Flights API: requests open. How it works

IATA.co Flights & API
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Book flights. Build on our Instant API.

A B2B booking portal and a flights API, on one prepaid balance.

Travellers
Class

Searching and booking need an activated agency account.

POST /api/v1/flights/searchAuthorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEYRequest API access

Access is reviewed by a person. Your key works from your whitelisted servers only. See a request and response

  • Verified agencies only
  • Prepaid balance, no credit line
  • No IATA accreditation of your own required

  • Book now, pay from your balance

    Top up once and book without a card form at checkout. Every credit and debit shows in your statement.

  • One API, the same live fares

    Request access, get your key and run the same search and booking from your own servers.

  • No accreditation of your own

    You book through us, so you can start selling flights without your own IATA accreditation.

For travel agents

A B2B booking portal that works from your browser.

Search live fares and book for your customers from your browser. No software to install, no contract to sign first.

  • One-way and round-trip search
  • Economy, premium, business and first
  • Adults, children and infants in one booking
  • Every booking saved in your dashboard
Start booking

Product preview with sample data.

Flights API

A flights API you can ship this week.

One REST endpoint to search, one to book. JSON in, JSON out. Access is reviewed by a person, keys only work from the servers you name, and your plan decides how hard you can hit it.

  • Approved accessRequest access from your dashboard. Once approved you get your key and the docs.
  • Server whitelistingA key only answers requests from the IP addresses you registered. A leaked key is useless elsewhere.
  • Plan-based rate limitsEach plan has a search quota and a per-minute limit. Every response tells you what is left.
  • Cached for speedIdentical searches inside a short window are answered from cache, so repeat lookups come back fast.
Request API access
curl https://iata.co/api/v1/flights/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "origin": "KHI",
    "destination": "DXB",
    "departure_date": "2026-12-14",
    "trip_type": "oneway",
    "cabin": "economy",
    "adults": 1
  }'
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
X-RateLimit-Limit: 60
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 59
X-Cache: MISS

{
  "search_id": "srch_8f2a61c0",
  "currency": "USD",
  "total": 42,
  "flights": [
    {
      "id": "flt_01",
      "price": 148.20,
      "legs": [{
        "duration": "2h 05m",
        "stops": 0,
        "segments": [{
          "airline": "EK", "flight_no": "EK601",
          "from": { "airport": "KHI", "at": "2026-12-14T09:45" },
          "to":   { "airport": "DXB", "at": "2026-12-14T10:50" }
        }],
        "baggage": { "cabin": "7 kg", "checked": "30 kg" }
      }]
    }
  ]
}

Example request and response. The full reference is unlocked with your API key.

For both

One prepaid balance pays for everything.

Top up when you need to. Bookings from the portal and from the API are deducted from the same balance, so you never run a credit line with us.

  • Top up any time from your dashboard
  • Every credit and debit written to a ledger
  • Balance checked before a booking is sent
  • Full statement for your accountant
Open an account

Product preview with sample data.

How it works

From sign-up to your first booking in four steps.

  1. 01

    Create and activate your account

    Name, email, password. Confirm your email and activate your account in a minute.

  2. 02

    Top up your balance

    Add funds to your prepaid balance. It is the only payment method bookings ever use.

  3. 03

    Search live fares

    Pick the route, dates, cabin and passengers. Results come straight from the flight suppliers.

  4. 04

    Book and manage

    Confirm the booking, the fare is deducted from your balance and the booking stays in your dashboard.

  1. 01

    Activate your account

    The same account as the portal. One login for bookings, balance, the docs and a sandbox key.

  2. 02

    Request API access

    Tell us what you are building and which plan fits. A person reviews every request.

  3. 03

    Get your key and whitelist your server

    Once approved you receive your API key and the documentation. Add the IP addresses of the servers that will call us.

  4. 04

    Go live on your plan

    Search and book from your own code. Your plan sets the monthly searches and the requests per minute.

Features

Built like a payment system, not a brochure.

Live fares in front, a ledger underneath, and clear rules around the API. This is how the platform actually works.

Live fares, every search

Each search asks the flight suppliers for current prices and seats. What you see is what can be booked.

Book from your balance

No card form at checkout. The fare is checked against your balance and deducted when the booking is confirmed.

A ledger behind every cent

Top-ups, bookings and refunds are written to an append-only ledger, so your statement always adds up.

API access by approval

Keys are issued after a person reviews your request. That keeps the platform fast for everyone on it.

Locked to your servers

Register the IP addresses that may use your key. Requests from anywhere else are refused.

Fair, plan-based limits

Your plan sets the searches per month and requests per minute. Usage is visible in your dashboard.

Cached at the edge

The platform runs on a global edge network and caches repeat searches briefly, which keeps responses quick.

Built for many suppliers

One request and response format, however many flight suppliers sit behind it. New suppliers need no code change on your side.

Airlines

Popular airlines on IATA.co

Look up an airline's IATA and ICAO codes, read how agents book its fares, and search live prices. Every airline appears in your results whenever our flight suppliers offer it.

All airlinesAirline code directory

From the blog

Guides for people who sell flights and build with flight APIs.

All articles

FAQ

Questions agents and developers ask before they join.

IATA.co is an online flight booking portal and a flights API. Travel agents use the portal to search and book flights from a prepaid balance. Developers and agencies use the API to run the same flight search and booking from their own website, app or back office.

No. You book through the platform, so you do not need an IATA accreditation of your own to get started. You open an account, top up your balance and book. You stay responsible for your own customers and for following the fare rules of each ticket.

With your prepaid balance. You top it up from your dashboard, and each confirmed booking is deducted from it. There is no credit line and no card form at checkout, and every movement is listed in your statement.

Activate your account and you get the documentation and a sandbox key at once. For production, send an access request from the API page of your dashboard describing what you are building; our team reviews it and, once approved, you generate your live key.

Every API plan includes a number of searches per month and a limit on requests per minute. Each API response carries headers that show your limit and what is left, and your dashboard shows your usage for the month.

An API key can be copied. By registering the IP addresses of your servers, the key only works from those machines, so a leaked key cannot be used to spend your balance or your search quota from somewhere else.

Yes. Searches go to the flight suppliers for live prices. Only identical searches repeated within a short window are answered from cache, and the price and availability are always checked again with the supplier before a booking is confirmed.

No. IATA.co is an independent flight booking and API platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by the International Air Transport Association.

Free to join

Your first flight search is a minute away.

Activate your account, top up when you are ready, and build on the sandbox API from day one.

  • Sandbox API included
  • Prepaid balance
  • Bearer keys, server-side only
  • 60 requests a minute per key
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