What does IATA accreditation mean for a travel agency?

Registration with the International Air Transport Association that lets an agency issue airline tickets. Each accredited agency has a number you can check.

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IATA accreditation, explained

IATA, the International Air Transport Association, is the airlines' trade body. Its agency program accredits travel agencies to sell and issue tickets on member airlines, and each accredited agency has an IATA number.

An agency's IATA number can be checked on IATA's own site. Accreditation is one of several signs that an agency is real, alongside its address, reviews and the airline ticket number you receive.

Accreditation means the agency meets IATA's financial and operational standards and settles the tickets it sells with the airlines through IATA's settlement system, so the airline is paid for the ticket you hold.

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Before paying an agency you found online, look up its IATA number on IATA's site and its reviews on independent sites.

Related terms

E-ticket number
The 13-digit number of an issued airline ticket. Its first three digits identify the airline, and it proves the ticket exists in the airline's system.
Consolidator fare
A fare an airline sells through agencies at a negotiated price it does not publish on its own website, often below the published fare for the same seat.

Further reading: Is BuyBusinessClass legit?. Every term in the glossary.