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Young aspirants throughout the globe dream of starting a successful career in the aviation industry due to multiple job opportunities and lucrative salary packages that comes with various perks and benefits.  Moreover, aspirants can start their career at a very young age in the aviation industry which allows them to climb the steps of success quickly in life.

Government Aviation Colleges, offer various aviation courses including IATA authorized courses that will help them establish a successful career in the Aviation Industry and other popular industries globally. Some of the popular IATA authorized courses are Foundation Course in Travel and Tourism, Airline Cabin crew training, Ground Operations, Airline Customer Services, etc. 

First of all, I will give a short synopsis of IATA to make the term and its purposes clear. 

The International Air Transport Association or IATA is a global trade organization for air transport with its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. It leads and represents the Aviation Industry. The IATA offers a vast range of certified travel and tourism courses that are internationally acclaimed and accepted and the aspirants after completing the IATA authorized courses can gain employment at the front line or entry-level operations of airlines across the globe. IATA authorized courses also help in extending the scope of employment opportunities in many more domains other than aviation such as Ticketing Travel Agencies, Cruise Lines, Tour Operators, and Hotels .It also regulates and controls the authorization processes of passenger and cargo transportation by air by providing various codes to airline companies and airports. Airlines and Airports can get this code by proving their existence to IATA and paying a certain amount (in USD). The codes are published semiannually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA Codes are essential for the identification of an airline, its destination, and its traffic documents. 

Today, let us have a close look at the process of getting IATA Code for Airlines and Airports 

Online Application for IATA code

IATA has an online portal where airlines and airports can submit their application forms asking for IATA codes. After reviewing the applications, IATA provides convenient encodings consisting of two digits for airlines (such as AI for Air India) or 3 digits for airports (such as BOM for Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport).  The airlines and Airports have to first submit their applications online if they want to get the IATA Code.

Now, let us focus on the process of applying for an IATA Code for an Airline 

The Airline needs to submit an application form online. They need to create a user account on IATA’S website to get access to this form. A fee of $ 5700 USD (approx.) is required to apply for the code. Once IATA accepts the application, registration fees of $ 15,000 USD (approx.) followed by annual fee payments of around $ 12,800(USD,) must be done.  

An airline must meet various requirements before it can start its service. One of them is AOC (Air Operator’s Certificate) which is a mandatory certificate for an airline carrying passengers to prove that its operations are recognized and safe. The process of obtaining this certificate is long and multi-staged and the procedure varies from country to country. The AOC is a valuable document. It can be traded by airlines that have gone bankrupt or stopped their operations to a newly established airline for reuse.  

Proof of the Airline

An Airline also needs to proof that its flight schedules are published. This often means working with OAG (Official Airline Guide) or CIRIUM ( a company that delivers data and aviation analytics solutions to the aviation industry) to make your traffic documents official.

Chartered business models need to have an agreement for any route with an IATA airline and join one of several recognized telecommunications networks. Moreover, they need to proof their participation in the “a4a Interline Traffic Agreement”

For non-English documents, official incorporation documents, breakdown details of the company’s shareholders, proof that the chartered business model have an agreement with the online reservation system (CRS), and certified translations are required.

Getting an IATA code for airports are easier than for airlines

Under IATA rules, airports are not actually required to directly apply for a three-digit airport code. On the contrary, an airline that wants to start its service must request this code. With an application fee of $ 5,700 USD ( approx.) and a few mandatory documents, the code application must be made by the airline company.

This is how an airline or an airport gets IATA Code to get recognized and accepted in the aviation sector.