EMD — Electronic Miscellaneous Document

Why EMD Exists

As airlines unbundled fares and began charging separately for seats, bags, meals, and other extras, the traditional e-ticket had no standardized way to record and settle those charges across airlines, agencies, and GDSs. IATA introduced the EMD to give ancillary sales the same structured, machine-readable, interline-settleable format that e-tickets already gave to flight segments.

EMD-A vs. EMD-S

EMD comes in two forms. EMD-Associated (EMD-A) is linked to a specific flight coupon on an e-ticket — for example, a checked-bag fee tied to one segment of an itinerary; when that flight coupon is used, its linked ancillary coupons are marked used as well. EMD-Standalone (EMD-S) is not tied to any ticket coupon and is used for services that exist independently of a specific flight, such as a service fee, a group deposit, or ground transportation.

RFIC and RFIS Coding

Every EMD carries a Reason for Issuance Code (RFIC) — a single letter identifying the broad service category (e.g., baggage, seat, in-flight service, ground transport) — plus one or more Reason for Issuance Sub-codes (RFIS) that describe the specific service within that category. This coding lets airlines, GDSs, and settlement systems interpret ancillary charges consistently regardless of which carrier or agency issued them.

Standard and Adoption

EMD is defined in IATA Passenger Services Conference (PSC) Resolutions 725f, 725g, and 725h. Adoption grew quickly after launch: by the end of 2014, over 180 airlines had implemented EMD, with more than 52 million documents issued representing roughly $2 billion in ancillary transactions.

Settlement

EMDs issued by travel agencies flow through the same settlement channels as e-tickets — IATA's BSP outside the US, and ARC's Interchange system within the US — so ancillary revenue is reconciled and paid to airlines through existing agency reporting cycles rather than a separate process.

Replacing MCO

EMD-S effectively replaced the older Miscellaneous Charges Order (MCO) for BSP-reporting agencies: since November 1, 2014, virtual MCO (vMCO) and virtual Multi-Purpose Document (vMPD) formats are no longer supported within IATA's Billing and Settlement Plan, with EMD-S serving as the mandated electronic, paperless successor.