Aviation Standards

The IATA Airport Handling Manual (AHM) is the industry's standard reference for ground handling policies and standard messaging, used by airlines, ground handlers, and airports worldwide to keep turnaround and cargo procedures consistent.

APIS (Advance Passenger Information System) is the data system and legal framework requiring airlines to transmit passenger passport and identity information to the border security authorities of the destination country prior to departure. It is governed by ICAO Doc 9944 and national legislation.

BCBP (Bar Coded Boarding Pass) is the IATA standard that defines the data format for barcoded boarding passes. Whether on paper or mobile device, it encodes passenger and flight data in a 2D barcode (PDF417 or Aztec) readable by gate scanners, SBD units and kiosk systems.

A baggage tag is the barcoded, machine-readable label attached to checked luggage at check-in, built around a unique IATA-standardized 10-digit "license plate" number that every automated Baggage Handling System (BHS) reads to sort, load, transfer and track a bag from check-in to arrival.

The IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) is the industry-standard manual for classifying, packaging, labeling, and documenting hazardous materials shipped by air, built on the ICAO Technical Instructions that member states apply as regulation.

ETOPS is the certification framework that allows twin-engine airliners to fly routes a set number of minutes away from the nearest diversion airport on one engine, replacing the older blanket 60-minute rule and enabling twin-engine jets on long overwater and remote routes.

ILS approach categories (CAT I, II, IIIA, IIIB, IIIC) classify precision instrument approaches by the minimum decision height and visibility or runway visual range at which a crew may continue toward landing, based on ground equipment, aircraft capability, and crew qualification.

IOSA is IATA's internationally recognized audit program that evaluates an airline's operational management and safety control systems across eight operational areas, and which every IATA member airline must pass and renew every two years.

Juliet is the ICAO phonetic alphabet code word for the letter J. Spelled with a double-t (Juliett in ICAO documentation) to ensure non-English speakers stress the second syllable. Used in callsigns, registrations and any aviation radio communication requiring the letter J.

Kilo is the ICAO phonetic alphabet code word for the letter K. It is also the standard aviation unit prefix for thousands — kilofeet (altitude), kilograms (weight) — making K one of the most functionally versatile letters in aviation communications.

The ICAO Phonetic Alphabet is the standardised set of 26 code words — Alpha through Zulu — assigned to each letter of the Latin alphabet to ensure unambiguous voice communication over radio between pilots, controllers and ground personnel worldwide.

Quebec is the ICAO phonetic alphabet code word for the letter Q. In aviation, Q also appears as a prefix in the Q-code system — a set of three-letter codes (QNH, QFE, QNE) historically used in radio communications and still standard in altimeter settings and weather reports.

NDC (New Distribution Capability) is the IATA XML-based communication standard that enables airlines to distribute rich content — ancillaries, personalised offers, dynamic pricing — directly to travel agents and booking tools without routing through traditional GDS intermediaries.

RNP and RNAV are the two families of performance-based navigation specification under ICAO's PBN framework that let aircraft fly precise, repeatable paths defined by onboard systems rather than by flying directly to and from ground-based navaids.

RVSM is the airspace standard that reduced the minimum vertical spacing between aircraft above Flight Level 290 from 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet, roughly doubling the number of usable cruise altitudes in the busiest part of the flight envelope.

Wake Turbulence Category is the ICAO classification (Light, Medium, Heavy, Super) that groups aircraft by Maximum Takeoff Weight to determine the minimum following separation air traffic control must apply, since heavier aircraft generate stronger, longer-lasting wake vortices.

SARPs are the Standards and Recommended Practices adopted by ICAO under the Chicago Convention's 19 Annexes — the mechanism by which ICAO sets binding-in-intent international aviation requirements that member states are expected to implement in their own national regulations.