All About IATA Courses, Fees & Career Opportunities

IATA offers a wide range of travel and tourism courses, which can help candidates to work anywhere in the world. IATA certified courses are recognised and respected by all airlines and travel offices worldwide. Aspirants who want to make a career in the aviation sector can know more about IATA courses in the article below.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a global trade organization for air transport. IATA is the premier association that leads, represents and serves the aviation industry. It represents more than 300 member airlines or 83% of total air traffic in both the cargo and passenger sectors. IATA also runs various courses in the field of travel and tourism. These internationally recognised courses are accepted across the globe and add to the resume of the students. IATA-qualified professionals can find employment in front line or entry-level operations of airlines and travel agencies around the world. Candidates who aspire to make a career in the field of aviation can check here all the details of the courses offered by IATA.

What is IATA Certification?

The IATA is the exchange relationship that serves more than 300 airlines around the world and 83 per cent of the total air traffic. It is a global trade organisation and exerts control over different areas of the aviation industry. It also serves as a catalyst for the formulation of different industry policies. It ensures and implements cooperation among the registered airlines of the world to guarantee responsible, secure and rational air services.

Eligibility Criteria for IATA Certified Course

IATA offers various training courses in air travel and tourism sector. The minimum educational requirement for enrollment in its course is class 12th or graduation, depending on the level of the course. In addition, candidates must be proficient in English and have a good knowledge of the basic geography of different countries, continents and oceans. To become an IATA consultant, a candidate has to pursue a diploma course. To be eligible for this course, the candidate must have at least two years of industry experience. For Advanced Cargo Marketing course, the candidate should have three and a half years of experience in the cargo industry. IATA also offers distance learning programs as well as courses for working graduates.

Top Courses offered by IATA

Some of the top courses offered by IATA and their eligibility criteria are discussed below.

Foundation course in travel and tourism: The minimum eligibility criteria for this course is 10+2. The duration of the course is 177 hours. The course is ideal for students interested in learning travel and tourism, for airline reservation agents, for tour operators and for sales and marketing staff of travel agency.

Diploma in travel and tourism consultant: The minimum eligibility criteria for this 154-hour course is 10+2.  The course is ideal for travel and tourism graduates, travel agents and reservations and sales personnel. At the end of the course, the candidates are able to consult on international travel and tourism destinations, advice on travel and tourism products, interpret IATA resolutions that applies to accredited travel agencies, Follow BSP procedures to construct complex airfares and to manage ticket exchanges.

Advanced Cargo rating and marketing course: This course should be performed after completion of the graduate degree. This course is ideal for sales and marketing staff at cargo agencies and at air freight forwarders. They can also take up job roles like sales, reservations and acceptance staff at airlines. These professionals can take up job roles as junior and middle management staff at airlines, cargo agents and freight forwarders.

Aviation security screening diploma: This diploma course is recommended for entry-level security agents to become junior managers and for security staff from airports and other navigation organizations. The course helps the aspirants to identify common weapons and access security threats, to perform security measures and access control duties as per industry compliance. The candidate is able to perform basic X-ray screening operations and read X-ray images. They also supervise the security operations at the checkpoints.

Ground operations diploma: At the end of the course, the students will gain tremendous management skills and operational knowledge about the different ground operations for airlines and other ground service providers. The course will teach the candidates to formalize the ground operations as per the international standards. They also develop integrated operational and management skills on all ground functions.

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Benefits Of IATA Certification Courses

IATA certified courses allow a candidate to work anywhere in the world. Its foundation courses offer in-depth knowledge and insights into the tourism and the travel industry. This certification will widen one’s professional scope in a number of domains such as cruise lines, airlines, ticketing travel agencies, car rentals, tour operators, hotels, etc. The courses cover:

• World geography
• IATA city codes
• Flight bookings and PNR creations
• Airline ticketing and CRS
• Airfare and ticketing fare constructions
• Itinerary planning and customer service
• Facilitation management
• Customer service and relationship, etc.

Institutes Offering IATA Courses

The IATA-authorised training centers are independent facilities that are authorised to teach specific IATA training courses and diplomas. The best places to study IATA-recognised courses in India are:

• Aircraft Aviation Training and Management Institute, Patna
• Vidya Bharathi, Kalamassery, Kerala
• Akbar Academy, Thrissur
• Travelshiksha Academy, Lucknow
• Jyoti Nivas College, Bengaluru
• Christ University, Bengaluru

The course fee for learning IATA courses in these institutes varies depending on the type of the course and the teaching institute. The average course fee range between INR 70,000 and INR 1,20,000 inclusive of the service tax and the IATA registration fees.

Career Prospects For IATA Courses

A qualified IATA professional has tremendous employment opportunities at entry-level and front level operations of airlines and travel agencies. They can get easy employment as ground handling staff, travel agency officer, airline city office representative, reservation and ticketing officer, international ticketing officer, etc. Graduates and postgraduates who take this training can get direct entry to mid-level management and take up job roles as operations manager, billing and settlement officer, travel agency manager, etc. The average salary for these professionals is anywhere between INR 45,000 to INR 2,00,000 per month depending on their caliber and the position they take up.

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• Travel & Tourism courses
• Travel & Tourism Management

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FAQs on IATA Courses

Q. What type of courses does IATA offer?

A. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) provide industry-recognised qualifications for a wide range of aviation specializations. The courses can be divided into three main levels: entry-level, intermediate and advanced. Candidates can select any diploma course based on their qualification and experience. All the IATA courses are recognised worldwide.

Q. How to apply for a diploma course offered at IATA?

A. Before applying for a diploma course at IATA candidates are required to complete all the necessary and selected Elective courses that make up the Diploma, within the allotted time frame. This makes the candidate eligible for the diploma he/she is willing to pursue. After that candidates have to contact IATA to request for their diploma, stating the title of the diploma they are applying for and the list of courses they completed for that particular course. IATA Training issues the diploma upon verification of candidate's eligibility.

Q. Are the IATA courses available in different languages?

A. Yes, candidates can pursue the IATA courses in various languages other than English such as French, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian etc. A candidate willing to complete a course in other language must check the availability of course in that language before applying for it.

Q. Are IATA courses available in online mode?

A. Yes, IATA offers the courses in classroom, virtual classroom and e learning mode. The schedule for all types of courses are given on the website. Candidates can complete a course in given time frame and get a certification from the IATA. The LIVE (Live Interactive Virtual Education) virtual classroom courses are centered on personal needs and give candidate the freedom to self-prepare. Such classes also provide guided learning from instructors. The online classes are combined with learning resources and group work, all in an online setting.

Q. Does IATA issues certificate offline?

A. No. IATA has turned the paper certificates into printable secured digital award (SDA) Certificates, secured by blockchain technology, which guarantees the integrity of a certificate for life. To authenticate one's certificate, a candidate should scan the QR code given on the certificate. Candidates can simply share a certificate with their employer, or potential employer, knowing that they can easily confirm its authenticity. However, a candidate can also print a certificate in an A4 size 240 gram paper if desired.

Q. When can I validate an IATA Certificate?

A. The IATA Certificate Validation tool only recognises certificates for courses, certificates that are Issued in the past 5 years, certificates for which the exams were conducted in a supervised setting (in the classroom or supervised online) and when there are no outstanding fees to IATA.