenger and not suffering from any illness. Since
infant has no seat status, a Bassinet (BSCT) is provided free of charge for
infants.
2. Minors Travelling on their own (UNMR): The minors who are travelling
unaccompanied by an adult are offered special assistance by almost all Airlines.
Child passengers who have celebrated their seventh birthday on or before the
day of travel, but have not yet celebrated their eleventh birthdays, and are
permitted by their parents or legal guardians to travel unattended are known
as unattended Minor. The prerequisite of this special needs service is the
authorization form, also known as a consent form, provided by the guardian
or parent of the minor. This form should not only list out any kind of medical
attention that might be required by the child but should also mention the details
of the person meeting the child at the arrival country. In order for the children
to travel unattended, all reservations of every flight have to be approved by
parents or legal guardians must bring the children to check-in at least two
hours before take-off.
Authorized personnel will attend to children that travel unattended through
the procedures of passing through security controls, passenger waiting areas
and boarding gates until the child boards on the aircraft. Unattended child
passengers are boarded on the plane by authorized personnel and handed
over to the pursers. The seat numbers of unattended child passengers are
chosen from seats that are near the cabin crew. As a result, they can travel
under the supervision of the cabin crew during the flight. Unattended child
passengers are delivered by the purser to the officers awaiting the flight on the
arrival stations in exchange for a signed “Authorization Form”. Authorized
personnel are in charge of conducting all transactions in the arrival station
such as passport controls, customs and baggage delivery. Unattended child
passengers are delivered to the persons stated on the “Authorization Forms”
in exchange for their signatures, after the stated names of the persons taking
delivery of the children are verified. 165
Airport Handling 3. Senior travellers and families with young children: When travelling alone
senior travellers can request special assistance through the form listing out the
special needs that need to be taken care of. A crew member would generally
assist the senior travellers write from stowing their baggage, helping with check-
in and boarding, provision of wheelchairs if needed, as well as special dietary
requirements, etc. Also, families travelling with children are given special care
and assistance within the airport and wherever possible are boarded first.
Travel these days an essential activity and becoming accessible across the
world, almost all airlines provide special assistance to travelers with disabilities.
This would not only include provision of wheelchairs, medical assistance but
also some airlines provide Braille magazines and interpreters. Not limited to
certain ones, many airlines cater to people with physical as well as intellectual
disabilities. It is essential for the passenger or passenger’s attendant to clearly
mention the requirements in the form to checking preferably during ticket
booking to avoid last minute hassles and smooth delivery of services.
4. Travelers with disabilities: With travel being an essential activity and
becoming accessible across the world, almost all airlines provide special
assistance to travellers with disabilities. This would not only include provision
of wheelchairs, medical assistance but also some airlines provide Braille
magazines and interpreters. Not limited to certain ones, many airlines cater to
people with physical as well as intellectual disabilities. It is essential for the
passenger or passenger’s attendant to clearly mention the requirements in the
form to checking preferably during ticket booking to avoid last minute hassles
and smooth delivery of services.
No airline should refuse to carry persons traveling in a stretcher or incubator
or persons with severe mobility impairments and persons with autism, cerebral
palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities, if they are accompanied by
an escort who will be responsible for them and their needs of embarking,
disembarking, during flight, and during emergency evacuation. However, the
airlines shall provide necessary assistance to persons with hearing or vision
impairments in case they wish to travel alone without an escort.
5. Travelling with pets: It is essential for the passenger travelling with pets to
ensure for several things before undertaking the travel plan. They not only
need to make sure their companions have good health but also provide apt
and all necessary information to the airline’s staff. This will ensure the well-
being of their pets during the flight and will also help to avoid any kind of
hassles on board.
6. Important Passenger (IP): Members of parliament, Prominent Statesman,
Commanders in chief of Military forces and official delegates of government,
are some of the people considered as IP or VIP.
7. Commercially Important Passengers (CIP): Directors of Civil Aviation,
Chairman and Chief Executives of other airlines, Chairman, Directors,
Presidents of Important companies, Radio and Television producers, Editors
and senior journalists of newspapers, travel writers, Celebrities and other
such passengers who can enhance the image of the Airlines are considered as
Commercially Important passengers (CIP)
8. Very, Very, Important Person (VVIP): Heads of State, Crown Princes
and Prime Ministers, Presidents and their wives or husbands are considered
166 VVIP and special attention is given to them.
Passenger Handling
Check Your Progress-2

1) What are the embarkation steps followed by an airline?

10.5 CHALLENGES OF PASSENGER HANDLING

With every task at hand there comes a few challenges that are needed to either overcome
or find ways to minimize the damage caused by such challenges. Likewise, when
carrying on Passenger Handling Procedure there are some challenges that the airline
staff, management, airport authorities or the governing bodies might face. Since the
airline staff are the first responders in Passenger Handling Procedure, it is imperative
that they are trained, informed and provided with adequate authority to resolve issues,
as and when they may arise. A few of the common challenges are:
1. Difficult Passengers: As human nature is unpredictable and there are several
types of passengers boarding daily, it is not an uncommon where the airline
staff has to deal with one or more difficult passengers. At the given time of the
incident, whosoever may be at fault, the airline staff needs to maintain patience,
a warm smile while providing possible solutions.
2. Technical Glitches: As the aviation industry is largely dependent on
technology, right from issue of ticket to departure, most of the services under
Passenger Handling Procedure need technical assistance. In such incidents of
technical glitches, respective employees/administration should act promptly
in informing the passengers and providing with most viable alternatives.
3. Ensuring Sustainability: Aviation industry is one of those which creates
tons of carbon footprint along with noise pollution. With rising climate change
issues and constant pressure from the governing bodies such as UNWTO, it
is difficult for the airlines and its staff members toensure sustainability when
the industry is ever growing.
4. Increasing Air Traffic: The fact of ever-growing industry also implies opening
up of new travel sectors and destinations resulting in increased air traffic. With
increased flight numbers there comes an increased number of passengers with
limited manpower to perform the services as needed under Passenger Handling
Procedure. It not only creates pressure of performance with limited resources
but also physical and mental fatigue, tight schedules, and even more stress of
controlling air traffic especially in times such as bad weather.
5. Cut-throat Competition: The extensive and fast-paced industry as aviation,
when combined with intense competition, creates a challenge of survival with
satisfactory, if not great, performance by airlines and its employees. Many 167
Airport Handling times airlines cut down their manpower and slash down their fares just to
keep the airline operations ongoing. This results in utter dissatisfaction among
the employees as the work is more with less manpower and even lesser perks.
It is not possible to survive, let alone achieve excellence, when the airline
representatives are unhappy and cannot perform their services to the best of
their abilities.
Thus, just like any other industry, aviation industry also deals with its own set of challenges
which primarily affects their employees and may seldom create ineffective, unsafe and
unsatisfactory experiences for passengers.

Check Your Progress 3

1) Enlist the major challenges faced while performing Passenger Handling services.
....................................................................................................................
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....................................................................................................................
2) What do you understand about Out-of-Pocket Expenses? Mention any two.
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10.6 LET US SUM UP

This unit discusses the basic functions that are followed by an airline for effective and
satisfactory passenger handling. To maintain the standard of services and satisfactory
passenger experience it is essential that the airline staff, be it cabin crew member for the
ground staff or the ticketing personnel, should be well-trained, informed and proactive
to meet the needs of the travelers. This becomes all more essential when it comes to
serving passengers with special needs. Briefly speaking passenger handling procedure
involves issuing tickets, cancellations/ refunds, handling baggage, check in, security
checking, boarding, inflight services, deboarding, hand baggage claims and most
importantly handling special need requests.
In this unit we have also learnt about some very common out of pocket expenses that
are generally ignored by the passengers themselves; however, it is the duty of the
airline’s staff to make the passengers remember the specific terms and conditions and
policy regulations as may apply. We have also discussed the challenges that are faced
when providing services of effective passenger handling. A few of them maybe due to
human factors involved but considering that the aviation industry is largely dependent
on technology, some challenges come into the picture due to this factor as well.

10.7 FURTHER READINGS

 A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service: From Airline Operations to
Passenger Services by Colin C. Law
 Airport Operations by Norman J. Ashford, H. P. Martin Stanton, Clifton A. Moore,
Pierre Coutu, John R. Beasley

168  Aircraft Ground Handling by Subhash S. Narayanan

Passenger Handling
10.8 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES

Check Your Progress-1

1. Refer 10.1 and frame your answer.

2. Refer 10.2 and frame your answer.
3. Refer 10.3 and frame your answer.

Check Your Progress-2

1. Refer 10.4 and frame your answer.

2. Refer 10.5 and frame your answer.

Check Your Progress-3

1. Refer 10.6 and frame your answer.

2. Refer 10.7 and frame your answer.

10.9 ACTIVITIES
1. Go to a hotel and find out about their process of handling guests with special
needs/disability. Compare and study it with respect to handling of passenger with
special need by airlines.
2. Meet an airport official or airline official and learn about the process of handling
VIP and CIPs.

169
Airport Handling
UNIT 11 FARE CONSTRUCTIONS
Structure

11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Terminologies for Air Fare
11.3 Types of Journeys
11.4 Fare Basis
11.5 Steps of Fare Construction
11.6 Let Us Sum Up
11.7 Further Readings
11.8 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises

11.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this Unit you will be able to:
 understand the concept of Air Fares;
 comprehend the different definitions, terminologies and concepts of air fare
construction;
 identify the different types of fares; and
 understand the basic steps for air fare constructions

11.1 INTRODUCTION
An airfare (otherwise known as a fare) is the fee paid by a passenger for air transport
and is made up of the charge for a passenger to fly from an origin to destination and
includes the conditions, rules and restrictions for travelling on the airfare. Oxford
languages define airfare as “the price to be paid by an aircraft passenger for a particular
journey”. We can also define fare as:
1. The charge for a passenger to fly from origin to destination.
2. The amount a passenger pays, including the conditions for travel at this amount
(that is, the rules and restrictions that must be satisfied in order to qualify for a
specific fare). Together, fares and rules form an infrastructure used for auto
pricing (identifying a fare electronically).
3. The charge for a passenger to fly a given segment (city pair).
Air fare has 11 components that includes market (city pair), rule number, fare class,
one- way/round-trip indicator, MPM or routing number, footnote(optional), currency,
fare amount, effective date, discontinue date, and mileage. Airfares are typically made
up of fare and rule components that define the airfare product, services and price and
include-origin/destination pair, fare class, one-way/round-trip indicator, fare amount,
validity dates, mileage and other rules. Published Fares displayed on the GDS (Air
170 Tariff) apply to direct travel when no stopover or connections are made between the
point of origin and the destination. In certain cases, stopovers and/or connections are Fare Constructions
permitted in accordance with the routing quoted against the corresponding fare.
The mileage system is to be applied whenever the travel between two cities is via one
or more cities where a passenger disembarks and embarks, makes stopovers at such
intermediate points or connects from one flight to another; and such routings do not
come within the stipulated Route Reference, if any given against the fare between the
origin and destination. Between two cities a Maximum Permitted Mileage (MPM) is
published and is displayed when fare request is made on GDS. Maximum Mileages
are also constructed in case the through fare is not published by use of “Mileage Add
ons”.
The distance between two cities connected by direct air services, with shortest operated
distances, are also established. These distances are called Ticketed Point Mileages
(TPM’s) and are used to compute the total mileage of a journey flown. It is significant
to identify the Global Indicators(direction) of travel as different Maximum Permitted
Mileage(MPM) applied between two cities always depend upon the route of travel.
Hence, you will find Global Indicators (GI) such as EH, AP, TS etc., precede the
“MPM” figure in published fares.

11.2 TERMINOLOGIES FOR AIR FARES

As a student of tourism it is essential to understand the terms that are used by the
industry and accepted worldwide. There are few other things to be kept in mind
whenever we are choosing a route and preparing tickets and calculating fares for a
client. These are:
1. COC: It is the point or city from where the itinerary will commence. If you
are calculating fare between LON- NYC, then the country of commencement
would be the United Kingdom. Determining COC is vital since it is the first
step and will decide the final fare that needs to be determined in local currency.
2. Transit: Waiting time between two flights is called transit time and the area
where a passenger must wait is called transit area. Transit time should not
exceed beyond 24 hours and passenger must not leave airport without valid
and authorized document of immigration. In case of very long transit but within
24Hrs some airlines offers Stopover for the Purpose of Connection (STPC).
In that case passenger can leave transit area and can even leave airport without
transit visa. They will have to report again at Airport 03Hrs before departure
of onward flight. Baggage would not be handed over to the passenger during
transit.
3. STPC (Stopover for the Purpose of Connectivity): Term of STPC used
for the passenger having long transit for more than 08Hrs and less than 24Hrs
as a transit to get boarded to their onward connecting flight. This stay should
not exceed beyond 24hrs else a transit visa would be required for the passenger,
even he/she does not leave transit area of that airport. STPC can be availed
by prior booking from concerned airline on charges if not included in basic
fare. Most of airlines issue a STPC voucher for passenger convenience as a
pre-booking for hotel. An agent should check fare notes before issuing an e-
ticket to check whether STPC will be provided or not; in order to inform their
passengers well in time and avoid any discrepancy at the airport. 171
Airport Handling 4. Stopover: When a passenger wants to stay between Origin and Destination
for more than 24Hrs is called stopover. For example, if a passenger is traveling
like DEL-DOH-LON and want to take a stay at Doha for a couple of days it
is known as stopover at Doha. In that case passenger has to show proof of
valid travel documents and visa for Qatar. Some airlines usually offer stopover
programs from their end as well, on prior information and necessary
requirements. Suppose you were flying from New York to Los Angeles, and
you wanted to stop and visit your aunt in Indianapolis on the way. Such a visit
would constitute a stopover in Indianapolis. Some fares allow free stopovers,
others allow stopovers for an additional fee, and many fares do not allow
Stopovers at all. Now, your flight might be routed through Indianapolis anyway,
and you might even have to change aircraft there. You might think you could
“beat the system” by booking a connecting flight for the next day. You usually
cannot do so, since if you do not depart your intermediate point (Indianapolis)
within 4 hours of your arrival there, it would normally be considered a stopover.
Therefore, such an arrangement would not be allowed if the fare did not
permit stopovers.

11.3 TYPES OF JOURNEY

The first step to consider while calculating the air fare is to identify the kind of journey
a client is planning to go on. The journeys can be categorised as below:
1. One Way abbreviated as OW is when the traveller just goes from Origin to
Destination. In a one-way journey the Origin and destination are never the
same. e.g. LON – PAR

Figure 11.1 One Way Trip

2. Round Trip or RT is when the traveller starts from one point and comes
back to the same point using the same route is called as round trip journey
e.g. JFK-LON-DEL-LON-JFK

Figure 11.2 Round Trip

3. Round the world - The journey in which the traveller travels around the
world and crosses the international timeline, visiting multiple places e.g. JFK-
>SYD->HKG->DEL->LON->JFK. Passenger travels from a Point (origin)
and return thereto which involves one crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and only
one crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
172
Fare Constructions

Figure 11.3 Round the World Trip

4. Circle trip: When the traveller starts from one location, goes to multiple
locations and come back at same location where he started e.g. JFK-LON-
DEL-JFK

Figure 11.4 Circle Trip

5. Open Jaw: An open jaw is defined as “When you travel to one city and
return from another”. This happens when the traveller goes from one place to
another by air, from there, goes to a third place by other means of travel, and
then takes a flight back to where he started. E.g., a holiday-maker might fly
from London to Paris, spend sometime touring France, and return directly to
London from Nice. He flies into one city in the country, but depart from
another. The travel between the two points/ cities n the country is by means
other than air. This is an Open Jaw journey.
Open jaw journeys may have different variants such as:
 If travelling at Normal fares this would be abbreviated as NOJ,
 If the journey is with Normal fares it may also be referred to as a
Turnaround Normal Fare Open Jaw(TNOJ) where your destination could
also be referred to as your point of turnaround
 If the fare is a Special fare the abbreviation would be OJ.
 When you have an open jaw at either the origin or destination, you have
a Single Open Jaw (SOJ).
 When the open sector is in the country of origin for eg. a client might be
in London, fly from there to Paris, (Outbound) and return directly from
Paris but to Manchester (Inbound). This is still an Open Jaw, but may
also be called an Origin Open Jaw (OOJ) or Origin Normal Open Jaw
(ONOJ).
173
Airport Handling

Figure 11.5 Origin Open Jaw

 The open sector can also be in the country of destination. The following
example is an open jaw that occurs at the destination, example, you are
travelling from London Heathrow to Sydney, Australia (SYD)
(Outbound). You decide to take a train from Sydney to Brisbane and
then return to London (Inbound). The train trip from Sydney to Brisbane
is referred to as a surface sector, which is any part of your journey in
which the mode of travel is not flying. Surface sector travel can include
non-flight options such as ship or boat. Your routing is:

Figure 11.6 Destination Open Jaw

 Journeys can also have open sectors at both the origin, and the turnaround.
A journey outward from London to Sydney, returning from Brisbane to
Manchester, would be a Double Open Jaw (DOJ).

Figure 11.7 Double Open Jaw

Check Your Progress - 1

1. Define Air Fare.

....................................................................................................................

2. What are the different types of air fares

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................
174
3. What is the difference between a round trip and a circle trip? Fare Constructions

11.4 FARE BASIS

Fare basis is an alphabetic or alpha-numeric code used by airlines to identify a fare
type and allow airline staff and travel agents to find the rules applicable to that fare.
Although airlines now set their own fare basis codes, there are some patterns that have
evolved over the years and are still be in use.
The Fare Basis is the code that appears on the ticket in the Fare Basis box. It can
include letters, numbers, and up to two slashes (/). A Fare Basis is a compilation of the
fare class or ticketing code and one or two ticketing designators.
The meaning of these codes is not often known by the passenger, but conveys information
to airline staff, for example they may indicate that a ticket was fully paid, discounted,
part of an excursion package, or purchased through a loyalty scheme. The fare basis is
normally shown on the air ticket. On older paper tickets, it was highlighted on the
relevant coupon for that flight. On modern e-tickets, it is often printed under the flight
details. A fare basis will be 3 to 7 characters long but can be up to 8 characters. Global
Indicators (GI) are to be applied as per the route of travel.
Fare basis codes can also tell an agent whether a fare is refundable, good for one-way
or round-trip tickets, departing to or from specific countries, combinable with other
fares and good in high or low season, as well as how far in advance the fare can be
booked; and whether there are any routing restrictions or change penalties.
Example: Fare basis code YH7SNR gives the airline staff the following
Y: Economy fare class ticket.
H: It’s a high-season ticket
7: booked seven days in advance S: It’s a Short-haul flight
NR: The ticket is non-refundable
Let us understand a few components of a fare basis code:
 Fare codes always starts with a letter called a booking class or Reservation
Booking Designator (RBD) which almost always matches the letter code that
the reservation is booked in. Other letters or numbers may follow.
 Booking codes are the identifiers used by the airline’s revenue management
department to control how many seats can be sold at a particular fare level.
For example, a plane may have 25 economy seats still available and the airline
may show it in a reservation system as Y7 K5 M4 T6 E3 which indicates how
many of each booking class can be reserved. Some codes cannot be sold by
agents, and those seats may be reserved for international connections, loyalty
programs, or airline staff relocation.
Let us use an example to elaborate and understand fare basis - LN Stands for
line number same as a serial number. Further let us refer to LN 19. Here the 175
Airport Handling letter ‘U” is the RBD of premium economy class designated by a particular
airline. Another airline may use a different letter for the same class. RIN may
indicate return fare for international travel and the last two letters PV may be
a code for a particular class for a particular airlines. In this example PV stands
for premium economy value class, YF stands for economy flexi fare and YV
for economy value fare.

LN FARE BASIS OW INR RT INR

19 URINPV 31665
20 URINPV 32000
21 QRINYF 32730
22 WRINYV 32730
23 QOINYV 16700
24 QONGSDYV 16700

Table 11.1 Fare Basis Code

(LN: Line Number, OW: One Way Fare in INR. RT: Return Fare in INR)

Deciphering fare basis codes takes practice and knowledge specific to the airline, as
each one has its own style for writing codes.

11.5 STEPS OF FARE CONSTRUCTION

Air fare constructions are based on what is termed as a Mileage system. It identifies
the permitted total of ticket point mileages between two non-stop destinations or transit
points and provides the official distance used between two cities, and decodes the
various location/destination codes. Given in the table below are the steps to construct
air fares based on the mileage system:
Steps Term Used Particulars
1. FCP Fare Construction Points
2. TPM Ticketed Point Mileage (Sum)
3. MPM Maximum Permitted Mileage of Origin- Destination (O- D)
4. NUC Fare as per Routeing (OW/ RT)
5. ROE IATA Fare of Exchange
6. Rule/ As per fare
Condition
7. EMA Extra Mileage Allowance (Deduction if available/applicable)
8. EMS Excess Mileage Surcharge (if required)
9. HIP Higher Intermediate Point Fare (Mandatory)
10. CF Constructed Fare (NUC)
11. TCF Total Fare in Local Currency
Table 11.2 Steps of Fare Construction

176 Let us now elaborate in detail the various steps in the construction of air fares
1. Fare Construction Points: Fare Constructions

The point of origin and the point of destination of the journey are fare construction
points. FCP is any of the cities on an itinerary used as the start and finish of a
particular fare. FCP means the terminal points of a fare component (also termed
as fare break points).
A fare component is defined as a portion of an itinerary between two consecutive
fare construction points. If the journey has only one fare component, the points of
origin and destination are the only fare construction points. This happens when the
Journey is done by a direct flight. Basically a fare break point means the destination
where a given fare ends. For example: The fare break point for a passenger flying
from Washington DC to Kansas City via Cleveland is Kansas City. One or more
fare components create an itinerary.
2. Ticketed Point Mileage (TPM) :
TPM can be defined as the actual number of miles that are used for constructing
an Itinerary between two points or cities. TPM can be greater, less or equal to
MPM since TPM is the actual miles that are used for constructing a particular
itinerary.
When calculating an airfare or to establish prorate factors, the Ticketed Point
Mileage (TPM) needs to be determined. ATPM represents a distance covered by
one flight coupon of a passenger ticket and is calculated on the basis of nonstop
or through scheduled air services. The official source for flown mileages between
all points is the TPM Manual that includes more than 65,000 city pair mileages.
TPM constantly change as they are based on scheduled flights, wherein as new
routes are added or as other routes are decommissioned. It is therefore important
to use the latest TPM data set for fare construction and pricing. Using outdated
data can lead to incorrect fare values and loss of revenue.
3. Maximum Permitted Mileage (MPM):
It is the maximum mileage that may be travelled for a fare component. In fare
construction, the Maximum Permitted Mileage (MPM) distances represent the
maximum distance between two specified international points established on the
basis of the shortest combinations of non-stop sectors and, where applicable,
over specified construction points increased by 20%. The MPM Manual contains
close to 7 million MPM distances where you can search for the MPM value by
selecting the origin city name or city code and the destination city name or city
code.
MPM constantly change as they are based on scheduled flights, where new routes
are added or as other routes are decommissioned. It is, therefore, important to
use the latest MPM dataset for fare construction and pricing. Using outdated data
can lead to incorrect fare values and loss of revenue.
4. The Neutral Unit of Construction (NUC):
NUC stands for the Neutral Unit of Construction. NUC is a unit used to build
fares between two cities. NUC is a common unit which is used globally for
constructing mileage-based fares by all airlines. All international fares are quoted
in NUC and later converted to local currency of respective countries. This creates 177
Airport Handling uniformity in fare construction globally. NUC is equivalent to the US dollar and
has been designated by IATA as the sole unit of constructing a fare between two
cities. Even though local currency exchange rates may vary from country to country
NUC level remains constant. A neutral unit of construction is “a common
denominator used to calculate a total when adding fares in different
currencies.”
Fares are calculated entirely in local currency- for journeys from the UK, this is
the GBP, for journeys from France its EUR and so on. It is easy to compare
different fares if it is of the same country as it is in the currency of that country. For
eg. if there are three fare quotations of GBP210.00, GBP199.00 and GBP254.00,
there is no complication to identify the lowest quoted fare.
What if the fares to be compared are in different currencies? To start with it one
must know the appropriate exchange rates, and then a calculator will be required.
Altogether this would be more complicated than comparing three fares in the
same currency. Therefore, Passenger Air Tariff publishes fares for any journey in
both the local currency of the country of departure, and in NUCs.
NUCs are of course, a fictitious currency and passenger cannot pay a fare in
NUCs. Neutral Units of Construction are converted into local currency fares by
applying IATA Rates of Exchange. As mentioned earlier, NUC rates are pegged
approximately to the US Dollar.
5. Rates Of Exchange (ROE):
IATA Rates of Exchange (IROE) provides monthly updates of IATA currency
rates of exchange used by the industry for fare/rate construction. They are built
based on the average of the five banking days ending on the 10th of each month.
IROE is governed by Passenger Composite Resolution 024c and it enables to
build fares in the Neutral Unit of Construction (NUC). The IATA Exchange Rates
are reports used to perform interline invoicing and settlement between airlines.
These are world currencies published and monitored against three base currencies
(EURO, GBP and USD). These Reports are prepared specifically for the
Commercial and Revenue Accounting departments of airlines, for the Global
Distribution Systems (GDSs) and for interested System Providers.
6. Rules/ Condition:
Identify the rule number, if any and then follow relevant conditions. These are
based on the:-
(i) Revenue Management System:
Different airlines create their own fare basis using the basic rules and principles
of IATA. These fare basis are dependent on several factors and conditions
especially those regarding seasonality, time of week, periods of application,
stopover and transfers and flight application.
The first alphabet of the fare basis is known as the Reservation Booking
Designator (RBD). It indicates the type of fare applicable on a particular
journey. When booking a ticket, regardless of whether it is using a published
or unpublished fare, there are letters that are assigned to different fares.
178
The first Alphabet of the Fare Basis is the RBD and indicates the booked Fare Constructions
cabin and fare.
 F, Pare the letters most commonly used to indicate First Class.
 J, C, D, Z are the letters most often used to represent Business, or
Executive Class.
 Y is almost universally used to indicate a full fare economy ticket.
 B, H, L, M, V, etc. are just some of the letters indicating subclasses
(reduced, restricted, and/or discounted fares). These letters vary by airline
and in value. On one airline B may be indicative of a more expensive
ticket. On another airline L may represent a ticket booked on a seat sale.
 X, U, R area few of the letters commonly used to indicate a fare purchased
from a consolidator.
(ii) Fare Inclusions:
Any tax or charge imposed by government or other authority, or by the operator
of an airport, in respect of a passenger or the use by a passenger of any
services or facilities will be in addition to the published fares and charges; and
shall be payable by the passenger, except as otherwise provided in Carrier’s
Regulations.
 Airlines pay GDSs which is known as Distribution Cost.
 GDSs then pay OTAs to close the sale.
 Travel agents booking from the GDS terminal pay a fee for using its service
 Customers booking via an OTA sometimes pay a service fee
 For Direct bookings, customer pays the airline’s payment gateway directly
and as soon as the payment is processed, a CRS is notified and generates
a booking confirmation number. If the booking is made via OTA or meta
search website, they use their own payment gateway.
7. Extra Mileage Allowance (EMA)
Extra mileage allowance is a grace allowance in mileage which is permitted when
travelling via a certain city(point). Extra mileage allowance is applicable for routings
throughout the globe via certain points hence it is essential to always check for
EMA table before applying a surcharge for the itinerary.
For Example:

Table 11.3 (EMA) Extra Milege Allowance 179

Airport Handling 8. Excess Mileage Surcharge (EMS)
EMS is calculated when TPM or the total number of miles flown exceed MPM or
Maximum Permitted Miles. In a scenario where TPM exceeds MPM, a surcharge
is added to the fare based upon a calculation, however, EMAor Extra Mileage
Allowance should always be considered before calculating surcharge. In the event.
TPM is greater than MPM after adding EMA then the chance for surcharge is
negated. However such situations don’t occur frequently and at times even after
considering EMA, the surcharge applies.
In the event that the mileage is exceeded, a surcharge of between 5 - 25% can be
assessed for an additional 5 - 25% mileage, respectively. Beyond 25% additional
mileage, the through fare must be broken. This scenario is covered in the next level
of Airfares and Ticketing. So ‘mileage surcharges’ apply in the following stages:
For a mileage increase if the fare is increased by:
Not more than 5% : 5%
More than 5%; but not more than 10% : 10%
More than 10%; but not more than 15% : 15%
More than 15%; but not more than 20% : 20%
More than 20%; but not more than 25% : 25%
9. Higher Intermediate Point Fares- (HIP)
In any routing permitted at the direct route normal fare, there is a higher direct
route normal fare of the same class between any two (stopover) points; the fare
for the component must be raised to the level of such higher fare.
HIP check is one of the most common checks used in fare construction. HIP
stands for Higher Intermediate Point. It is a fare component check which ensures
that the fare in NUC from fare component origin to fare component destination is
not lower than the NUC from/to any intermediate ticketed point in the same
component.
The HIP check is always undertaken to-from intermediate stopover points
regardless of where the passenger buys the ticket or where the ticket is issued. An
ETKT is deemed to be issued in the country in which the electronic record is
created however it does not affect the HIP check any more. The HIP Check is
made, for each fare component, by comparing the published fares from:
a. fare component Origin to each Intermediate Stopover point.
b. each Intermediate Stopover point to each subsequent Intermediate Stopover
point
c. each Intermediate Stopover point to the subsequent Fare Break Point/
Destination.
In case any fare as per (a), (b), (c) is higher than the Origin - Fare Break Point /
Destination fare, such higher fare will be applied or surcharged, as per mileage
calculation. In case there are multiple Higher Intermediate Fares (HIP’s), the highest
180
of such fares will be applied when comparing normal fares for the HIP Check; the Fare Constructions

comparison will be made in the same direction as the fare component. When using
half RT fares, the comparison will be made using half RT fares. When using one
way fares, the comparison will be made using one way fares. When checking the
HIP, it is necessary to validate the following conditions:
 Day of week, fare level
 Seasonality(including blackout dates)
 Flight application
 Number of stopovers
 Number of transfers
When more than one normal fare is published for the carrier and class of service
used, the lower/lowest fare level may be used; provided all stopover, transfer,
seasonality or day of week limitations of such lower/lowest fare are satisfied
(excluding stopover charges). If in any indirect routing permitted at the direct fare
plus a mileage surcharge, then there is a HIP. Therefore, the fare for the component
must be raised to the level of such higher fare- increased by the amount of mileage
surcharge (i.e. 5% -5M, 10%-10M, 20 % -20M etc.) required for the fare
component.
 Exceptions to Higher Intermediate Points:
Several exceptions to the HIP Check have been filed by various countries
and carriers, one of the major exceptions applicable from India is as
follows:
“For passengers originating from India for travel destined to USA/Canada,
when stopovers are taken in Europe or UK, Higher Intermediate Fares (HIP)
are not applicable from points in Europe/ UK to USA/ Canada.”
10. Constructed Fare:
The fare calculated after applying all the rules is known as a constructed fare and
is represented in the form of NUC value. At this point it is crucial to recheck that
the fare is done at the end in order to either avoid or add any fare applicable to the
routing, as per the mileage principle which may have been overlooked leading to
incorrect fare calculation.
11. Total Fare in Local Currency:
International fares are published in the Local Currency Fare which is normally the
national currency of the country of commencement of international transportation.
For example, international fares from Malaysia are denominated in Malaysian
Ringgit which is the national currency of Malaysia. However, there are groups of
countries that express their Local Currency Fares in a currency other than their
own national currency. These countries are divided into two main groups namely
US dollar and Euro: 1. US dollar (USD) countries 2. Countries Publishing Fares
in Euro. Additionally, passenger fares and excess baggage charges are established
in Euros for some countries that do not have the euro as their national currency.
181
Airport Handling
Check Your Progress–2

1. What are the steps involved in the construction of an air fare?

11.6 LET US SUM UP

One of the most important aspects of the airline industry is that concerned with revenue
management. Air fare construction needs a lot of practice and expertise. The construction
of air fares are technical and dependent on many factors that should be met by
international standards and yet are competitive.
Airfares are typically made up of fare and rule components that define the airfare
product, services and price; and include- origin/destination pair, fare class, one-way/
round-trip indicator, fare amount, validity dates, mileage and other rules. Air fare
construction is agreeably the most important and crucial task of aviation industry.

11.7 FURTHER READINGS

 A P Rastogi, 2007 Air Travel Ticketing and Fare Construction
 Poonam Pradhan, 2014, Air Travel Ticketing and Fare Construction

11.8 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress-1

1. Refer to section 11.1 and 11.2

2. Refer to section 11.3
3. Refer to section 11.3
182
Fare Constructions
Check Your Progress-2

1. Refer to section 11.5

2. Refer to section 11.5

ANNEXURE – CASE STUDY FOR FARE

CONSTRUCTION
1. Steps for One Way Fares Construction (OW)
A One-way(OW) journey is composed of a place of Origin, a place of Destination
which are mandatory, apart from that an Intermediate point/s could also be involved
whether through Passenger’s choice or for flight connection purpose. In a one-
way journey the Origin and destination are never the same.
i. One-way (OW) Fare Construction without Intermediate point/s
When the origin and Destination are connected directly without any intermediate
points then such Fares are deemed to be ‘Direct Fares’ and need no Fare
Construction and can be quoted as published either by the Carrier or the
PAT.
Example: BOM-BAH fare NUC 210.00 is a direct published Fare and needs
no further fare construction.
ii. One-way (OW) Fare Construction with Intermediate point/s
When a one-way journey involves an intermediate point/s, such fares need to
be constructed between the Origin and the Destination involving such
Intermediate points, as per the following IATA/UFTAA Fare Formula. These
Fares are termed as ‘Constructed Fares’
Example: BOM-BAH – FRA In this case it would not be always possible to
apply the BOM-FRA Direct Fare as the Journey involves an Intermediate
point viz. BAH and hence this Fare needs to be constructed accordingly.
Following are the basic steps in order to construct the fare from point of origin to the
destination point with one or more intermediate point/s on the routings.

Steps Term Used Particulars

1. FCP Identify the fare construction points of thefarecomponent.
2 NUC Quote the in Neutral Unit of Construction from the origin to
the destination based on global indicator, fare type and
carrier code.
3 RULE Identify the rule number, if any. Follow rule and check for
specified routing.
4 MPM Note the Maximum Permitted Mileage between Origin and
Destination of fare component.
5 TPM Component the Ticketed point Mileages and compare the
sum with MPM 183
Airport Handling
6 EMA If TPM exceeds MPM, Look for an Extra Mileage
Allowance or TPM Deductions.
7 EMS If EMA is nil or in-sufficient, determine the Extra Mileage
Surcharge
8 HIP  Look for a Higher Intermediate Point Fare from
 Component origin to intermediate stopover
 Intermediate stopover to another stopover
 Intermediate stopover to component destination
 If there is a higher fare, replace the Origin-Destination
NUC with this HIP Fare and apply EMS if any
9 RULE Follow HIP Fare Rule, particularly conditions on stopovers,
transfers seasonal / week applications
10 AF Determine the applicable fare in NUC which is the result of
above steps
11 CHECK Apply Backhaul Formula from Origin to highest rated
BHC stopover point if any
12 TOTAL Get the Total Result of all the above steps in NUC
13 IROE  Multiply the NUC total by the IATA Rate of Exchange
based on the COC or country of commencement of
international travel.
 Drop trailing zeroes if any
14 LCF  Round the resulting Local Currency Fare.
 Follow instructions on how to round off.

2. Construct the cheapest fare for the booking as per details given below:
1. EK 301 Y 04JAN DEL DXB HK1 0400 0800
2. BA 342 Y 10JAN DXB LON HK1 1230 1530
3. SK 1240 Y 05FEB LON CPH HK1 1445 1715
4. SK 556 Y 09FEB CPH FRA HK1 1235 1820
ROE 75.30
TAX 229WO TAX 555AE TAX 1450FR TAX 89IZ
TAXES 300YR
TAX 1850UB TAX1950GB TAX
17500 YQ
ECONOMY CLS FARES, MPMs & TPMs
FROM TO TPM OW - NUC RT - NUC GI/MPM
DELHI DUBAI 1360 434.89 724.83 EH1632
COPENHAGEN 3820 2023.80 3113.40 EH5682
184
Fare Constructions
FRANKFURT 3804 2023.80 3113.40 EH5152
LONDON 4169 2180.33 3354.29 EH5598
CHICAGO 7476 3118.80 5359.16 AT10206
DUBAI DELHI 1360 604.56 1097.47 EH1632
COPENHAGEN 2994 1990.70 3314.21 EH4372
FRANKFURT 3008 1731.99 2883.93 EH3944
LONDON 3403 1745.61 2905.72 EH4304
CHICAGO 7200 2627.07 4548.83 AT9009
COPE- DELHI 3821 3292.01 5060.47 EH5394
NHAGEN
DUBAI 2994 3816.25 5870.93 EH4372
FRANKFURT 422 404.50 506.04 EH506
LONDON 594 404.50 506.04 EH702
CHICAGO 4262 3303.53 5678.58 AT5114
FRANK- DELHI 3804 3329.18 5120.68 EH5152
FURT
DUBAI 3008 3296.90 5072.26 EH3944
COPENHAGEN 422 404.50 507.22 EH506
LONDON 396 404.50 507.22 EH4051
CHICAGO 4334 2953.21 5092.12 AT5200
LONDON DELHI 4169 3170.21 4875.69 EH5598
DUBAI 3403 2900.93 4461.56 EH4304
COPENHAGEN 594 404.50 507.22 EH712
FRANKFURT 396 404.50 507.22 EH475
CHICAGO 3953 4200.43 6460.79 AT4743

SOLUTION:
Fare Construction Points (FCP) – DELFRA ‘y’ Class One Way (OW)
Step -1: Convert the Booking into Routing as Below checking ‘No Stopovers’ and
mention Ticketed Point Mileages for each city pair travelled in the routing.
DEL
1360 DXB
3403 LON
594 CPHR 185
Airport Handling 396 FRA
5753 – Total
Step 2 – Construct fare as per the Mileage Principle.
FCP – DEL FRA ‘Y’ CLS OW
TPM – 5753
MPM – 5152
NUC – 2023.80
ROE – 75.30
RULE – AS PER FARE BASIS
EMA– NOTAPPLICABLE
EMS – REQD. TPM/MPM; 5753/5152 = 1.11
=15% I.E. 15M (will raise the fare by 15% as mileage exceeds)
HIP -
HIP TABLE

DEL DEL
DXB 434.89 DXB
LON 2180.33 1745.61 LON
CPH 2023.8 1990.7 404.5 CPH
FRA 2023.8 1731.99 404.5 404.5 FRA

HIP - DEL LON = 2180.33

CF – HIP FARE (if appl.) + EMS (if appl.)
= 2180.33 (DEL LON) + 15M
= 2180.33 + 2180.33 X 15/100
= 2180.33 + 327.04
= 2507.37
LCF – CF X ROE
= 2507.37 X 75.30
= 188805.67 (To be round off to next INR5 multiple)
= INR 1,88,810
TOTAL FARE – FARE + TAXES

186
Fare Constructions
UNIT 12 GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
(GDS)
Structure

12.0 Objectives
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Evolution of CRS to GDS - History of SABRE
12.3 Major GDS systems in the industry
12.4 Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and Tourism Industry
12.4.1 Importance of GDS to Travel Agents
12.4.2 Benefits of GDS to Travel Agents
12.4.3 Benefits of GDS to End Users (Flyers)
12.5 Application of Global Distribution Systems
12.5.1 Low - Cost Carriers and GDS
12.6 Technology Base of GDS
12.6.1 API Integration
12.6.2 NDC support
12.7 Future of GDS
12.8 Let Us Sum Up
12.9 Further Readings
12.10 Clues to Check your Progress Exercises
12.11 Activities

12.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 define GDS,
 identify the importance of GDS to travel agents,
 explain the evolution of CRS to GDS,
 identify major GDS systems in the industry,
 discuss how Global Distribution Systems work,
 examine the application of global distribution systems in tourism; and
 discuss the future of GDS

12.1 INTRODUCTION
Technological development has brought about changes in almost all aspects of our life.
Travel and tourism industry is no stranger to technological advancement and application.
Information technology has revolutionised the distribution system of hospitality and
187
Airport Handling travel services. Global Distribution System is one such computer-based application
that offers access to the services of a service provider, directly to a customer. Evolution
of airline reservation systems of individual airlines have gradually led to the development
of modern Global Distribution Systems (GDS).
Global Distribution System(GDS) is a primarily a reservation tool for travel agents.
This computerized reservation network electronically connects suppliers or carriers
with customers. GDS is a network/platform that enables travel agencies and their clients
to access travel data, shop for and compare reservations options and then book travel.
GDS networks generate billions of dollars in global travel sales. It is a computerized
network system which provides real-time information to and about companies such as
airlines, hotels, car rental and travel agencies. Each of these sectors uses GDS to view
real- time inventory of services offered in the travel industry. For example, using GDS,
a travel agency can find the availability of hotel rooms, flight seats or cars on behalf of
their clients and book through the same GDS. Through GDS travel agents can access
scheduling and inventory of hotels, airlines, car rentals, and (some) railway and bus
reservations – in real time. GDS links all those services across the three primary travel
reservation sectors (airline, hotel, and ground transportation, i.e., car rentals), and
activities. GDS provide a speedy, efficient, and secure means of access to travel and
tourism information; and booking via the Internet or a direct connection. Their services
are provided for consumer (end users), bricks and mortar travel agencies, and OTAs
(Online Travel Agents).
In this unit, we discuss the evolution of the Global Distribution System (GDS) and the
present application of GDS. The use of GDS in the travel and tourism industry and
benefits thereof are explained. The airline industry created the first GDS in the
1960stotrackflightschedules, availability and prices. In fact, the GDSs were actually
among the first companies that aided B2B (Business-2-Business) e-commerce in the
world. They were used by the airline industry to automate the booking system, but
later travel agents were also given access. GDSs have since then evolved and offer
more than just airline seats for the tourism industry. We will discuss them in the
subsequent sections.

12.2 EVOLUTION OF CRS TO GDS - THE HISTORY

OF SABRE
In the year 1960, American Airlines (AA) along with IBM Inc. developed Sabre on a
main frame computer. This was in response to the opportunities that emerged post
World War II, and due to the struggle of managing airline inventory and passenger
reservations, which sparked the creation of SABRE (Semi Automated Business
Research Environment). The ideas of C R Smith, President of AA and R. Blair Smith
from IBM led to the development of a data processing system that could create and
manage airline seat reservations. Thus, making the data available electronically to any
agent anywhere in the world. This idea of airline automation was born during 1960-69
with the invention of SABRE.
In the year 1964 SABRE demonstrated to the airline industry that real time processing
of reservations is the solution to passenger reservations problem. Gradually, the success
of Sabre encouraged IBM to develop and market its own system to airlines – PARS
(Programmed Airline Reservation System). The realisation by airline companies about
188 the efficiency of distribution through electronic reservations systems prompted the
industry to embrace the Customer Reservation System (CRS). Later CRS technology Global Distributions
Systems (GDS)
emerged as Global Distribution Systems (GDS). Though the airlines were benefitted
through electronic reservation systems, travel agents were still contacting airlines to
make reservations for their customers. It gradually led the company(1970-79) in
providing an integrated travel agency system to make available efficiencies of automation
to travel agents. During 1980-89 SABRE introduced Bargain Finder pricing, which
automatically offered the lowest fare for an itinerary. Initially SABRE focused on
corporate customers, though eventually to provide consumers direct access to SABRE
systems, Easy SABRE services was introduced. Through Easy SABRE consumers
could access airline, hotel and car rental and make reservations directly. During the
same period SABRE provided similar services to other airlines as well. During 1990-
1999 the World Wide Web became a viable channel for distribution of services. In
1996 SABRE became the first Global Distribution system (GDS) to create a consumer
facing online booking engine, and launched Travelocity. Millions of registered members
are using these service till date. During this period to expand into operations in Asia,
SABRE joined hand with ABACUS International.
During 2000-2009, SABRE built its own air travel shopping engine to enable finding
the lowest available fare. Travelocity, SABRE owned online travel Agency (OTA)
offers competitive advantage of numerous itinerary options and flexible shopping
capabilities, and provides global service to online agencies. Sabre Sonic Customer
Sales and Service (CCS) introduced by SABRE is industry’s first real intersection of
customer focussed solutions and revenue generation across every distribution channel.
During this period Sabre Airline Solutions has also introduced large crew systems, as
a solution for complex crew paring problems of long-haul flights. Sabre airline Solutions
also developed the Aerodynamic Traveller suite which introduced curb side check in,
roving agents and self-serve kiosks.
The strategic acquisition in SynXis Corporation renamed as Sabre Hospitality Solutions
expanded the company’s operations to reservation management, distribution and
technology service for hotels.

12.3 MAJOR GDS SYSTEMS IN THE INDUSTRY

GDS industry has come a long way since the 60s; while SABRE is still a major player,
several new GDS companies operate today. The major global distribution systems for
travel reservations include:
1. Amadeus GDS
Amadeus is the world’s largest GDS, accounting for about 40 % of GDS
transactions, and is especially popular in Europe. Though many of these reservations
are for airfare, it’s still a powerful tool for hotels, with over 600,000 hotels
connected.
While looking at market share for global distribution systems, Amadeus GDS
ranks as the market leader with a major share of all travel agency bookings.
However, most of these bookings are linked to flights, rather than hotel rooms.
Nonetheless, Amadeus can provide the hotel industry with excellent access to the
European market, in particular, as its database is hosted in Germany and its company
headquarters is situated in Germany.
189
Airport Handling 2. SABRE GDS
Sabre is the second-largest GDS, accounting for about 35% of travel agency
bookings. Around 175,000 hotels are connected to Sabre, but its portfolio in
North America is larger than its competitors.
The SABRE Global Distribution System is the closest competitor for Amadeus
when it comes to total market share, and it is actually more proportionally reliant
on the hotel industry than Amadeus is. In total, it is estimated that more than
200,000 hotels use the network to connect with travel agencies. The company
itself is situated in the U.S. state of Texas, and is comparatively stronger in the
North American market.
3. Travelport GDS
Travelport is a company that owns the Worldspan, Galileo and Apollo systems.
While the parent company is based in the United Kingdom, Worldspan and Galileo
GDS databases are situated in the United States. Travelport provides GDS services
and a variety of other travel industry solution and it offers access to diverse markets,
including those in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Galileo is slightly more popular
with hotels, as Worldspan is more closely associated with airlines.

Name of the Founded Founded by Headquarters No of Revenue

GDS in Employees

Amadeus 1987 Air France, Iberia, Madrid, Spain 16,785 €4.9439

Lufthansa and SAS billion
(2018)

Travelport 2001 Founded through Langley, Approxi US$ 2.5

(Subsidies the acquisition of Berkshire, UK mately 3,700 billion
include -Apollo, Galileo International (2018)
Galileo, and by TDS’s parent,
Worldspan) Cendant Corporation

Sabre 1976 Initially founded by Southlake, Around US$3.87

American Airlines. Texas, United 10,000 billion
Currently, Sabre is a States (2018)
separate entity owned
by AMR Corporation

Table 1: Major GDS Systems in the Industry

Independent travel agents, online agents, and travel agencies now increasingly use
190 more sophisticated GDS systems to search for the best available travel and
accommodationsratesfortheirclients.Agentswillmakeairlineandhotelreservations (in real Global Distributions
Systems (GDS)
time) for clients, and they will complete their research and bookings within minutes.

12.4 GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS (GDS)

AND TOURISM INDUSTRY
Global Distribution Systems, at times also referred to as Computer Reservation System
(CRS), were originally set up for use by the airlines but were later on extended to
include the travel agents. Today, the systems allow users to purchase tickets from
multiple and different providers or airlines. Global Distribution Systems are also the
back end of most Internet-based travel services. However, different global distribution
systems still service only a limited number of airlines. For example, SABRE is used by
American Airlines, PARS by USAir, Travel Sky by Air China, Worldspan by Delta, so
on and so forth. Other major Global Distribution Systems include Galileo, and Amadeus.
Travel companies use GDS to find the best airline ticket, car rental, hotel rooms, etc.
for their clients. Information is customized by the travel companies, based on the
preferences and itinerary. When a traveler requests information from a travel company,
agent will find the most accurate and cost-effective itinerary which can be supplemented
by GDS; thus giving the client real time price and availability of options. Travel companies
are charged every time they access the GDS or they can buy the license of a GDS
from the company on an annual subscription. Importantly, an average person can never
access the GDS without the help of a travel agency or a vendor.

In short, a GDS functions as a middleman between a travel agent and a hotel’s (or
airline’s) central reservation system. Travel agents can see real-time rates and inventory
for a given hotel via the GDS, though the GDS doesn’t actually hold its own inventory.
It’s simply a window into the hotel’s system, which shows available room types, rates,
and restrictions. When a travel agent books a room, GDS transfers the reservation
information to the hotel’s system and removes that room from the hotel system’s
inventory. The travel agent does not need to talk to anyone from the hotel, and the
hotel’s reservations agents don’t need to enter any data manually. It’s much more
efficient less dependent on human intervention than earlier.
To see how Global Distribution Systems work, let’s take a closer look at one of the
largest GDS in the industry—Amadeus. Amadeus was created in 1987 as a joint
venture between Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa, and SAS and has grown considerably
over the past twenty-five years. Amadeus is used by over 90,000 travel agency locations
and over 32,000 airline sales offices for the distribution and selling of travel services.
The service processes more than 480 million transactions per day, and over 3 million
total bookings per day. Business travellers benefit from Amadeus by being able to 191
Airport Handling purchase a complete itinerary all at once, rather than having to negotiate with individual
service providers. As many as 74 million passenger name records can be active at the
same time on Amadeus. In terms of airline partners, Amadeus services leading airlines
such as British Airways, Qantas, Lufthansa, and more. By using the system, reservation
options with airlines, hotels and travel services can be accessed in real time and can be
coordinated into one itinerary. It’s fast and replaces the cumbersome systems of the
past which required phone calls to each individual service provider to check for rates,
determine availability, and make a reservation.

12.4.1 Importance of GDS to Travel Agents

Let us visualise how was the travel trade was done earlier - a large room with tables
and reservation executives are seated around each table. As a ticketing request is
called in, a reservationist reaches out toward a very large rotating Lazy Susan placed
on each table. The Lazy Susan has cubbyholes that house index file cards; each card
represents an airline flight. The reservationist pulls a card, marks it to indicate a seat is
booked; a ticket is manually written, the phone call is completed, and the index card is
returned to its cubbyhole. The process for one airline reservation took anything between
90 minutes to 3 hours. Add to it the process of booking tickets for a multi destination
itinerary and hotel rooms at each destination. The difficulty of handling all the arrangements
for a trip created a need for the travel agent profession.
The modern GDS system evolved from this early labour-intensive manual system,
thanks to the collaborative team efforts of American Airlines (AA) and IBM. The
result of that collaboration is the first airline industry mainframe-based system, SABRE.
Today we also have additional GDS like Amadeus and Galileo and others promoted
by Travelport.
Besides savings the time, GDS also allows travel agents to tap into reservation systems
for a world of travel providers. Today you can book not only airfare and hotels via the
GDS, but also rental cars, cruises, rail tickets, and tours. For a travel agent who is
booking a vacation package that might include all of the above, they can complete the
reservations in just a few clicks, rather than calling each individual provider.
For hotels, airlines, and the like, the GDS offers massive marketing power. Before the
GDS became popular, hotels would need to undertake huge marketing efforts in order
to be seen by travel agents. GDS effectively democratized this process, with chain
hotels getting the same visibility on the GDS as independent hotels. GDS also give
hotels access to new segments of guests, such as corporate travellers via companies
like American Express and Carlson Wagonlit, who most likely would not book directly.
While hotels do need to pay a fee per booking to use the GDS, that fee is often less
than the average OTA(Online Travel Agency) commission. At the same time,
Promotional messages to agents through GDS cores alert agents to special rates, fares,
and travel packages – an effective marketing tool for passing savings on to agents, and
from agents to their customers. GDS systems also support high traffic portal travel
sites like Booking.com, Travelocity or Trip Advisor.

12.4.2 Benefits of GDS to Travel Agents

GDS undoubtedly is the most important channel of distribution for airlines, hotels and
car rental companies. We can list some of the major benefits of using GDS:

192  Effective in attracting and retaining international travellers

 24/7 access to inventory by the travel agents Global Distributions
Systems (GDS)
 Enables business models of both retail travel agency as well as OTA
 Offer consumers increased pricing transparency
 Travel agents can get a global platform with a strong market penetration
 Provide best rates to the customers which no other system can provide
 Place travel services to many clients without affecting the marketing budget
 Reduces marketing costs of hotels since both chain and independent hotels
get equal visibility
 Promotional messages can be sent directly to agents and alert them to special
rates, fares, and travel packages.

12.4.3 Benefits of GDS to End Users (Flyers)

Undoubtedly GDS is beneficial to both stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry;
and many a time the benefit trickles down to the end user, the customer and in case of
airlines, the flyers. One of the customer friendly initiative of airlines is the Frequent
Flyer Programme(FFPs) which is offered to the loyal customers of an airline to reward
and encourage customer loyalty and patronage has benefited a lot from the GDS.
FFPs award points, which are also referred to as Ticketed Point Miles (TPM) or
miles, are awarded to the members of FFP on the purchase of revenue air tickets.
These points can be used by the customer or family for
 free travel on the airline or on its FFP partners,
 upgrades or discounts on flight,
 car rentals,
 and/ or hotel booking.
The FFP system integrates with airlines’ computerized reservation system(CRS), which
has two permeable sections — the departure control system (DCS) and the reservation
(RES) system. The DCS mainly deals with flight operations while the RES records a
history of bookings, ticket details, special requests such as upgrades in the PNRs, etc.
The FFP application gets updates in a batch processing mode on crediting miles when
a passenger checks in, unlike the real time operations of the CRS. FFP’s serve as a
powerful marketing tool for airlines and is a major cash generating option for the carriers
through the sale of miles to banks credit cards and other program partners (hotels,
cabs, restaurants). There are two accrual structures for counting the points of FFP.
They are - 193
Airport Handling i Mileage based– It is based on the actual miles traveled by a flyer as followed
by airlines like Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and others.

ii Revenue Based- Miles are accrued based on the amount spent by a member
for the purchase of a ticket, as practiced by United Airlines, Delta Airlines,
and others

iii Mix Model (Mileage + Revenue) - Based on best elements of both Mileage
and Revenue based structures are also followed at times by few airlines.

FFPs have evolved since the world’s first airline mile-based loyalty program was
launched in 1981. Today, most airlines tie up their FFPs with their diverse alliance
partners ranging from other airlines, credit card providers, mortgage, car hire and
finance companies to fuel companies, hotels and even grocery supermarkets. More
than half of all miles are now earned on the ground, notably on credit cards linked to
airlines’ programs. Miles also gets added when customers travel with an alliance partner
airline or buy co-branded products. Close integration of FFPs with dominant airlines
help overcome seat awarding and upgrading challenges on airlines that operate in a
different geography. This offers a win-win for both customers as well as the airlines;
and has thus resulted in the formation of Airline Consortium or Alliance.

An airline alliance is an agreement between two or more airlines to cooperate on a

significant level in the aviation business. Customers benefit from the wider network,
seamless connections, easy baggage transfers, and the convenience of reserving itineraries
across several cities or countries through a single, consolidated network. Similarly,
airlines are able to offer lower fares, increase flight options, and offer promotions to a
wider customer group. Travelers using inter - airline code share connections within
countries may benefit from alliance marketing branding. It is the GDS which has helped
both the airlines and flyers with the integration of information on a single platform.
FFPs of one airline can be used for another airline as airlines have now started code
sharing and forming alliances and consortium among themselves using the GDS. Few
popular Airline Alliances which also have successful FFP’s are:

i Star Alliance: The first airline alliance was founded on May 14, 1997, when
Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai Airways and United Airlines came together
in a globe-spanning partnership. From its first day, Star served every inhabited
continent. Star has since grown to 26 members, flying 727 million passengers.
It’s the biggest alliance by most metrics.

ii Sky Team: The newest alliance, founded in 2000 by Aeromexico, Air France,
Delta Air Lines and Korean Air, has since grown to be the second largest by
airline members and people carried on its planes. Its 19 members, based on
all continents except Australia, and fly 630 million passengers a year.

iii One World: The second alliance to be formed in 1998, by American Airlines,
British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas— is the smallest, with 14 carriers
and 535 million passengers in 2018.

These airline alliances have been helpful to the passengers as now they can fly on any
of the airlines of an alliance with common FPP in place, all due to the sharing of
information on the GDS platform.
194
Global Distributions
Check your progress - 1 Systems (GDS)

1. Differentiate between CRS and GDS

12.5 APPLICATION OF GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

SYSTEMS
The first computerized reservation system (CRS) was created in the 1960s by the
airline company. CRS provided basic information concerning the schedule, prices and
availability of seats of an airline since CRS is a reservation system used by the service
providers (also known as vendors). It is the predecessor of today’s distribution system
through which the work of agents is facilitated and their productivity is increased. GDS
is different from a CRS, as GDS holds no inventory as the inventory is held on the
vendor’s reservation system itself. Primary customers of GDS are travel agents(both
online and office-based) who make reservations on various reservation systems run by
the vendors. AGDS system will have real-time link to the vendor’s database. For
example, when a travel agency requests a reservation on the service of a particular
airline company, the GDS system routes the request to the appropriate airline’s computer
reservations system.
Let us briefly examine the inventory and coverage of services and products of major
GDS companies.
1. Amadeus inventory and coverage
Amadeus is considered the most versatile GDS. It consolidates around 490 airlines,
770,000 hospitality properties, 69 car rental companies and transfer carriers in 195
Airport Handling 42,000 locations, 43 railway carriers, and 53 cruise and ferry lines. The main area
of Amadeus distribution is the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa).
Both North and South America and the APAC region (Asia-Pacific) are equally
popular.
 Flights: The classic flight search and booking functionality is presented in all
GDSs,Amadeusincluded.Amadeusalsohasservicesforbusinesstravel(useful for
TMCs) and packaged rail and air booking.
 Hotels: Not offering much in terms of content, Amadeus gives basic hotel
booking capabilities, with search and pricing details. It also owns an iHotelier
GDS, that offers connectivity to all main GDS, combined.
 Car rentals: Apart from basic car booking, Amadeus has rich visual content
and airport shuttle/transfer options.
 Cruises: Amadeus Cruise Web Services provides extensive cruise booking
availability with transfers, special services, excursions, bus availabilities, and
more. Apart from regular booking, it supports modifications and cancelation
opportunities.
 Railways: Acceptable rail bookings using Amadeus consists of regular search
and ticketing, plus some additional services like accommodation.
 Insurance: One of the distinguishing features of Amadeus compared to other
GDSs is that it offers insurance shopping along with booking. It connects
both OTAs and retail agencies with dozens of global and local insurance
providers and allows them to create insurance documents with pre-filled
information.
2. SABRE inventory and coverage
SABRE, a global distribution system with a strong background, has descended
from a computer reservation system initially developed by American Airlines. So,
it’s fair to assume that Sabre mostly serves the Americas. In the Asia-Pacific, this
GDS was less popular until it bought the largest GDS in Asia – Abacus.
 The SABRE distribution channel unites around 440 airlines, 50 railway carriers,
37 car rental companies across 40,000 destinations, 20 cruise lines, and more
than a million hotel properties.
 Flights: SABRE offers extensive functionality for flight booking, including
mileage count, seat maps, queue activity, and more.
 Hotels: Similar to Amadeus, SABRE has limited hotel data availability that
provides basic search, booking, cancelations, and access to loyalty program
data.
 Car rentals: SABRE has several APIs for car rentals, which allows for building
a comprehensive search and booking platform. Calculating rate depending
on length and fees, precise geo search, search by special requirements, and
so on.
 Cruise: Despite the smallest inventory of cruise providers, SABRE gives
access to full cruise content, including interactive maps and cabin images.
196
 Railways: Besides standard features, on SABRE a traveler can purchase rail Global Distributions
Systems (GDS)
cards, find station codes, and manage rail tours.
3. Travelport inventory and coverage
Travelport GDS aggregates and distributes information across channels on access
to airlines, rails, cruises, and carrentals. Additionally, it allows for parsing information
on available hotels and tours. Travelport GDS is likely to be the only GDS equally
covering all directions and continents. It’s evenly represented in the Americas,
though to a greater extent in South America, EMEA and the APAC region.
 In its distribution channel, Travelport combines 650,000 hotel properties,
400+ airline partners, 125 low-cost carriers, car rental units in over
38,000 locations, 50 cruise lines, and 19 railway carriers.
 Flights: Travelport gives access to booking direct flights, connected air
and train routes, and also ancillary services, such as baggage, meals, and
insurance.
 Hotels: Apart from basic hotel content and booking, Travelport offers
deals from non-GDS providers: Agoda, Tourico, and others. It also has
support discounts for corporate clients.
 Car rentals: Travelport’s car rental functionality is standard: search,
pricing, images, vehicle details, and cancelation.
 Cruises: Important to note, currently Travelport provides cruise booking
opportunity only to travel agents who request direct booking via a web-
based platform.
 Railways: Travelport is heavily focused on providing combined air and
train booking availability, including data on optimal connections with flights,
ticketing air-rail as a single ticket, and offering train transfers directly to
and from an airport.
Which GDS is the Best?
No one GDS can be called the “best” travel service provider, since they all provide
similar functionality and have their own unique differences. As a travel professional, if
you are wondering how to choose a GDS, you’ll want to consider a few variables –
i. The system’s presence in the markets where your guests come from,
ii. The system’s functions and which travel websites that GDS connects into.
Travelport, for example, supports more options for discounts for corporate
travellers.
iii. In addition, you should ensure your existing property management system
offers integration with the GDS that you choose.
iv. One will also have to consider the price. Each system has a different fee
structure that varies by property and market, so you’ll need to contact the
Company to find out which fees apply to your hotel. GDS fees can skyrocket
quickly in the hotel management world and it’s important to understand how
rates and commissions are structured to ensure that your e-commerce channel
on GDS networks can be profitable.
197
Airport Handling 12.5.1 Low-Cost Carriers and GDS
The integration of GDSs among low-cost carriers was neglected for a long time, mostly
because of extra fees charged by GDSs that carriers tried to eliminate. This means that
OTAs had to contact LCCs directly if they wanted to give access to budget flights.
However, currently, we see a gradual growth in opportunities for LCC shopping via
GDSs. Partially, because it’s becoming more beneficial for GDS providers to share
low-cost resources and partially because of the growing rivalry among distribution
channels for low-cost carriers. Currently, GDSs suggest some products that have been
adjusted for the low-cost model.
Amadeus is currently connected with over 90 LCCs. It offers three ways to book a
flight from its dedicated resource. Amadeus e-ticketing involves full integration of the
airline with the same booking capabilities as full-service airlines have. According to
Amadeus, this type of ticketing is used by West Jet, Vueling, and Norwegian Air
Shuttle.
Light ticketing from Amadeus is an e-ticketing type of booking that enables immediate
ticket issuing. It allows for removing ATPCO from the distribution network with the
usage of the XML interface. Light ticketing is now available through several airlines
like EasyJet, Transavia, Spring Airlines, and Air Asia. For OTAs, this type of distribution
means that LCCs are directly integrated into their middle- and back-office systems.
Amadeus ticketless booking is via SSR e-pay. Here, the booking system uses the
customer’s credit card instead of issuing a ticket. Such airlines as Jetstar, Spirit Airlines
and TUI fly are using it.
Travelport offers access to low-cost carriers via a Smart point solution. It returns
information on branded fares and ancillaries and lists LCCs along with other airlines
for quick comparison. The platform is available only for manual booking via travel
agents.
SABRE offers LCC booking with common conditions, but with the help of its
merchandising technology, some of them can sell their ancillaries via the platform. For
now, it supports Transavia, easyJet, NorwegianAir Shuttle, Ryanair, WestJet and more
in the program.

12.6 TECHONOLOGY BASE OF GDS

We now understand that the GDS is viable and accessible globally in the same manner
due to the advancement in information technology. The sharing of information among
many CRS of airlines, hotel, taxi service and others is possible due to the various
technological interfaces being used.

12.6.1 API Integration

API(Application Programming Interface) is the exchange of data sources among two
or more applications, using their own APIs. API is just an interface, a point where two
systems, subjects, organizations, etc. meet and interact. It is a part of almost everything
that share information / data in the digital world. APIs offer flawless operation and
performance of applications and web systems regardless of the business or the size of
the company. API connectors provide data synchronisation, increased efficiency and
198 income generation across various sectors as well as layers of an organisation. API
(Application Programming Interface) connectivity is still one of the main methods of Global Distributions
Systems (GDS)
data exchange in the travel industry.
However, achieving effective and automated business processes and procedures that
interact and share essential data requires something extra; this iswhere API integration
comes in. API connection and integration enables programmes to share data and
communicate with one another without the need for humans to intervene. It enables
businesses to automate systems, improve data exchange, and integrate existing apps.
Here’s a recap of APIs main GDSs offer and the data they provide.
1. Amadeus APIs
Amadeus for Developers introduces two types ofAPI sets, with different levels of
access. Self-service APIs provide the testing platform for young booking websites
that allow them to start building apps fast and prepare them for production. They
cover the following:
 Flight and fare search (booking, flight utilities, and flight choice prediction)
 Hotel search and shopping, hotel ratings
 Destination location
 Trip utilities
Enterprise APIs are the main representatives of the Amadeus API family. They
cover nine inventory types:
 Airlines
 Railways
 Hotels
 Car mobile options
 Transfers
 Cruise lines
 Travel insurance booking
 Utilities
 Customer profiles
Each of these includes multiple APIs. Some are of informative value, such as the
lowest fares search. The other part is built for booking. Regarding technology,
Enterprise APIs are built for exchange both in REST/JSON and SOAP/XML
formats. Pricing and conditions on access are made available only upon direct
contact with the Amadeus team.
2. Sabre API
Sabre APIs provide almost the same set of functions as Amadeus does. Sabre
breaks its APIs into eight groups:
 Airlines
 Ground transportation (car rentals and rails) 199
Airport Handling  Cruises
 Hotels
 Profiles
 Trip management
 Session management
 Utility
At the moment, the system doesn’t offer insurance and airport transfer options.
The access to the system is also provided by contacting the Sabre team. Both
REST and SOAPAPIs are available.
3. Travelport API
Travelport combines three GDSs: Apollo, Worldspan, and Galileo. They are all
merged into a single Travelport Universal API. In contrast to Amadeus and Sabre,
the universal API is a package of the following functions:
 Air API connect
 RailAPI connect
 Travelport rooms
 Fares and ancillaries
 Customer profiles
Access to the API, as always in the cases of GDS providers, is available after
direct contact with the Travelport team. It’s available via a single SOAP/XML
interface.

12.6.2 New Distribution Capability (NDC) Support

New Distribution Capability or NDC is a recent initiative that comprises a technology
for providing rich content and selling ancillary services in flight booking. Currently, the
problem with third-party air booking lies in the lack of shopping for extra services –
you can purchase meals or extra luggage only directly. NDC aims to change that by
implementing a new XML standard for data exchange between suppliers and booking
platforms. GDSs have also started working on NDC adoption.
Amadeus is developing and promoting its own NDC-X program and has already
gained dual Level 4 certification from IATA as an NDC aggregator and IT provider.
This means that Amadeus API users can support an end-to-end ancillary booking flow
with selected airlines.
Upon launching its Beyond NDC program, SABRE has been recognized with Level 3
NDC certificate both as an IT-provider and an aggregator in short order. The
certification means that Sabre’s technologies and capabilities totally match IATA’s
standards and can provide a full scope of services.
Travelport was the first GDS to achieve Level 3 certification from IATA. Travelport
has presented its NDC solution in its 2017 roadmap. Initially introducing it for airlines
200 only, Travelport has been taking action to integrate it for OTAs in the coming stages.
Global Distributions
12.7 FUTURE OF GDS Systems (GDS)

GDS booking has increased worldwide over the last few years yet some industry
observers suggest that GDSs may become nearly obsolete soon but the likelihood of
GDS like many technology/software-based systems, to evolve is more. GDSs may
become more of a “direct corporate booking tool” instead of a system used exclusively
by Travel Management Companies. For example, to recoup additional money, over
the past few years many airlines have incentivized travellers to purchase tickets directly
from the airline websites. Some airlines are even imposing additional fees for tickets
booked through a Global Distribution System, rather than the airline’s website.
While such changes will definitely impact the future growth opportunities for GDS,
there will continue to be a role for them as they evolve to meet the needs of travel
planners, travel websites, airlines and groups of individuals. Most of the Online Travel
Agencies are powered by GDS. GDS companies play a crucial role in the functioning
of travel, tourism and aviation industry. The traditional role of GDS is changing and
being challenged by the changes taking place in the travel industry. Many online travel
websites are pushing and encouraging consumers to make bookings directly via their
website since airlines are already doing it.
For example, Southwest Airlines do not work with the GDS Company Worldspan;
Sabre is used by American Airlines; PARS by USAir; Travel Sky by Air China; and
Worldspan by Delta. If you are an agent who uses WorldSpan, you cannot book with
Southwest Airlines or you need to look for pricing directly on their website. Another
newsworthy information is, agreements signed between airlines and GDS is on a renewal
basis. Many in the travel industry are wondering if the airlines will renew their relationship
with certain GDSs.
Technology may refine and tailor engines to target specific travel interests like corporate
or leisure travel. Integration methodologies may change, blurring or merging nearly
separate functions like booking and in-flight processes. Technology may also produce
new solutions to make data more useful and practical for customers (travel agents) and
expand to cover new industries. GDS is probably not going to fall into disuse anytime
soon. Rather, it will continue to evolve as it did from the Lazy Susan system of the 1950s.
In 2006 the volume of internet reservations exceeded GDS reservations for the first
time, thanks to the growing popularity of online booking channels and the decline of
brick-and-mortar travel agencies. Does the GDS still serve a purpose when travellers
can easily book directly with the airline or hotel? In many cases, yes, the GDS still
delivers value, especially for airlines and corporate travel companies. Airlines still
distribute their inventory to OTAs via the GDS, and corporate travel planners continue
to use the GDS to find corporate rates. However, with so much innovation happening
in the travel space, the GDS’s legacy technology definitely faces competition from
other booking systems.

Check Your Progress - 2

1. Explain the inventory and services of any one GDS.

12.8 LET US SUM UP

AGDS connects multiple vendors of services with intermediaries or end users. During
1960s individual airlines and hotels developed Central Reservation systems (CRS) to
manage their inventory of services. Gradually the need of the industry became linking
the inventory of multiple service providers. This has led to the emergence of GDS
which is a multi-product, multi service distribution network solution for travel tourism
and hospitality services. The ‘Big Three’ Global Distribution Systems, which are
responsible for the vast majority of travel agency bookings, are Amadeus, Sabre and
Travelport. Global Distribution System (GDS) is a computerized network system owned
or operated by a company that enables transactions between travel industry service
providers, mainly airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel agencies. The GDS
mainly uses real-time inventory (e.g. number of hotel rooms available, number of
flight seats available, or number of cars available) of service providers. Travel agencies
traditionally relied on GDS for services, products and rates in order to provide travel-
related services to the end consumers. Thus, a GDS can link services, rates and bookings
consolidating products and services across all three travel sectors: i.e., airline
reservations, hotel reservations, car rentals. There’s no doubt that global distribution
systems will play an important part in the travel landscape for many years to come, but
their traditional role is changing and is being challenged by all the changes taking place
in the travel industry. Two important considerations impacting the role of global
distribution systems are the growth of online travel websites that offer price comparisons
and the increased push from airlines and other travel service providers to encourage
consumers to make bookings directly via their websites.

12.9 FURTHER READINGS

https://tripactions.com/glossary/gds
https://amadeus.com/en/topic/travel-platform/global-distribution-system-gds https://
www.sabre.com/insights/tag/gds/
https://www.travelperk.com/corporate-travel-glossary/global-distribution-system/

202
Global Distributions
12.10 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Systems (GDS)

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress-1

1. See section 12.1 and 12.2 to frame your answer

2. See section 12.2 and frame your answer
3. See section 12.3 and frame your answer
4. See section 12.4 and frame your answer

Check Your Progress-2

1. See section 12.5 and frame your answer

2. See section 12.6 and frame your answer
3. See section 12.7 and frame your answer

12.11 ACTIVITY
Visit the following website and discuss in the class “How GDS Integrates Travel
Industry”
Website: https://www.flightslogic.com/benefits-of-global-distribution-system.php

203
Airport Handling
UNIT 13 AIR CARGO OPERATIONS
Structure

13.0 Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Importance of Air Cargo
13.2.1 Advantages of Air Cargo
13.2.2 Disadvantages of Air Cargo
13.3 Types of Air Cargo
13.4 Air Cargo Supply Chain Process
13.5 Air Cargo Documentation
13.6 Air Way Bill
13.6.1 Completion of Airway Bill
13.7 Air Cargo Business Model.
13.8 LetUsSumUp
13.9 FurtherReading
13.10 Cluesto Check Your Progress Exercise
13.11 Activities

13.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, the learner will be able to:
 define air cargo,
 identify the different types of cargo,
 differentiate between air cargo and air freight,
 explain the air cargo supply chain,
 List and explain air cargo documentation; and
 discuss the business model of air cargo.

13.1 INTRODUCTION
In modern times we are used to receiving goods as per our order within few hours or
days. We hardly look back to understand the process by which the goods were moved
from one place to another and reached us. The goods which are moved from one
place to another is known as Cargo and the process of handling goods or cargo for
transportation from one destination to another and across borders is known as Cargo
management.
Cargo Management has evolved many folds since we started sending mails using pigeon.
In modern times, it involves more than one person or service provider and mode of
transportation. Dynamics of cargo transportation involves many layers, partners and
204 stakeholders. Cargo is transported through cargo containers and trucks on road, by
rail, ships, and by air. Among all, Cargo movement through air is fast and efficient Air Cargo Operations
means of transport of goods.
According to IATA (International Air Transport Association) Airlines transport over
65.6 million cargo tonnes of goods a year, representing more than 35% of global trade
by value but less than 1% of world trade by volume. That is equivalent to $6.8 trillion
worth of goods annually, or $18.6 billion worth of goods every day. While that figure
represents are relatively small amount of world trade by volume, yet many aspects of
modern life that we take for granted simply would not be possible without air cargo
movement. One important example is that of perishable goods–such as certain fruits,
vegetables, flowers or household consumables–which can be moved swiftly in a
temperature-controlled environment around the world only as air cargo.
Pharmaceutical suppliers are sorely on the advantages of air freight to move costly
products such as vaccines in carefully controlled conditions and within set timeframes.
Air Cargo was also the back bone of pharma supply movement across the globe
during the pandemic of Covid-19. At the same time, moving livestock and animals
over long distances by air is the preferred option as it is both humane and convenient.
Air cargo movement has become the backbone of the supply chain mechanism of the
e-commerce businesses, such as Amazon, Myntra and Flipkart etc, who promising
and delivering purchases swiftly and within a time frame only due to the movement of
air cargo.
The key stakeholders of the air cargo business / supply chain are the Airlines, Air
Cargo terminal operators, Ground Handling service providers, Integrated Express
Service Providers, Forwarders, Domestic Cargo Transport service providers and
Custom House Agents. Thus the Air Cargo industry involves a wide variety of service
providers who come together to move goods both domestically and internationally;
wherein they also interact with a number of cross-border regulatory agencies like the
Customs establishment. Overall, Air Cargo business involves many stakeholders and
processes, thus giving ample opportunity to those seeking employment. In this unit we
will discuss the air cargo supply chain, the stakeholders and the process. We will also
discuss few terms that are commonly used in the Cargo business and explain the need
and importance of the Air cargo supply chain management.

13.2 IMPORTANCE OF AIR CARGO

Cargo and freight are two terms that you may have come across during your day-to-
day life. Although both these terms are related to the transportation of goods and at
times used interchangeably, they are not the same. We usually use the term “cargo” to
refer to the goods transported by ships or planes. The term cargo is used for the goods
transported and does not include the payment made towards the movement of the
goods. Hence, we have the designated airplanes and ships for the transportation of
cargo, popularly referred to as cargo planes and ships.
Freight usually is referred to as the payment made for the transportation of the goods,
popularly referred to as freight charges. The term Freight is at times used to refer to
both the process of conveying the commodities as well as the items themselves. The
word ‘cargo’ is used only to indicate goods and nothing else. On the other hand the
word ‘freight’ is used to refer to product, money charged, amount payable or
merchandise.Although the distinctions between the two phrases – air cargo and air 205
Airport Handling freight, have diminished over time, traditionally the term freight was used when land
transportation like truck or train was used to transport goods while cargo was used for
goods transported through plane or ship.
Therefore, we can say that all goods transported byanaircarrier is air cargo. Transport
services via air are the most valuable when it comes to moving express shipments
around the globe. Airfreight can be defined as all cargo moved by air except for mail
and passenger baggage. Notably, Mails are referred to as cargo and never as freight.
Although the parcel sent through mails can be referred to as freight.

13.2.1 Advantages of Air Cargo

Air cargo transports accounts for approximately 35% of world trade by value and
growing. Air cargo helped the airlines sustain during covid out break since air cargo
represented one-third of airlines’ revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. There many
economic advantages from air cargo besides speed and efficiency of transportation
and delivery of cargo as they link markets across continents and act as a catalyst for
the economic growth in the emerging economies. According to the Air Transport Action
Group (ATAG), the largest economic benefit of increased air cargo connectivity lies in
its impact on the long-term performance of the wider economy through enhancement
of the overall level of productivity. Further, it opens up new markets, boosts exports
and at the same time increases competition and choice in the home market from foreign-
based producers. We can say that air cargo is important since -
i. Any country across the world, regardless of where they are in the world, can
quickly and reliably connect to distant markets and global supply chains by
air cargo delivery. This is essential for implementing best global business
practices, such as build-to-order manufacturing and just-in-time inventory
management.
ii. Transportation of cargo by air is crucial for Small Island Developing States
(SIDS), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) like Nepal, Bhutan, and
Least Developed Countries (LDCs), since it helps them overcome irregular
boat services and inadequate ground transportation infrastructure. Routes for
air cargo services are thought of as these regions’ regional lifelines.
iii. During calamities brought on by natural disasters, famines and wars the speed
and dependability of aviation sector plays an important role in getting the
urgently required aid to those in need. One of the first and most important
step taken by the NGOs and government agencies is airdrop of essentials to
the people in the affected areas.
iv. Speed of transportation is the most important aspect of transportation of cargo
by air. This is vital where medical supplies and organs for transplantation need
to be moved around the world. Usually urgently required radiopharmaceuticals
for medical diagnosis or treatment or similarly high value and necessary items
are carried by air.
v. Air cargo transportation is ideal for fragile and perishable goods efficiently as
speed and temperature control ensures that goods are transported successfully.
For example, certain food products like fresh seafood, exotic food and cut
flowers are best transported by air. Perishable products require both speed
and efficiency as in terms of temperature-controlled environment which can
206 be provided during the transportation of cargo by air.
vi. desired. For example, precious gold and metal are not transported in bulk Air Cargo Operations
and requires smaller space and more security.
vii. Transfer of high value goods leads to another advantage of air cargo – the size
of the product transported. Air cargo gives the advantage of transportation of
various sizes and does not have the requirement of filling up cargo container.
One need not need a large space to transport goods of value like gold,
electronic items of value, and so on.

13.2.2 Disadvantages of Air Cargo

Air cargo movements are aiding the economic growth of nations and helping to move
cargo swiftly and efficiently. Yet there are certain disadvantages attached with Air cargo
movement. They are mentioned as below:
i. The speed and efficiency of Air Cargo comes at a high cost and that is one of
the biggest deterrents of using air cargo. The high-cost of air cargo means that
the commodities are preferable transported by sea and road. Only essentials
are transported as air cargo.
ii. Air Cargo transportation must be complemented by land transportation. Air
transportation needs last leg transportation by surface for the delivery of the
good and cannot be the only means of transport in commercial operations.
This means a separate transportation or combination of different means
transportation for transferring goods as air cargo.
iii. There are certain goods that cannot be transported by air like lithium batteries,
liquid products such as fuels or oils, or hazardous materials, such as explosives,
gases, and other toxic substances. Air cargo has provisions for special cargo
yet all kind of merchandise cannot be transported by air and usually are
transported by sea and surface
iv. Weather condition can cause delay as flight are be stalled due to snow, storm
and so on. Schedules can be disturbed and the delivery time of cargo cannot
be adhered to.
v. Air transport is safe and secure but that it also involves extensive paper work
like declarations, certificates of origin etc. These documentations are important
for the safety of the cargo and they need to be completed by the different
agents, who operate at different levels along the entire air cargo supply chain.

13.3 TYPES OF AIR CARGO

Different types of cargo are transported daily by air. According to IATA, air cargo
transported can be categorized as given below:
1. General Cargo
All cargo/goods that do not need any special care or precaution during air
transport are referred to as general cargo. Average, everyday items like
hardware, textile, consumer goods are General Cargo. Some items like mobile
phones, laptops and all items mentioned as special cargo are not to be included
in the list of general cargo.
207
Airport Handling 2. Special Cargo
Special Cargo are the goods that require special care during the handling and
transportation, special cargo of the cargo. Due to their nature, weight,
dimensions and/or value have special requirements like packaging, labeling,
documentation, and handling through transport chain. Special cargo includes
dangerous goods, temperature sensitive products, perishable cargo,
and live animals among others. IATA has three Boards: Dangerous Goods
Board (DGB), Time and Temperature Working Group (TTWG), and Live
Animals and Perishables Board (LAPB), which manage the standards and
guidance related to the transport of these products. IATA, further classifies
Special Cargo as-
i. Dangerous goods: The IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR)
manual is the global reference for shipping dangerous goods by air and
the only standard recognized by airlines. It provides everything needed
to classify, prepare, accept, and handle dangerous goods shipments
in compliance with international air transport regulations. As per
IATA, some dangerous goods are too dangerous for transport by air
except
 under very detailed allowance by the civil aviation authority,
 many can only be transported on cargo-only aircraft, and
 others can be transported on both cargo and passenger aircraft.
No matter which type of aircraft the dangerous goods are shipped on,
there are always specific requirements that must be followed. Considering
the requirement for packaging and handling of goods, segmentation of
goods is followed. Further, considering the limitations for shipping
dangerous goods, it is never acceptable to ship any substance that is
likely to “explode, dangerously react, produce a flame or dangerous
evolution of heat or dangerous emission of toxic, corrosive or flammable
gases or vapours under conditions normally encountered in transport.”
There are large numbers of shippers that only ship lithium batteries or
devices powered by lithium batteries and the biomedical industry that
only transport infectious substances. IATA has developed separate
manuals to address these commodities.
ii. Temperature Controlled Goods: Some commodities, such as
pharmaceuticals, blood supplies, organs, or other life sciences products
require specific controls on the temperature to which they are exposed
during transport. Certain guidelines given in the IATA Temperature
Control Regulations Manual (TCR) ensure that the temperature-controlled
goods are delivered safely and securely. Documentation and labeling on
Temperature control good mention-
 Contents of the time and temperature goods
 Type of packaging
 Flight schedule and routing
 Aircraft type
208
 Environmental conditions Air Cargo Operations

 Availability of temperature control during all phases

 The anticipated span of the journey
 24hr emergency contact number
 Country specific regulations
iii. Perishable Goods: Flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables are some of the
perishable goods are in high demand. All through the year, shorter travel
time and controlled temperature make transporting perishable goods by
air as the preferred means. Thus, perishable goods is one of the special
cargo as shipper and carrier must follow specific guidelines and labeling
for transporting mentioned in the IATA Perishable Cargo Regulations
Manual (PCR). This manual gives all the details regarding the
documentation as required, by countries of origin and destination that
must be followed for perishable goods.
Further, one must mention what is contained in the packaging and whether
dry ice is used; since dry ice is classified as dangerous goods. Further,
the packaging should be correctly labeled with the standard IATA label
like - “perishable”, “this way up” or “wet cargo”.
iv. Live Animals: The worldwide standard for transporting live animals by
air is set by the IATA Live Animals Regulations (LAR). These regulations
are put in place to ensure safety of the animals, transport workers and
passengers. LAR manual mentions the regulations for shipping live animals.
Few of the regulations for shipping and handling of animals during
transportation that must be followed are given below-
 except for service dogs, all live animals must be placed in the cargo,
 Proper marking and labels should be printed and pasted on the outside
of the animal container;
 English must always be used in addition to the original language used
by the shipper in all documents and labels;
 each container should be marked clearly and legibly with the full
name, address, current contact number of the shipper, consignee,
and a 24-hour contact;
 each container must mention the animal’s common and scientific
names and list the number of animals within the container;
 while transporting live animals, the shippers are responsible for
ensuring all animals are healthy and in good condition. it is very
important to understand a particular animal’s basic behavior under
stress because it will affect how they react during shipping;
 animals being transported should be disturbed as little as possible,
with few properly trained people handling them;
 animals should only be loaded into approved carrier compartments
and never into an aircraft unit load device (ULD); 209
Airport Handling  animal containers should always be loaded in an upright position and
with as little disturbance as possible;
 animals should be loaded as close to departure as possible;
 upon unloading live animals, the cargo area must be adequately
cleaned and disinfected by personnel wearing appropriate gloves
and boots. There are precise guidelines given regarding the
disinfectant, which after being used, is followed with an approved
deodorant, making sure to clean all removable equipment, penning
and containers, and loading ramps. These guidelines must be met
within each import and export country.

Figure 13. 1: Types of Cargo

Check Your Progress -1

1. What are the advantages of transporting cargo by air?

2. What is difference between air cargo and air freight?

3. What are dangerous good?

Figure13.2 : Air Cargo Movement Overview

Source: Moving Air Cargo Globally by ICAO

Figure 13.2 shows how the flow of cargo or consignment takes place. The entire
process starts with the pickup of the consignment and end with the delivery of the
consignment. Let us now discuss the process and the terms commonly used, as
mentioned in the diagram above:

1. Pick – up

The process of cargo shipping starts with the picking up or collecting the cargo
that will be shipped. The terminology used and the concerned stakeholders in this
process are mentioned below:

i. Consignment: Consignment is also known as shipment. It is the merchandise

/ goods/ cargo that is being shipped to a foreign agent or customer before an
actual purchase is made, under an agreement obliging the consignee (receiver
of the consignment) to pay the consignor for the goods when sold.

In other words, consignment refers to the merchandise that is being shipped

from the consignor (exporter) to the consignee (agent) with the agreement
that the agent will sell the goods on behalf of the exporter. Until the merchandise
is sold the exporter retains the title to the goods sold. The agent gets a
commission of the sale and returns the net proceeds to the exporter.
211
Airport Handling ii. Consignor: A consignor is an individual or party or entity that initiates the
process of shipping a good or merchandise. The consignor obtains the shipping
or transfer documents for the goods that they are sending to the consignee
(receiver of the merchandise) for sale or transfer of good. The consignor
keeps the title/ownership of the property until it is transferred to or sold to the
final party and is shown on the bill of lading or air bill as the shipper. In other
words, Consignor is the sender (, an entity recognised as meeting specific
security standards in some States and hence referred to as a “known
consignor”,) of freight merchandise and usually is also the seller of the
merchandise.
The consignor often also referred to as the shipper, is the one obtaining shipping
or transfer documents for the goods that they are being sent to the consignee.
The consignor keeps the title/ownership of the property until it is transferred
to or sold to the final party. An example to understand the consignor/consignee
relationship better - a family is looking to sell its collection of valuable items.
They make an arrangement with an auction house to sell the items. Here, the
family is the consignor and the auction house is the consignee. The auction
house markets the items, but the family retains ownership of them until a third
party purchases the items.
2. Consolidation
Consolidation is an important, well-established step in the cargo movement wherein
the cargo from more than one shipper or consignee is combined for shipment
together, usually in a single shipping container. On arrival, the container is unloaded,
and each individual shipment is claimed by its appropriate consignee. The same
scenario applies when a single shipper or consignee consolidates small shipments
for its own use, or arranges that this be done by a third - party logistics provider.
Firms providing consolidation services often act as carriers, providing their own
house transport documents that are supported by a master transport document
issued by the carrier for the entire consolidated shipment. This process is also
known as Groupage. We can say that Groupage or consolidation is the process
of rearranging and grouping goods so they can be handled jointly in the storage
and during transportation of the goods.
Consolidation or Combiningtheshipmentsallowscarrierstomoveproductfromsmaller-
sized shipments to the next larger-load type, like consolidating small packages
into LTL (Less Than Truck Load) shipments and LTL shipments into full truckloads
(FTs), reducing the cost to ship freight. Although cost savings make up the leading
benefit of freight consolidation, the process offers additional benefits, including:
 Lower transport cost: A freight forwarder may be able to take advantage of
old lower transport costs among the top carriers by consolidating freight into
full truckloads, as well as combining small package freight into LTL shipments.
Ultimately, a higher volume of freight tends to ship at a lower cost. In other
words, shippers gain the ability to leverage the buying power of other shippers
to tap into lower rates offered by carriers.
 Better carrier–shipper relationships: Freight consolidation helps carriers
reduce their overhead costs. When shippers can reduce their carrier partners’
costs, naturally, the carrier will see the shipper as a ‘Shipper of Choice’ making
212 the shipper’s freight more attractive and more likely to find capacity in times
of decreased available capacity. Considering the benefit of lower transport Air Cargo Operations
costs, a carrier stands to make a more significant profit from consolidated
shipping freight, and consolidation reduces the number of carrier-shipper
relationships. Less hassle in freight scheduling and loading leads to stronger
carrier-shipper relations as well.
 Faster transport: Although consolidated freight involves several touch points
during the consolidation process, the final shipment moves faster. Speed is
achieved through fewer touch points and stops necessary when the freight is
in transport. Therefore, shipments arrive at the destination sooner.
 Better control over shipment scheduling: The shipment schedule depends
on the amount of time a truck may sit docked or otherwise waiting in the yard.
Consolidated shipments involve consolidation before a shipment becomes
the responsibility of the carrier, which speeds loading processes, reducing
fuel and improving schedule adherence resulting in scalability to meet changes
in demand, including seasonal fluctuations.
We need to understand that consolidation of different cargo together will increase
the amount of risk present, but the benefits outweigh the potential dangers in
consolidation. The work of Consolidation is taken by Freight forwarders.
Freight Forwarder (Origin – Consolidator): Freight forwarders are pegs in
the transport logistics process. Their primary responsibility is to make arrangements
for the management of air shipments in such a way that airline operators or carriers
may transport them. The freight forwarders usually offer services such as packaging,
consolidation, storage, handling and distribution of the goods.
A freight forwarder normally books and contracts with an aircraft operator in the
form of an air transport service agreement from the airport of departure to the
airport of destination. The freight forwarder will then proceed with the shipment
from its warehouse or another location and deliver it directly to the aircraft operator
or its representative. At times freight forwarding company also acts like a retailer
for the air cargo carriers and obtains a low freight rate from air carrier in return for
volume; and consolidates small shipments to fill air freight containers. They often
perform forwarding tasks and issue their own “house” air waybills to each shipper,
backed up by “master” air waybills issued by the carrier for the consolidated
shipment. This process normally starts well before Customs export formalities
have been resolved.
Further, freight forwarder can also provide ancillary and advisory services with
regard to Customs and fiscal matters like declaring the goods for official purposes,
procuring insurance for the goods, and collecting or procuring payment or
documents relating to the goods.
3. Acceptance of Cargo and Documentation
Cargo or merchandise received and processed by the freight forwarders are moved
from the warehouse to the airport. The cargo is then loaded to the aircraft for the
transportation. The acceptance of cargo at the airport and its loading is subject to
the clearance by custom and other related documentation. One important document
in air freight transport is the Airway Bill. Airway bill is discussed in detail in
subsequent sub section of this unit. Cargo is moved and handled at the airport by
ground handlers. 213
Airport Handling Ground Handlers (Origin and Destination): Ground handlers are
subcontractors and act on behalf of freight forwarders and/or aircraft operators.
Ground handling services can include the provision of warehouses to accept, handle,
prepare, and tag cargo and mail, as well as loading/unloading, transit, and storage
of cargo and mail.
Ground handlers are responsible for dealing with operational aspects, based on
the instructions of freight forwarders and aircraft operators. Once a consignment
is ready for shipment, the freight forwarder will release the cargo and instruct the
ground handler to deliver it to the aircraft operator. This occurs when the freight
forwarder or aircraft operator does not have the necessary facilities.
4. Departure
The cargo is moved to the airport and loaded on the aircraft for departure from
the origin point. The following are actively involved in the movement of cargo for
departure from the airport.
i. Airport operator: An airport operator is the entity responsible for the
provision and security of the airport infrastructure. The operator will establish
a secure environment through which the goods move and may also be
responsible for the provision of ‘on airport’ cargo services. In some cases, an
airport operator will be the party responsible for the protocols for dealing
with incidents resulting from a positive identification of a physical threat in the
air cargo.
ii. Aircraft operators: Aircraft operators, also known as airlines and air carriers,
provide air transportation for goods. A transport contract (air waybill) binds
an aircraft operator with the relevant contracted parties for the safe and secure
transportation of cargo and mail from one location (e.g. the airport of departure/
origin) to another (e.g. the airport of arrival/ destination).
5. Arrival and delivery
The cargo on arrival at the airport of destination / arrival is handled by the ground
operators. The job of ground operator is similar to that one at the point of origin of
the cargo. At the point of origin the cargo is collected from the warehouse and
loaded on the aircraft after verifying the documents by the ground handlers. While
at the point of arrival, the cargo is checked as per the documentation by the
ground handlers and off loaded from the aircraft and transported either to the
warehouse for collection later by the freight forwarders or sent directly for the final
delivery. There are however chances that at times, a consignment is not handled at
the time of delivery due to embargo.
Embargo: An embargo is any event that prevents the freight from being
accepted or handled. There can be many reasons for not handling the
consignment such as - a prohibition upon exports or imports, either with
specific products or specific countries due to political, health, or labour related
reasons, for a specified or indefinite period.
It may also allude as a command by a government to forbid aircrafts/ ships from
coming into or departing from its airport and ports. However, embargo events
may also include floods, tornadoes or congested highways. Each embargo program
214 has an exemption for humanitarian aid, but what is specifically allowed under the
humanitarian aid exemption of the embargoes is unique to each country. There Air Cargo Operations

may be different types of embargoes, which can be either total or partial as given
below:
 prohibiting or limiting exports and/or imports.
 making quotas for quantity.
 applying special levies on goods and/or services.
 banning freight, transport vehicles or aircraft from traveling in a country’s
territory, airspace or waters.
 freezing or seizing bank accounts.
 limiting the delivery of certain technologies or high-tech products.
6. Deconsolidation
Freight consolidation by itself only makes up one-half of the process. Upon arrival
at the destination, the consolidated freight must be broken apart into smaller
shipments for final delivery. This is the beginning of the freight deconsolidation
process. Freight forwarders may need to deconsolidate shipments at predetermined
locations, re-consolidate shipments, and further de-consolidate the shipment into
individual shipments at a given warehouse.
Freight Forwarder (Destination – Deconsolidate): Freight Forwarder at the
destination of cargo takes up the process of deconsolidation, the reverse process
of consolidation. Deconsolidation aids shippers as a tactic to keep freight costs
under control among other things. Freight deconsolidation is essential to the success
of businesses in the world of e- commerce. It shares the same in goals of
effectiveness, productivity, and cost efficiency that are inherent in freight
consolidation. Some of the critical reasons freight deconsolidation is essential to
the success of the business include the following:
 Lower transport costs. Almost a mirror image of the consolidation benefit,
deconsolidation practices can only lower transport costs if managed correctly.
In other words, shippers and carriers, as well as freight forwarders, need to
carefully monitor shipment consolidation and deconsolidation to ensure timely
and accurate shipping in last-mile delivery.
 Better inventory management. A robust deconsolidation process enables
better inventory management. By moving freight closer to consumer demand,
and in the age of e-commerce, this may include regional and local distribution
centers, storefronts as a distribution center, online order pick up centers and
traditional e- commerce fulfillment warehouses.
 Faster speed-to-market. Achieving a faster speed to market is another critical
reason shippers choose to consolidate freight, but again the deconsolidation
process must not take longer than shipping freight via a costlier solution.
Therefore, shippers opt to take advantage of third-party services to handle
both freight consolidation and deconsolidation. Of course, shippers retain the
option of consolidating freight into LTL and full truckload shipments before
contacting a freight forwarder.
215
Airport Handling 7. Final Delivery
The final delivery of the consignment is fulfilled when the cargo / merchandise is
delivered to the consignee mention in the airway bill and invoice.
Consignee: The person or company that is physically and administratively
responsible for accepting the goods at final delivery destination is known as the
consignee. We can also say that the party designated on the invoice or packing list
of the merchandise as the recipient of the merchandise at the end of the transport
movement of the cargo is the consignee. As mentioned above, Consignee is not
necessarily the owner of the goods but is only holding on to the goods till its final
sale or delivery.

13.5 AIR CARGO DOCUMENTATION

You have learned about the different stakeholders and their role in the supply chain
process. One of the important steps int the supply chain process of cargo management
is the documentation. Unless and until the documents are verified, the cargo will not be
loaded and departed. The cargo documentation process is shown in Figure 13.3

Carrier

Ground
Handler
Export
Customs
Import
Orignin Customs
Freight
Forwarder
10. Air Cargo Flight Manifest
11. Export Cargo Declaration
12. Import Cargo Declaration Destination
Freight
5. Air Waybill (MAWB & HAWB) Forwarder
6. House Cargo Manifest 13. Import Goods Declaration
7. Export Goods Declaration 14. Customs Release Import
8. Customs Release Export
9. Air Cargo Security Declaration
Consignor-
Shipper
Consignee

1. Invoice
2. Packing List
3. Certificate of Origin
4. Dangerous Goods
Declaration

Figure 13.3: General Cargo: Most Common Document Flow for Customs
Source: Moving Air Cargo Globally by ICAO

Let’s us now discuss the different documents as mentioned in the figure above:
1. Invoice - A document required by Customs in an importing State in which an
exporter states the invoice or other price (e.g., selling price or price of identical
goods), and specifies costs for freight, insurance, and packing, as well as
terms of delivery and payment, for the purpose of determining the Customs
value of goods in the importing State.
2. Packing List - Documents specifying which goods are in each package.
3. Certificate of Origin - A specific form identifying the goods, in which the
authority or body empowered to issue it certifies expressly that the goods to
216
which the certificate relates originate in a specific State. This certificate may Air Cargo Operations
also include a declaration by the manufacturer, producer, supplier, exporter,
or other competent person.
4. Dangerous Goods Declaration - Document(s) issued by the consignor or
shipper to certify that the dangerous goods being transported have been
packaged, labelled, and declared in accordance with the provisions of
international standards and conventions.
5. Air Waybill - A document prepared by or on behalf of a shipper that evidences
the contract between the shipper and aircraft operator(s) for the carriage of
goods over routes of the operator(s). Air waybills have several purposes, but
their two main functions are as a contract of carriage (behind every original air
waybill are the conditions of contract for carriage), and as evidence of the
receipt of goods. An air waybill is the most important document issued by an
aircraft operator either directly or through its authorized agent (freight
forwarder), and covers the transport of cargo from airport to airport. Air
waybills have eleven-digit numbers used to make bookings and to check the
status of a delivery and the current position of the shipment. The first three
digits are the aircraft operator prefix.
i. House Air Way Bill - A freight forwarder offering a consolidation service
will issue its own air waybill to the shipper, called a house air waybill,
which may act as a multimodal transport document. The house air waybill
and the forwarder’s general conditions may be seen as a part of the
contract between the freight forwarder and each shipper whose goods
have been consolidated. There are two reference numbers on a house air
waybill, the number of the master air waybill to which it is linked and the
house air waybill number itself, which is always different from one freight
forwarder to another, without limitations or standard digits, and which
may be used to trace a shipment through the freight forwarder.
ii. Master Air Waybill - Master air waybills are issued by or on behalf of
freight forwarders offering a consolidation service. This document specifies
the contract between a freight forwarder (or consolidator) and aircraft
operator(s) for the transportation of goods originated by more than one
shipper but destined for the same final State, airport, or other destination.
Master air waybills are linked to several house air waybills, and the master
number can be used to trace a shipment with an aircraft operator.
Airway Bill and the process of filling it up will be discussed in details in section 13.6
6. House Cargo Manifest - A document containing the same information as a
cargo manifest as well as additional details on freight amounts, etc.
7. Export Goods Declaration - A document whereby goods are declared for
export Customs clearance.
8. Customs Release Export - A document whereby a Customs authority
releases goods under its control to be placed at the disposal of the party
concerned for export (also called a Customs delivery note).
9. Consignment Security Declaration (CSD) - A consignment security
declaration is a document used to establish the security status of cargo. It 217
Airport Handling allows tracking of the security status of cargo and mail throughout its movement
within the secure supply chain. This document helps to ensure that regulated
agents, known consignors, and aircraft operators are held accountable
regarding the security controls applied to cargo. A consignment security
declaration, which may be in hard copy or electronic form, should be issued
by the entity that renders and maintains the cargo secure. A CSD template
can be found in the ICAO Aviation Security Manual (Doc 8973 —
Restricted).
10. Air Cargo Manifest - A document issued by an aircraft operator, and available
in hard copy or electronic form. This document contains the details of
consignments loaded on to a specified flight and provides a list of all the air
waybill and master air waybill numbers referring to the goods loaded on to an
aircraft. The nature of the goods, weight, and number of pieces composing
each consignment on a specified flight, and the unit of loading used, are also
identified in this document.
11. Export Cargo Declaration (Departure) - A generic term applied to the
document, also referred to as a freight declaration, providing the particulars
required by Customs concerning outbound cargo carried by commercial means
of transport.
12. Import Cargo Declaration (Arrival) - Same as above but for inbound
cargo.
13. Import goods declaration - A document whereby goods are declared for
import Customs clearance.
14. Customs release import - Same as above but for import.

Check Your Progress - 2

1. Define consignment consignor and consignee.

.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2. What is the difference between freight consolidation and deconsolidation?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
3. What are the documents required by Freight Forwarder at origin?
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
218
Air Cargo Operations
13.6 AIRWAY BILL
Air Waybill is the most important non-negotiable cargo document issued by a carrier
or its authorised cargo agents. It combines several purposes, as it is the
 documentary evidence of the conclusion of the contract of carriage;
 proof of receipt of the goods for shipment;
 certificate of Insurance;
 customs declaration;
 freight bill; and
 guide to staff in handling dispatching and delivering the shipment.
It is therefore essential that the Airway bill is carefully and legibly prepared according
to the Shippers letter of Instructions. Each sheet of an Air Waybill bears in the right-
hand top corner and bottom as also left top corner a set of the same number. This set
of number is called air waybill number.0p An Air Waybill consists of three original
and five copies.
The Three Air Waybill originals (copies 1, 2 and 3) bear on the reverse the conditions
of the contract and all have the same validity. The distribution of copies of Air Waybill
would be as under:
Original 1 (Green Background) For Revenue Accounts of Airlines.
Original 2 (Pink Background) For Consignee.
Original 3 (Blue Background) For Shipper.
Copy 4 (Yellow Background) Delivery receipt.
Copy 5 (White Background) For Airport of Destination.
Copy 6 (White Background) For Airport of Departure.
Copy 7 (White Background) For Second Carrier.
Copy 8 (White Background) For First Carrier.
International Airway bill have 12 copies to a set. It is to be noted that when Airlines
(including G.S.A) complete an Air Waybill copy 6 is retained on station file at the place
of issue.

13.6.1 Completion of Airway bill

Words and figures must, preferably, be typed or neatly hand written. Airway bill ensures
the delivery of shipment at the correct address. The various boxes provided in air
waybill are to be completed as below:
1. Airport of Departure: The three-letter code of the city or Airport of
Departure is inserted here and shall correspond to information in box “9”.
2. Shipper’s Name and Address: The name, address city and country of the
shipper shall be inserted. Insert shipper’s telephone number if so indicated.
219
Airport Handling 3. Shippers Account No. (OPTIONAL): Insert Credit Code Number of the
shipper if any.
4. Consignee’s Name and Address: The name address, city and country of
the consignee shall be inserted. The words “To order of” or any such similar
words not to be inserted. Insert consignee’s telephone number, if known.
5. Consignee’s Account Number (OPTIONAL) To be used at Destination
Station, if needed.
6. Issuing carrier’s Agent, Name and City: The name and city of the agent
entitled to the commission shall be inserted.
7. Agent’s lATA code: The lATA code of the agent shall be inserted.
8. Issuing Carrier’s Agent Account Number: This box may be left blank.
(OPTIONAL)
9. Airport of Departure (Address of first Carrier), Requested Routing:
The Airport of Departure and any requested routing should be inserted.
10. Accounting Information: Any special accounting information shall be inserted,
for example:
 Method of payment, e.g. by cash, cheque or MCO (Miscellaneous
Charges Order).
Note: An MCO is only acceptable in connection with baggage shipped as
cargo and the MCO number and value of the Exchange Coupon in the currency
of the Air Waybill shall also be shown in this box.
 Government Bills of lading Numbers.
 Returning shipments original AWB No.
11. Routing and Destination: The name of the first carrier shall be inserted; the
routing and two-letter code of the carriers involved in further transportation
maybe inserted in the ‘to’ and ‘by’ boxes.
12. Currency:
 The appropriate three-letter currency code corresponding to the currency
code corresponding to the currency in which the air waybill is issued shall
be inserted.
 All amounts entered on the Air Waybill, other than those entered in the
boxes ‘Collect charges in Destination Currency’ must be in the currency
specified in this box.
13. Charge Code: Identify the nature of charges using one of the following two
letter codes; when AWB data is transmitted by electronic means.CC - Collect
Charges, CP- Collect Cash, PP - Prepaid Cash, PX - Prepaid Credit
14. Weight/Valuation, Charge-Prepaid/Collect: The shipper/agent, who does
not show details of charges in the appropriate boxes of the air waybill, must
indicate by insertion of an ‘X’ in the applicable box; whether weight and
valuation charges are wholly prepaid or wholly collect.
220
15. Other charges at Origin-Prepaid/Collect: The Shipper/Agent, who does Air Cargo Operations

not show these charges in the ‘Total Prepaid’ Charges box described in
paragraph 26a and 26b or the ‘Total Other Collect Charges’ box described
in paragraph 26a and 26b of the air waybill must indicate by insertion of an
‘X’ in the applicable box, whether all other charges at origin are wholly ‘Prepaid’
or wholly ‘Collect’
All other charges incurred at origin must be wholly ‘Prepaid’ or wholly
‘Collect’. If the information is contained in the boxes ‘Total prepaid” and also
in ‘Total Collect”, the latter shall take precedence. The Air Waybill must not
contain any instruction that charges shown as due form the consignee are to
be collected from a person/company other than the consignee.
16. Declared Value for Carriage: The valued declared for carriage as specified
by the shipper, shall be inserted. This is the carriers’ limit of liability in case of
loss or damage to cargo and the amount on which valuation charges, if any,
will be assessed. Where ‘No Value declared’ is an acceptable declaration of
value, this must be inserted but by the abbreviated ‘NVD’. The words ‘No
Value’ is not an acceptable declaration.
17. Declared Value for Customs: If the shipper declares a value for Customs
purposes, such value should be inserted. This value declared by shipper may
differ from declared value for carriage, however value declared for customs
will not be considered as carrier’s liability in case of loss or damage of cargo.
18. Airport of Destination: The name of the town or airport of destination of
the last carrier shall be inserted.
19. Flight/Date: To be filled only when advance space is reversed with
participating carriers.
20. Amount of Insurance: The amount to be insured, as requested by the shipper,
shall be inserted. Generally, it should be left blank.
21. Handling Information: This box maybe used to indicate any information
related to the handling if the consignment for which a special area does not
appear elsewhere on the air waybill. Where there is not sufficient space, an
extension list maybe used.
Some types of information that may be put here when required for special
handling by Governments, shipper, or carriers are the following:
 The name and address of any person to be notified on arrival of the
consignment in addition to the consignee.
 Documents to accompany the air way bill.
 Net weight of shipment where required. Indication of where delivery
service is requested.
 Identifying marks and number, which appear on the consignment and
method of packing. When a consignment is returned because of non-
delivery, the new Air Waybill for the returning carriage shall have the
original air waybill number inserted in this box.
221
Airport Handling 22. Consignment Details and Rating: A separate set of entries shall be made
for each separately rated group of items, each set commencing on a new line.
Where there is not sufficient space, an extension list shall be used. Each set of
entries shall consist of the following:
a) Number of packages: The number of packages shall be inserted. Where
there is more than one entry, the total number of packages shall be inserted
below the ‘Total’ line.
b) RCP (Rate Combination Point): Where it is necessary to designate
the point over which rates are combined such point shall be indicated by
the IATA three-letter city code as a separate entry.
c) Gross Weight: The gross weight of the packages shall be inserted on
the same horizontal line as the respective number of pieces. Where there
is more than one entry, the total gross weight shall be inserted at the
bottom line.
d) Kg/Lb: The unit of weight used for kilograms K or pounds L shall be
inserted.
e) Rate Class: One or more of the following codes shall be inserted as
appropriate:
o M - Minimum Charge
o N - Normal under 45 kg rates
o Q - Quantity over 45 Kg rate
o C - Specific Commodity rate
o R - Class rate (less than normal rate)
o S - Class rate (more than normal rate)
f) Commodity Item Number: The IATA Specific Commodity number shall
be inserted when specific commodity rates apply. Where the item moves
under Class Rate surcharge or discount rate the percentage shall be as
shown.
g) Chargeable Weight: The gross weight(s) or volume weight(s) whichever
is higher shall be inserted as applicable,
h) Rate/Charge: The applicable rate or charge shall be inserted as follows:
 When a minimum charge applies, this charge shall be inserted on the
‘M’ rate class line;
 When a normal rate applies, the applicable rate per unit of weight
shall be inserted on the ‘N’ rate class line;
 When a quantity rate applies, the applicable rate per unit of weight
shall be inserted on the ‘Q’ rate class line;
 When a specific commodity rate applies, the applicable rate per unit
of weight shall be inserted on the ‘C’ rate class line;
222
 When a discount rate applies, the discounted rate shall be inserted Air Cargo Operations
on the ‘R’ rate class line;
 When a class surcharge applies, the surcharged rate shall be inserted
on the ‘S’ rate line.
i) Total: The total charge for each separate line entry shall be inserted.
When there is more than one entry, the total amount shall be inserted
below the total line.
j) Nature and Quantity of Goods: (Including Dimensions or Volume):
The description of the goods comprising the consignment shall be inserted;
the country of origin of the goods, if required under the regulations of the
country of destination may also be inserted. The measurement of the
greatest length, greatest width and greatest depth (height) specifying the
unit of measurement of any consignment rated by volume or for any
consignment consisting of ‘Valuable Cargo’ shall be inserted.
23. Weight Charge (Prepaid/Collect)
The weight/volume charge for air carriage shall be inserted; both the weight/
volume charge and the valuation charge shall be inserted on the air waybill as
either wholly prepaid or wholly collect.
24. Valuation Charge (Prepaid/Collect)
The valuation charge shall be inserted; both the weight/volume charge and the
valuation charge shall be inserted on the air waybill as either wholly prepaid
or wholly collect.
25. Other Charges
Descriptions and amounts of individual charges and fees other than weight
and valuation charges shall be inserted. To indicate clearly whether the charges
accrue to the carrier or to the agent the following codes, which shall follow
the charges code, may be used:
A - For charge due agent. –
B - For charge due carrier.
When consignment is returned because of non-delivery, all charges, which
should have been but were not collected from the original consignee, shall be
specified in this box.
26. Total other charges: All other charges incurred at origin and being shown in
box 25 must be either wholly collect or prepaid. Charges incurred in transit
and/or at destination shalI be collected only provided that fixed Govt. and or
airport authority taxes at transit points, known at origin, may be prepaid.
a) Total other charges Due Agent (Prepaid/Collect)
When the charge for preparation of the air waybill is due agent it shall be
inserted. Any other charges of the agent, which are to be paid to the
agent at origin, shall not be inserted. Collect Charges ‘due Agent’ which
are shown in box 25 shall be shown here.
223
Airport Handling b) Total other charges Due Carrier (Prepaid and Collect)
The total charges and fees due to carrier (Other than weight and valuation
charges) specified in paragraph 25 shall be inserted as either wholly prepaid
or wholly collect.
27. Total Prepaid: The total of all the prepaid charges, i.e. weight/volume charge,
valuation charge and other prepaid charges due carrier and agent shall be
inserted.
28. Total Collect: The total of all the collect charges, i.e. weight/volume charge,
valuation charge and other collect charges due carrier and agent shall be
inserted.
29. Shipper’s Certificate Box: The signature of the shipper or his agent shall be
inserted
30. Carrier’s Execution Box: The date and place of execution of the air waybill
shall be inserted. The month shall be shown in full or abbreviated, and not by
numbers. The signature of the carrier or its agent is mandatory on the Air
Waybill, along with the stamp (Agent Carrier).
Return of Shipment
A shipment is returned because of non-delivery, due to wrong address or the absence
of the consignee or refusal by the consignee to accept the consignment or even
government rules or so on. the new Air Waybill for the return carriage shall have the
original Air Way bill number inserted in the Handling Information Box. All charges,
which should have been but were not collected from the original consignee, shall, be
specified in the box “Other charges” on the new Air Waybill. These charges shall be
further shown in “Due carrier” rubric.

13.7 AIR CARGO BUSINESS MODEL

Air Cargo is transported by airlines in two ways – either using dedicated all-cargo
aircrafts or in the bellies of passenger aircraft. The services are provided based on the
customer demands or the cargo to be transported.

AIR CARGO
CARRIERS

Passenger Cargo Aircrafrts

Aircrafts

Integrated Ad-hoc Cargo

Express All-cargo Carriers Charter Carriers
Operators

Figure 13.4: Business Models of Air Cargo Carriers

224
1. Passenger Aircrafts: Cargo brings significant new income streams to the Air Cargo Operations
passenger airline service providers. Many airline managers will agree that
cargo frequently makes the difference between profitable and unprofitable
international routes. Although, most of the air cargo worldwide is carried by
the cargo carriers, the continued growth of passenger air services has led to
more Belly Capacity available for cargo. Since the belly space is a by-product
of passenger service, it is often marginally priced compared to all cargo carriers
and, therefore, can be an economical alternative for many shippers.
2. Cargo / Freight Aircrafts: Cargo is also carried by dedicated cargo carriers.
The carriers are mostly as per the service provided by them
i. Integrated express operators: Integrated express operators (FedEx,
UPS, DHL) operate a fleet of scheduled aircraft, trucks, and couriers
offering door-to-door delivery service. These carriers operate extensive
hub-and-spoke networks providing expansive geographic coverage. They
are the ones who deliver express mail – next day delivery, overnight or
time defined delivery. The cargo is usually small in size
ii. All-cargo carriers: All-cargo carriers (Atlas Air Cargo, Gemini) generally
operate scheduled widebody aircraft from one major airport to another,
such as Chicago to Tokyo and are highly reliant on the air freight forwarding
industry. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of world air cargo traffic is
moved by all-cargo carriers, primarily on long-haul international or
transcontinental routes. Due to their airport-to-airport service structure,
all-cargo carriers are typically concentrated in large, high volume market
airports; geographic coverage is limited.
iii. Ad-hoc Cargo Charter Carriers: Ad-hoc cargo charter carriers are
unscheduled air charter operators who move goods from airport-to-
airport. The market share of these operators is minimal, difficult to gauge
and often lumped together with the all-cargo carriers. Sporadic and
unscheduled operations make tracking tonnage difficult.

Check Your Progress - 3

1. Why is Airway bill important?

13.8 LET US SUM UP

After going through this unit, you are now aware of the area of Air Cargo operation
and how the goods are transported by air. The supply chain process of air cargo was
discussed in this unit and now you are ready with a basic understanding of concepts
like embargo, consolidation, deconsolidation, air way bill, dispatch, and delivery of air
cargo. There are many advantages of using Air Cargo Transport and that is the reason
it is aiding in the economic growth of nations and regions. While the size and type of
cargo dictates the transportation of cargo, the type of cargo carrier will decide the
speed of the delivery of the goods. Consolidation and deconsolidation are two important
activities of Cargo Management. This unit has introduced different stakeholders of
Cargo industry which is also the point of employment for those seeking a career in the
cargo management industry.

13.9 FURTHER READINGS

 Moving Air Cargo Globally by ICAO
 Air Cargo Manual of IATO
 Air Cargo Manual of Spice Xpress/Air India

13.10 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress -1

1. Refer to section 13.2 and answer

2. Refer to section 13.3 to frame your answer
3. Refer to section 13.3 to frame your answer

Check Your Progress - 2

1. Refer to section 13.4 to frame your answer

2. Refer to section 13.4 to frame your answer
3. Refer to section 13.5 to frame your answer

Check Your Progress - 3

1. Refer to section 13.6 to frame your answer

2. Refer to section 13.7 to frame your answer

226 3. Refer to section 13.6 to frame your answer

Air Cargo Operations
13.11 ACTIVITIES
1. Visit a Freight Forwarder and understand how special goods are transported

2. Compare airway bills of different freight forwarders.

227
Airport Handling
UNIT 14 MODERN TRENDS IN AIR
TRANSPORT
Structure

14.0 Objectives
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Increasing Role of Air Transport in Tourism
14.3 Information Technology to Enhance Air Travel Experience
14.3.1 Baggage Management System
14.4 Electronic Distribution
14.5 New Airline Business Models Gaining Strength
14.6 Expansion of Air Transport Infrastructure
14.7 Airports: A Destination for Travelers
14.8 Let Us Sum Up
14.9 Clues to Check Your Progress Exercises
14.10 Activities

14.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you would be able to:
 elucidate the role of air transport in modern tourism,
 describe the way information technology enhances tourist experience,
 identify the trends in air travel product distribution,
 explain the role of new business models in air transport industry,
 describe the expansion and developments taking place in airport sector; and
 discuss about the trends in air travel industry.

14.1 INTRODUCTION
Barring the devastating effect of COVID-19 in recent years, air transport sector had
been growing remarkably over the last couple of decades. Though there were some
hindrances in between, like what happened during Sept’11 (9/11) terrorist attacks in
the US; air transport sector has always shown extreme resilience to bounce back
into the growth trajectory. According to ICAO’s preliminary compilation of Annual
Global Air Transport Statistics for 2019, the total number of passengers carried by
scheduled airline rose to 4.5 billion in 2019, which is 3.6 per cent higher than
the 2018.
India too has shown exceptional growth rate in air transport over the last several years.
Both international and domestic air transport sectors were growing at a remarkable
rate prior to COVID - 19. Indian domestic passenger transportation has grown
228
exponentially. International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that, in 2017, Modern Trends in
Air Transport
India’s domestic market posted the fastest domestic growth rate for the fourth
consecutive year, with an 18.6% annual demand increase.
ICAO (forecasts on scheduled passenger and freight traffic) predicts that the global
passenger traffic will grow at 4.2 per cent annually from 2018 to 2038. On the other
hand, the freight traffic is expected to grow at 3.5 per cent annually from 2018 to
2038. Asia and the Middle East region, along with some regions in Europe, are estimated
to have fast growth rate in the years to come as well.
In this unit we will discuss some of factors that have helped increase the role of air
transportation in Tourism. The face of Air Transportation has changed rapidly in the
last decade or so, as now air transportation is easier, faster and also a pleasurable
experience. This unit discusses the use of AI(Artificial Intelligence), Information
Technology, as well as other trends that have changed the way we looked at air
transportation, forever.

14.2 INCREASING ROLE OF AIR TRANSPORT IN

TOURISM
Air transport has been recording consistent growth in term of tourism transportation
since the end of the Second World War. As of now, air transport has the largest share
in the transportation that is being used by the international travellers for reaching the
destinations. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO),
the share of air travel has increased from 46% in 2000 to 58% in 2018, while land
transport has decreased from 49% to 39% in the same period. On the other hand, the
share of rail and water-based transportation together is 6 percentages only. Once
upon a time, water and rail transport were very significant in international travel. While
now Air transport has transformed into a common transport form, which is affordable
to more sections of the society.
Tourism and air transport share a symbiotic relationship. Both have grown hand in
hand and have become part and parcel of the modern society. Both complemented
each other in their evolution. While transport facilitated the growth of tourism, the
evolution of tourism keeps on adding demand into the transport sector. Development
and progress in Tourism led to an expansion in the transport infrastructure, accessibility
to destination, at every stage of its evolution. Destinations had to expand the transport
infrastructure to meet the surge in tourism and tourist demands. Some destinations
expanded their airports’ areas to meet the increasing demand, while other destinations
constructed new airports. For instance, with the growth of tourism and trade in Dubai,
UAE has gone for a new international airport called Dubai World Central (Al Maktoum
International Airport). It already had a world class airport but the growth in tourism
and trade projects compelled Dubai to have a new airport as a hub of trade and
tourism.
Moreover, tourism has brought about many changes in the air transport services. For
instances, airports now go for more amenities and services, primarily targeting the
leisure and business travellers. The quality of services at airports and by the airlines
does matter for as it can lead to a better travel experience for the tourists. Whether it
is spa or lounge, food court or fine dine restaurant, kid zone or shopping arena; airports
229
Airport Handling now offer enough services to keep a traveler engaged and happy while waiting for his/
her flight. As it goes, airports and airlines are constantly increasing their range of services
offered.
On the other hand, tourism is a direct beneficiary of advancements in transportation.
Long haul tourism is a direct benefit of air transport advancements that took place in
the1960sand 1970sliketheuseofwidebodyaircraftsforcommercialairtransportation. The
expansion, growth, quality improvement and improvement of the airline supply chain
certainly contribute in the growth of tourism.
Another spurt in tourism activity was the direct result of the flourishing of Low-Cost
Carriers (LCCs) which popularised short haul city tourism among different income
groups. We can say that whenever the distance between origin and destination increases,
the relevance of air transport also increases. As air transport is getting more affordable,
more sections of the society are travelling by air to the destinations and tempts more
people to be part of tourism. LCCs help on augmenting the travel propensity, so that
people in the tourism market can afford air travel. Favorable policies and regulations
related to air transport always help tourism to grow. The liberal approach to bilateral
agreements and the multifaceted agreements in the air transport industry positively
support tourism. Many countries now a day engage in Open Sky policies and that
enhances the air accessibility greatly. Many of the airlines offer all-inclusive package
tours, which directly promote tourism in larger scale.
Analyzing the evolution of tourism in the last fifty years or so, clearly reveals the role
played by air transportation. The travel becomes safer and comfortable. Moreover,
the safety parameters have advanced greatly over the years. Travellers have better
experience through air transport. Overall tourist experience gets elevated by an enjoyable
flight from the origin to the destination and return. Air transport infrastructure has
expanded greatly over the last few decades and air travel has became more convenient,
affordable and attractive. Thus, the role of air transport in tourism is getting increased
and the trend is poised to continue further.

14.3 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE

AIR TRAVEL EXPERIENCE
As stated earlier, air transport has a significant role in making the journey between the
origin and destination, and the return enjoyable. Air transport sector is always in the
forefront of technology adoption as you have read in the previous units on IATA, OAG
and TIM. Air transport sector has utilized effectively advancements in the information
technology for its operational as well as managerial functions. These technological
integration in the Air transport sector has in one or the other way, enhanced the travel
experience of tourists.
Airlines arepioneersinintegratinginformationandcommunicationtechnologyfortheir
commercial operations. As you are aware, the first computer reservation system (CRS)
called SABRE was initiated in the 1960s, and now CRS and GDS are integral part of
the aviation industry. Once upon a time, air ticket booking was possible only through a
travel agent or an airline office. Now the passengers can do it from the comfort of his/
her home. Airline Apps on smartphones can provide updates on the flights and changes
in the schedules in time. Interactive communication is possible by the use of latest
communication technologies. Now, even check – in can be completed and boarding
pass be printed, before reaching the airport.
230
Lately, airline sector is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver a personalized traveling Modern Trends in
Air Transport
experience to the passengers. Digital technologies, Biometrics, machine learning, robotics
and block chain technologies are also being used in order to make the passengers
handling easier and hassle free. Some of the latest trends and use of technology are
listed below:
1. Airline pricing has been greatly digitized. Airlines follow dynamic pricing
strategy with the support of revenue management systems which enable them
to manage the unpredictability of demand in airline sector.
2. Airlines and travel agents are also offering mobile booking options. Passengers
can book ticket sitting in his/her bed room, at any point of time since Airline
Apps can be easily downloaded on the smart phones.
3. The payment of ticket prices have become easy by using online payment
mechanisms.
4. Self-service check-in kiosks and the web check-in facilities are also active in
almost all the larger airports of the country and globally.
5. Artificial Intelligence(AI) in passenger identification is a trend in International
Air Transportation. Biometric technologies such as facial recognition, fingerprint
authentication, and retinal scanning are being integrated with personal
verifications mainly for border control, airport check-ins, boarding and
migration formalities.
6. Airports are now completely automated and it enables faster passenger
handling and cargo and baggage management.
7. Airlines and ground handlers use Automated Departure Control Systems
(DCS), which support the critical operations at airports such as automated
check-in, boarding, and load planning.
8. Inflight internet connectivity is also being introduced by airlines.
9. The inflight entertainment system has also seen great advancement due to the
use of information and communication technology. Now the inflight
entertainment can also be downloaded on the phone using a link for use during
the flight.
10. The journey is more comfortable and safer by the use of latest technologies.
11. The baggage management systems at the airport can provide real time
information and perform baggage reconciliation effectively. This is discussed
in the next sub section.
12. IT-based cargo handling systems help airlines to process cargo handling
information more efficiently.
13. With unbundled pricing strategy, airline websites have now become a shopping
point that can offer a better airline seat booking experience.
14. Airport ownership is facing a shift in ownership from public to public-private
partnership. This enables the countries to have increased investment on
transport infrastructure.
231
Airport Handling 15. Airports are nowbeing transformed into all-inclusive hubs with ample scope
for rest, relaxation, meeting, refreshments, shopping, etc.
16. Airports are also trying to reduce noise pollution as well as implement high
standards to limit air pollution.
17. Airports are generating energy through renewable sources and improving energy
management solutions. More eco-friendly practices are being integrated in
the operations and management of airport and its premises. Aircraft fuel
efficiency is a prime concern now and advanced aircrafts used are much more
fuel efficient.
18. Consolidation is a trend in the realm of international air transportation. Mergers
and acquisitions take place quite often in airline industry. Airline form groups
to cooperate with each other, and such alliances are beneficial for both
customers as well as airlines. Passengers can enjoy a range of benefits, such
as lower prices, better access to tickets around the world, and mileage wards
in a single account from different carriers.

14.3.1 Baggage Management System

Technology has made the luggage safer. Baggage handling process is being enhanced
with the use of latest tools with data science and machine learning application which
can provide better passenger experience. Advanced levels of baggage tracking systems
can now detect and match mishandled baggage easily. Baggage Tracking is part of the
IATA End to End baggage program that aims to improve efficiencies in baggage handling
operations, in order to meet the changing demands of passengers as the air transport
industry is set to double in size by 2035.
Technology, such as tracking apps and RFID tags, make all the difference when it
comes to ensuring that passengers aren’t left disconsolate around the baggage carousel.
Several technologies now allow for accurate baggage tracking from the drop-off point
to the passenger’s recovery at their destination. Among these various solutions, we
can note:
 Identification with laser barcode readers
 Identification with Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
 Identification with camera technology
 Identification with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
The popular worldwide computerized baggage tracing system as they have evolved
are:
1. BAGTRAC: Primary baggage tracing system was jointly developed by IATA/
SITA. The purpose was to expedite, economize and improve the effectiveness
of Mishandled baggage. Today it also provides baggage updates to passengers’
mobile devices.
2. BAHAMAS: Baggage Handling and Management System: This too was
developed by IATA / SITA to compliment BAGTRAC and to provide full
Baggage Management system. It interfaces with other baggage tracing systems
and generates baggage tracing messages automatically.
232
3. ACTS (Airlines Computer Tracing System): The access to this system is Modern Trends in
Air Transport
through a direct communication link with the BAHAMAS system. This system
is normally used after 5 days and/ or 120 hours. The ACTS message identifiers
are SND (Still Need), SHL (Still Hold)
4. WORLD TRACER: Co-sponsored by IATA/SITA, it was introduced to
assist in the rapid recovery of mis-routed passenger baggage, allowing
information exchange within a given airline as well as between airlines
worldwide.
5. BRS (Baggage Reconciliation Systems): Airlines also make use of baggage
reconciliation systems (BRS) as a means of both reinforcing the baggage
process and tracking each single piece of luggage. Etihad Airways is one such
player to have used BRS to its advantage, having reported a 33% year-on
year improvement in mishandled baggage in 2018 by deploying the technology
at its Abu Dhabi hub.

14.4 ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION

Airlines are the pioneers in distributing products through internet. Through the
computerized reservations systems, airlines started selling tickets directly as well as
through travel agents. By the new millennium, airlines under the leadership of International
Air Transport Association (IATA), started to distribute tickets directly to consumer so
as to eliminate the commission paid to the travel agents. This trend caused the following
two situations in the realm of travel product distribution:
1. Disintermediation
This represents the tendency of avoiding the intermediaries from the system
of distribution of the products. Cutting down the middlemen is the prime target.
Airlines started promoting the sale of tickets through their own websites,
primarily. The trend of eliminating the intermediaries from product distribution
is known as Disintermediation. The rise of Internet as a powerful medium
for product distribution and transaction is the prime reason behind the trend
of disintermediation.
2. Reintermediation
As the tendency of product distribution through internet increased, different
types of internet-based intermediaries, called eMediaries, emerged. Soon,
they became the prime distribution channel for airlines as well. While
disintermediation avoids middlemen form the supply chain, reintermediation
adds new intermediaries to the supply chain. Travel sector has a number of
online intermediaries and now, they are very powerful in the air transport
market. The following are the major distribution channels of airlines that use
latest information and communication technology tools for the distribution of
airline products.
i. Online Travel Agent (OTA): This is an internet-based marketplace
that allows travellers to research and book travel products and services,
including hotels, flights, cars, tours, cruises, etc., directly with travel and
tourism industries. Every transaction is done through online modes and
customers have now increased choices to select the most suitable products
and offers through online travel agents. 233
Airport Handling ii. Mobile Travel Agent (MTA): Mobile platforms are used for product
distribution and transactions. Mobile based travel distribution applications
are now available and that make the purchase of travel products easy for
the consumers. Online travel agents also have mobile travel application
and there are a number of mobile-only travel agencies in the market.
Hotel Tonight, Blink, Just Book and Hot Hotels/Really Late Booking are
some examples of mobile only travel agents.
iii. Global Distribution System (GDS): GDSs are advanced versions of
former airline computer reservation systems. GDS is basically a reservation
mechanism that can be used for making an air, hotel, car or other travel
service booking. It provides flight schedules of different airlines and the
available options for booking airline seats and other services. You have
read about GDS, its evolution and impact on aviation industry in Unit 11.
iv. New Distribution Capability (NDC)
This new distribution mechanism is developed by International Air
Transport Association (IATA). It is claimed as an advanced distribution
system that enables both the travel agents as well as consumers to choose
the right product offers of the industries. You have read about it in
Unit 11.
v. Other online agents
There are different types of intermediaries seen in the travel sector that
function online. Meta search engine is one such example. It primarily
helps in searching for the right options suiting the needs of the consumer
and helps the consumer to make reservations. Online Travel aggregators
are also there. Opaque sites, which help enable the unsold/distressed
travel offers easy for selling, are also there in the market.

Check Your Progress-1

1. Explain the new roles of air transport in the progress of tourism.

234 ........................................................................................................................
Modern Trends in
14.5 NEW AIRLINE BUSINESS MODELS GAINING Air Transport

STRENGTH
Airlines, at one point of time, were having only one type of business model. Every
airline followed the same pattern of business practices. Airlines were controlled by the
governments and air transport was completely regulated. All airlines were owned by
the government or its agencies but over a period of time that practice got changed.
Governments started to liberalise the air transport sector, starting with USA. The Airline
Deregulation Act, a United States federal law that deregulated the airline industry
in the United States, removing federal control over airline industry was in 1978. From
that time onwards, private airlines started playing a key role in the air transport sector.
This trend continued, and soon Europe also started privatization. India started
privatization by 1990s, and till then, Air India (international services), Indian Airlines
(domestic services) and Pawan Hans (helicopter services) under Govt. of India were
the only available air transportation in India.
As privatization began, new business models in air transport started gaining prominence.
Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) business model is one of these new models which got
established and is gaining strength. The growth of LCCs has gone hand-in-hand with
market liberalization, as LCC keeps on innovating and strategizing to economize their
operations. Some of the features of LCC are:
i. LCCs are also called ‘No-Frills’ airlines
ii. The prime attraction of Low-Cost Carriers is the cost factor. They offer air
transportation at the cheaper price than other Full-Service Carriers (FSCs).
iii. Dynamic pricing strategy is used by LCCs for making profit.
iv. It is not just the low price that attracts, they offer simple model of air
transportation which is adequate for a journey, that specially a short haul
journey.
v. They operate point-to-point services and usually on short haul routes.
vi. They offer some of the inflight services like, food and beverage only on extra
payment.
vii. Usually, they use single type of aircraft and thus require to spend less on
separate maintenance teams
viii. They employ a smaller number of employees per aircraft, as compared to
FSCs. Even the number of inflight staff will be less and a good share of them
may be working on contract basis.
ix. LCCs usually offer single class carrier with standardized treatments for all
passengers.
x. No additional features are offered, like, Frequent Flyer Programme (FFP)
benefits, interlining facilities and lounges.
xi. LCCs encourage onboard sale of Food items. Gift items like pen, purse,
books, other gift items, etc. are also allowed to be sold onboard to make
extra revenue. 235
Airport Handling xii. LCCs prefer to operate services at off - peak times and the prime focus is on
less congested airports so as to get low landing charges and quick turnaround
time.
xiii. Usually, they operate at a higher seat density with less legroom. Therefore,
more seats are available and lead to higher load factor.
xiv. LCCs usually reduce distribution cost by avoiding intermediaries and sell seat
primarily though own websites, own offices and call centers. Now a day,
other online intermediaries are also being used for product distribution.
LCCs attempted innovations has help increase their market share. According to
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Low-Cost Carriers have played a
major role in the extraordinary expansion of air transportation worldwide for the last
fifty years and it is predicted to continue its growth tendency. The LCC sector carried
984 million passengers in 2015, which was 28 per cent of the world total scheduled
passengers. Full-Service Carriers (FSCs) are also adapting their strategies to cope up
with the challenges in the air transport sector.
While LCCs are still growing at a fast rate, a new business model has emerged. It’s
called Hybrid Airlines, a business model which is neither a FSC nor an LCC. It is a
blend of Low-Cost Carrier business model and Full-Service business model. While
LCCs focused on short haul and domestic routes, Hybrid airline may undertake service
on longer routes as well. They usually provide standard inflight service. The ticket rates
may be lower than that of FSCs, but higher than that of LCCs.
In Indian market, by 1990s, private airline started playing key role in air transportation.
Although, some of the airlines started in 1990s are no longer offering any service now.
The airlines owned by Government of India Air India(international services), Indian
Airlines (domestic services) have been combined to forma single airline, called Air
India. LCCs entered into Indian market, by mid of 2000s. Air Deccan was the first
LCC operated in India. Later a number of other LCCs entered into Indian market.
Now, the number of LCCs are more than that of FSCs. Hybrid airlines are also there,
conducting transport services in the Indian market.

14.6 EXPANSION OF AIR TRANSPORT

INFRASTRUCTURE
The new millennium has seen the fast expansion of air transport infrastructure. The
number of airports is constantly increasing, with many countries like India opting to
construct green field airports. While others are focusing on expanding existing airports
to accommodate the increasing air transport demand. The demand for air transportation
has been increasing steadily over the last few decades, except during the pandemic
related crisis period. New airlines are entering into the market while existing airlines
are expanding the route networks. Moreover, the number of passengers has been
increasing consistently. Large scale expansion programmes are happening in India.
The need for air transport expansion in the country is high. Already, a number of airports
have added more terminals and facilities. Many of the existing runways are extended
by length and width. The need for expansion in the infrastructure is due to a range of
factors such as -
i. Increasing travel demand is the prime reason. Every country has been facing
236 growth in air passenger demand.
ii. Second is the entry of new airlines. By this, airports need to have new slots to Modern Trends in
Air Transport
allocate for the new comers.
iii. Introduction of new aircrafts is another reason. For instance, A380 was
introduced into commercial transportation by the mid of 2000s. It’s a large
aircraft and it need farther and wider runway for landing and takeoff. Therefore,
many of the major airports in the world started expanding the runways in
order to enable the large aircrafts to land and take off smoothly.
iv. Increase of import and export is another reason, since the cargo terminals are
being expanded as part of it.
v. Ensuring latest facilities and services also need more space within airports.
vi. Moreover, airports are in competition, particularly from a tourism point of
view. This urge many airports to have expansion and to improve services,
facilities and attractiveness.
According to Airports Authority of India (AAI), the modernisation and upgradation of
airport in the country is being done keeping with the ICAO standards and recommended
practices. The priority is given to safety, passenger facilities, aircraft and cargo handling,
while deciding the allotment of funds among different upgradation and modernization
schemes. Greenfield airports (newly constructing airports) are being built where - an
existing airport is unable to meet the projected requirements of traffic, or a new focal
point of traffic emerges with sufficient viability; and there is a minimum aerial distance
of 150 kilometers from an existing airport. Expansion and up gradation are taking
place in the air navigation services as well. Cargo transport facility expansion is also
taking place simultaneously. Technological and other improvements are being ensured
by the introduction of automation and computerization, mobile check-in counters,
improvement in emigration/immigration and security checks, mechanization of baggage
and ground handling services, provision of aero-bridges, introduction of better systems
of passenger transfer between terminals, improvement in cargo terminals, reduction in
bunching of flights and contracting out of operating and maintenance facilities. Moreover,
expansion and additions are taking place in having more commercial establishments
within airports to support the passengers and to increase revenue. India is now promoting
private participation or privatization in airport construction on any one of the modes
from Build-Own-Transfer (BOT), Build-Own-Lease-Transfer(BOLT), Build-Own-
Operate (BOO), Lease-Develop-Operate (LDO), Joint venture, Management
Contract, etc.

14.7 AIRPORTS: A DESTINATION FOR

TRAVELLERS
The importance of airports in tourism has been discussed in Unit 1. For a tourist
destination, an airport plays a vital role particularly for ensuring global accessibility.
Major destinations now a days keep close collaboration with airports and attempt to
ensure tourist appeal within airports itself. Unlike other passengers, tourists need more
facilities and services within airports. For example, they may wish to shop and have
refreshments within airports.
Nowadays, airports themselves have touristic expectations. Modern airports are being
envisaged as a great place to eat, shop, dance, sleep, socialize and have meetings. 237
Airport Handling While choosing destinations, airports also can be a matter of consideration for the
travellers. In addition to having more centers for shopping, airports are investing in art,
events, and entertainment to enhance passenger experiences. Some of the airports
have almost all facilities that of a mini-city. Accommodation centres and conference
venue are arranged within the airport premises. Multiple restaurants provide the options
for the travellers to choose the right one that suit them well. VIP/Airline lounges provide
a touch of luxury to affluent frequent flyers and business and first-class passengers.
Modern Spa is seen in almost all international airports. Wide range of facilities and
services are arranged within airports, and thus, airports are posing as a destination
in their own capacity. Couple of airports who can give competition to destinations
are given below:
1. Changi Airport, Singapore: Changi Airport, Singapore is considered the
best airport and has facilities for tourists to vacation within the airport. Different
terminals of it are decorated with fuses artistry, architecture and nature’s
wonders in the form of forest and verdant gardens for travellers to relax.
Shiseido Forest Valley and HSBC Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi are wonderful
attractions. Jewel Changi has incredible forest like space and verdant gardens
for travellers to relax. A 40-metre-high indoor waterfall flanked on all sides
by tropical plants and over 2,000 trees are the main attraction over there.

Figure 14.1 : Changi Airport, Singapore

A Butterfly Garden, Sunflower Garden and Cactus Garden are all present
within the airport. Number of family-friendly activities, including indoor
playgrounds, the island’s tallest slide, a Family Zone, a Canopy Park,
entertainment corner for teenagers and more than 100 eateries within the
airport provides plenty of attractions for the travellers.
2. Hong Kong Airport: HK airport is an example which has been upgrading
facilities to attract maximum tourists. In addition to the common tourist attracting
facilities and services, it organizes a four-month long cultural festival, which
encompasses music and art shows. It also has a workshop in which passengers
can make personalized gifts and enjoy VR experiences. The Airport has more
than 80 culinary outlets, 17 specialty coffee shops, 40 luxury shops as well as
Aviation Museum and a total of six exhibitions where passengers can learn
more about the history and people of Hong Kong, the truths behind Oriental
238 medicine and Chinese tea as well as the heritage of Cantonese Opera.
Modern Trends in
Air Transport

Figure 14.2 : Hong Kong Airport

Other airports which have something more to offer to the passengers include Hamad
International Airport(Qatar) which has Swimming Pool facility, Dubai International
Airport (U.A.E.) offers the facility of Interactive Kids Zone while Munich International
Airport (Germany) offers the facility of Ice Rink. At Vancouver International Airport a
spa, dental service and an aquarium targeting at travellers is available. Incheon
International Airport (South Korea) offers the attraction of Indoor Garden, Kuala
Lumpur International Airport (Malaysia) has Jungle Boardwalk while few airports like
San Francisco International Airport (U.S.A.) offers the facility of Yoga Room.

Check Your Progress-2

1. Summarize the trends in air transport sector.

14.8 LET US SUM UP

Air transport has been growing and it is poised for further expansion. Moreover, the
sector is experiencing innovations and developments at regular intervals. The impact of
Covid-19 on air transport sector too caused transformations in the sector as it had to
face new challenges for survival. This sector has been facing augmented growth when
LCCs took the centre stage and now, there is healthy competition taking place between
the traditional business models and the new business models in the airline sector. Air
transportation is always on the path of evolution. Newer technologies and concepts
emerge at regular intervals and that make the air transportation more comfortable and
safer to travel. With regard to tourism, air transport is the most favourable one compared
to other modes, particularly on long- haul routes. All the transformations taking place
in the realm of air transportation is favourable for tourism. For instance, the way airports
are getting upgraded with newer concepts, the direct beneficiary of it are the tourists.
Airports are now a place for relaxation, shopping and refreshments.
In this modern era of air transport, a number of factors are there that act as challenges
of airports. Safety and security, increasing customer preferences and experiences,
growing competition, etc. pose severe challenges for airports. Airports are still in the
path of further expansion and growth. Information and communication technology
integration in air transportation is highly beneficial for tourists. Online intermediation is
gaining strength in air transport sector. Passengers have the freedom to book, cancel
or change the bookings at any point of time and from anywhere. Passenger handling
within airports became hassle free by the use of fully automated information systems
within airports. Moreover, air transport sector is taking utmost efforts to ensure
sustainability parameters and to strive at eliminating the carbon emissions.
Overall, paradigm shift is visible in the air transport sector and it is poised for further
sophistication and advancements in the years to come. Airports are facing expansion
at a greater pace now a days and modern airports are like mini cities and the leading
airports are competing hard to enhance the experience of the travelers while they are in
the airports. As years pass by, newer trends will emerge, and as curious students, you
should watch the trends in the sector to have a better understanding of the air transport
sector.

14.9 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress - 1

1. Refer to section 14.2

2. Refer to section 14.3

240 3. Refer to section 14.4

Modern Trends in
Check Your Progress - 2 Air Transport

1. Refer to section 14.4, 14.5, 14.6 and 14.7

2. Refer to section 14.5
3. Refer to section 14.6
4. Refer to section 14.7

14.10 ACTIVITIES
1. Visit a travel agency that issues international air tickets and discuss with the staff
over there to understand the global distribution system they are using, the features
of those systems and the process of booking tickets.
2. Check and compare the facilities of different airports of India.

241
Airport Handling
ANNEXURE : TYPES OF AIRPORTS
As per Airport Authority of India (AAI),”airport” means a landing and taking off
area for aircrafts, usually with runways and air craft maintenance and passenger
facilities. It also includes aerodrome as defined in clause (2) of section 2 of the
Aircraft Act, 1934
The F ederal Avi ation Administration (of USA) defines an “airport” as “Any area of
land or water used or intended for landing or takeoff of aircraft including the
appurtenant area used or intended for airport buildings, facilities, as well as
rights of way together with the buildings and facilities.”
Airports can be classified and categorized based on many factors like the
 Passenger – civil, military or only cargo,
 Length of the air-strip and the size of the aircraft that can land,
 Ease of take-off and landing,
 Volume of traffic being handled every day,
 Development process,
 Ownership,
 Scheduled air services,
 Air Traffic Control Facilities and so on
The classification and categorization of airports vary from nation to nation as classification
followed is the one that best suits the nation. Refer to Figure 1.2 that gives us different
types of airports based on few of the criteria. Let’s now discuss the types of Airports
as given in Figure 1.2
A. Based on Passenger Accessibility
Passenger Accessibility here refers to airports’ classification based on whether or not
civil passengers have accessibility to the airport. Based on the passenger accessibility,
we can categories airports as: -
1. Military - Military airports are those which are meant exclusively for the
Defence purposes of a country. They are not accessible to civilians or for any
commercial or scheduled flights. These airports are under the defence forces
of the country and maintained and manned by armed forces.
2. Civil – Civil aviation airports include all types of airports which are accessible
to the general public and used for commercial scheduled flights. Scheduled
flights include all airline services undertaken on a regular basis and are based
on pre-fixed schedules, i.e., flights have a published time of departure and
arrival. Civil aviation airports consist of varied types, wherein General aviation
and Commercial airports are the major categories within it. Civil Airports can
further be categorized based on whether or not they cater to Scheduled Flights
and extend of passenger services offered at these airports : -
a. General Aviation Airports - This includes publicly-owned general
aviation airports that do not have scheduled services and have fewer than
242
2,500 annual passenger boardings. General aviation airports, a category Annexure
within civil aviation, cater to the requirements of a number of flying activities,
like instructional flying, pleasure flying, business flying, aerial work,
agricultural flying and other flying. In some countries, like USA, the number
of general airports is more than that of commercial airports.
b. Commercial Airports - Commercial airports receive scheduled
passenger services and have at least 2,500 passenger boardings each
calendar. Every country usually has commercial airports for ensuring
global connectivity. An airport for commercial purposes will have not
only the facilities and services for the aircraft to land and take-off, but
also have a range of commercial services that can cater to the
requirements of the passengers. A wide variety of commercial facilities
ranging from shops, duty free shops, gift shops, restaurants to conference
facilities are available in these airports. Typically, commercial airports
are of three types -
i. International Airports - ICAO defines an international airport as
“any airport designated by the Contracting State in whose territory it
is situated as an airport of entry and departure for international air
traffic, where the formalities such as customs, immigration, public
health, agricultural quarantine and similar procedures are carried out.”
(ICAO Definitions, UVS International). International airports allow
one to travel all over the world as it usually focuses on the scheduled
air transport services to foreign countries. The key difference with
the domestic airports is that the international airports are set up for
border control and customs inspections.
ii. Domestic Airports - Domestic airports have scheduled services to
destinations located within countries and generally only allow flights
from within the same country. At some instances we come across
Model Airports - these are the domestic airports which have
minimum runway length of 7500 feet and adequate terminal capacity
to handle Airbus 320 type of aircraft; and if required, can cater to
limited international traffic. Unlike, International Airports, Domestic
airports do not have customs and immigration facilities.
iii. Custom –A customs airport is an airport notified by the appropriate
customs authority of the country as an airport which shall be used for
the unloading of imported goods and the loading of export goods or
any class of such goods. Customs airports may or may not have
international commercial flights. In case they have international
scheduled flights, custom and immigration facilities will be made
available only for limited international operations by national carriers,
and for foreign tourist and cargo charter flights. The customs officers
May only be in attendance for scheduled international services. Such
airports may also have boarding stations in it or near them for the
purpose of boarding or disembarkation from vessels by officers of
customs.
3. Civil Enclaves in Defence Airport - Civil enclaves are part of airports of
armed forces that are used for commercial flights. In India, there are 26 civil
243
Airport Handling enclaves in Defence airfields. Civil Enclaves means the area allotted at an
airport belonging to any armed force of the Union, for use by persons availing
of any air transport services from such airport or for the handling of baggage
or cargo by such service. It includes land comprising of any building and
structure on such area.

B. Based on Ownership

Airports across the world has different ownership pattern. We can classify Airports
based on who is maintaining and providing services at the airport. Based on ownership
of the airport we can say that airports are:

1. Public Sector/ Government / State owned – These refers to the Airports

that are looked after by the Government and is a Public Sector undertaking.
In India, Airports till few years ago were owned and maintained only by the
Airport Authority of India (AAI) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Today
the scenario is changing, although AAI still has airports that are entirely under
its jurisdiction.

2. Privately Owned – Privately Owned airports refer to the airports that were
built by private operators or private operators have taken the airports on
lease form the government. The management, operation and development of
the airport will be entirely the responsibility of the private entity.

In India ‘private airport’ means an airport owned, developed or managed by

any person or agency other than AAI or any State Government, or any person
or agency jointly with the Authority or any State Government or both where
the share of such person or agency as the case may be in the assets of the
private airport is more than fifty per cent. Indian government has identified 13
airports that will be privatized by year 2022.

3. Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model: As the name suggests, these

airports are in PPP model, with both public and private sector having a stake
in the Airport. In India, PPP model can be taken up either for the management
of an airport on lease or by joining AAI in the development and management
of a green field airport.

C. Based on Location

Location here refers to either land based or water based.

1. Land Based – Almost all the airports that we see are land-based airports.

2. Water Based – A water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly

by s ea planes, floatplanes or a mphibious aircraft for landing and taking off.
Although all water aerodromes are not like the airports we commonly come
across, yet many of these water aerodromes are the only way to reach an
island. We have the example of Nanaimo Harbour Water Aerodrome in
British Columbia, Canada (IATA Code – ZNA) which was formerly
classified as an airport; and still is an airport of entry, staffed by Canada
Border Service Agency. We have many examples of water aerodromes
across the world.
244
In India, under the UDAN Scheme, 10 water aerodromes are being developed Annexure

at Gujrat, Assam, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Andhra

Pradesh. These water aerodromes along with the land-based airports will be
useful for local short distance travel as well as act as a tourist attraction at
some of the destinations.

D. Based on Development Process

This refers to the stage and process of Airport Development and can be classified
as:

1. Brown Field Airport: Brownfield Airports are the airports which are being
modified or upgraded from existing facilities. For example, extension and
upgradation of the infrastructure and facilities at IGI Airport would be
considered a Brownfield Airport Project

2. Green Field Airport: Greenfield Airport means a new airport which is being
built from scratch in a new location either because the existing airport is
unable to meet the projected requirements of traffic or the city in question
does not already have an airport. The word Greenfield originates from software
engineering, meaning a project which lacks any constraints imposed by prior
work. In India, rules have been framed for Green Field Airports, like No
Greenfield airport will normally be allowed within an aerial distance of 150
kilometers of an existing airport; and so on.

E. Based on Air Traffic Control Tower

Air Traffic Control (ATC) is always in communication with pilots, especially during the
takeoff and landing of a flight. The role of ATC is critical for the safety of aircraft and
its passengers. Air traffic control(ATC) is responsible for providing safe, orderly, and
expeditious flow of air traffic at airports where the type of operations and/or volume of
traffic requires such a service. Pilots communicates with ATC using two – way radio
and have to acknowledge and comply with the directions of ATC to ensure a safe
flight. We see that there are two types of airports based on ATC -

1. Towered – Towered airports refer to the airports that has an operating Air
Traffic Control(ATC) tower within its premises.

2. Non-Towered – Non towered airports are those airports that are not served
by an operating air traffic control(ATC) tower. Although it seems unlikely, but
non towered airports are much more common than towered fields. For
example, nearly 20,000 airports in the United States are non towered,
compared to approximately 500 that have towers. Millions of safe operations
in all types of aircraft are conducted at non towered airports in a variety of
weather conditions since there is a set protocol to follow when using a non-
towered airport.

We have discussed how the airports can be classified based on many parameters.
Other than the above classification we also see that in some parts of USA a different
classification of airports is mentioned as– National, Regional, Local, Basic and
Unclassified. These airports are identified thus based on the reach of the airport,
passenger traffic, volume of flights as well as connectivity among other things. 245
Airport Handling
TYPES OF
AIRPORT

BASED ON PASSENGER BASED ON BASED ON BASED ON BASED ON AIR TRAFFIC

ACCESSIBILITY DEVELOPMENT OWNERSHIP LOCATION CONTROL

Civil Brown Green Government Private Public Private Non-

Military Civil Land W ater Towered
Enclave Field Field Owned Owned Partnership Towered

Flights

General
Aviation Commercial

International Domestic Custom

Figure 1.1:
Source: P. Suklabaidya, 2022

As per Airport Authority of India (AAI), Airports are presently classified in the following
manner:-
1. International Airports: These are declared as international airports and are
available for scheduled international operations by Indian and foreign carriers.
Presently, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagpur,
Cochin Thiruvananthapura, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Guwahati, Jaipur, Goa,
Calicut, Srinagar, Portblair , Lucknow, Varanasi, Tiruchirapalli, Mangalore,
Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar and Imphal are in this category.
2. Custom Airports: These airports have custom and immigration facilities for
limited international operations by national carriers and for foreign tourist and
cargo charter flights. These include Gaya, Patna, Madurai, Pune, Bagdogra,
Chandigarh and Visakhapatnam.
3. Domestic Airports: All other airports are covered in this category.
4. Civil Enclaves in Defence Airport: There are 26 civil enclaves in Defence
airfields
AAI has also proposed a new Classification of Airports. AAI plans to develop
the capacity of airports in accordance with the future projections, and it is proposed
to reclassify the airports as follows:
1. International Hubs: The category of ‘International Hubs’ will cover airports
currently classified at ‘international airports’ and those eminently qualified to
be upgraded to be such. These would at present cover Delhi, Mumbai,
Chennai, Calcutta and Thiruvananthapuram. Airports at Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Guwahati can be added to the list as and when the
facilities are upgraded to the desired level. International hubs would be used
for the dispersal of international traffic to the hinterland. In these airports, the
facilities shall be of world class standards, including convenient connections
to international and domestic passengers, airport-related infrastructure like
hotels, shopping areas, conferencing and entertainment facilities, aircraft-
maintenance bases, etc.
246
2. Regional Hubs: Government is keen to encourage development of Annexure
regionalairlinesbasedonsmallaircrafttoprovideair-linkagesintheinterior areas of
the country. Regional hubs will have to act as operational bases for regional
airlines and also have all the facilities currently postulated for model airports,
including the capability to handle limited international traffic. The identification
of Regional Hubs will be made on the basis of origin- destination surveys,
traffic demand and the requirements of the airlines. State Govt. will be closely
associated as co-promoters of regional airlines.
3. Other operational airports: These will be developed so as to be cost-
effective on the basis of individual needs to meet the requirements of traffic
handled by them. Airports serving in the State Capitals will be given priority.
The status of individual airports may be reviewed at five-yearly intervals, on the
recommendation of a Committee of Experts. Grant of status as international hubs will
be given only with prior Cabinet approval. International hubs shall have the status of
‘international airport’ for the purposes of bilateral agreements.

247

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