Airline and Airport Operations
This domain tests the operational facts a consultant uses daily: airport and airline codes, time references, connections, baggage handling and special assistance. Questions often ask you to apply a rule to a passenger’s itinerary rather than simply define a term.
Codes, time and connections
- IATA airport codes are three letters (for example, LHR); city codes can cover multiple airports (for example, LON). Airline designators are two characters.
- Schedules are published in local time. Convert using UTC offsets and check daylight-saving changes, because a route’s local arrival time can shift seasonally.
- Minimum connecting time (MCT) is set by airport, terminal, airline and connection type. A connection below MCT is not a valid protected connection.
- On one ticket with an interline agreement, baggage is normally checked through; on separate tickets, the connection is usually unprotected and baggage may need rechecking.
Passenger handling
Special assistance is requested using SSR codes such as WCHR, WCHS and WCHC, ideally at booking and confirmed with the operating airline. Codeshares matter: the marketing carrier sells the flight, but the operating carrier handles check-in, baggage and assistance.
Worked example
A passenger arrives at 14:20 and the onward flight departs at 15:00. The published MCT is 50 minutes. Reasoning: 40 minutes is below MCT, so this is not a valid connection even though the passenger could physically hurry. The consultant should seek an earlier inbound flight or a later onward flight, and must not present the itinerary as protected.
Traps that cost marks
Using a city code when an airport code is required; assuming one MCT applies everywhere; ignoring daylight saving; and treating separate tickets as protected connections.
Key points
- Airport codes are three letters; city codes may cover several airports.
- Convert local times carefully, including daylight-saving changes.
- MCT varies by airport, terminal, airline and connection type.
- Separate tickets normally mean unprotected connections.
- The operating carrier delivers the service on a codeshare.