Skip to main content

IATA – International Air Transport Association

Who is IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines, representing some 290 airlines or 82% of total air traffic. We support many areas of aviation activity and help formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues.​

IATA was founded in Havana, Cuba, on 19 April 1945. It is the prime vehicle for inter-airline cooperation in promoting safe, reliable, secure and economical air services - for the benefit of the world's consumers. The international scheduled air transport industry is more than 100 times larger than it was in 1945. Few industries can match the dynamism of that growth, which would have been much less spectacular without the standards, practices and procedures developed within IATA.

At its founding, IATA had 57 members from 31 nations, mostly in Europe and North America. Today it has some 290 members from 120 nations in every part of the globe.

What are the advantages of using a travel agent who is accredited by IATA

IATA accredits travel and cargo agents to sell tickets on behalf of our member airlines. The accreditation process is demanding, and conditions require to meet a number of criteria, including financial liability. Accreditation is renewed each year. The IATA-accredited agents community can thus be considered a worldwide network of reliably certified and recognized agents.