Aviation Geography — IATA Traffic Conference Areas TC1/TC2/TC3, GMT & World Geography
Aviation Geography — IATA Traffic Conference Areas TC1/TC2/TC3, GMT & World Geography
Every airline fare, every ticket rule, and every route pricing decision is based on IATA’s division of the world into three Traffic Conference Areas. Master this geography and you master international fare construction.
Travel agents must have thorough knowledge of world geography. IATA categorises fares and rules as per its geographic distribution. Identifying the correct IATA geographic location of countries and cities is a basic requirement for fare construction and itinerary building.
Pacific Ocean (largest — between Americas and Eurasia, bisected by equator into North + South Pacific) → Atlantic Ocean (2nd largest, busiest ocean — separates Europe/Africa from Americas, covers ~1/5 Earth’s surface) → Indian Ocean (south of Asia, west of Africa, named after India) → Arctic Ocean (North Pole, least saline, surrounded by Asia/Europe/North America) → Southern/Antarctic Ocean (iceberg-rich, sometimes classified as extension of Atlantic/Indian/Pacific)
IATA divides the world into Eastern Hemisphere (east of Prime Meridian — Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa) and Western Hemisphere (west of Prime Meridian — Americas, western Eurasia). These are further divided into 3 Traffic Conference Areas for fare determination and route allocation.
Key dividers: Ural Mountains of Russia and Tehran (Iran) divide TC2 from TC3. TC1 = Western Hemisphere. TC2 + TC3 = Eastern Hemisphere.
North America: Canada, Mexico, USA (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands), St. Pierre and Miquelon
Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua
Caribbean Area: Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean Islands (Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad & Tobago, and many more), plus Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Panama
TC1 Classification by Atlantic zones: North Atlantic (Canada, Greenland, USA, Mexico) · Mid Atlantic (Caribbean + Central America + South America except Southern Cone) · South Atlantic (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay)
Europe includes: All EU member states + Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Turkey, Russia (west of Urals), Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and all European island groups (Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Azores, Madeira)
Africa regions: Central Africa (Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe) · Eastern Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi) · Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland) · Western Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Angola, and 20+ other nations) · Indian Ocean Islands (Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Reunion)
Middle East: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, UAE, Yemen
TC3 Sub-areas:
South East Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, China (excl. Hong Kong separate), Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam + Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
South Asian Sub-Continent (India’s sub-area): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Japan-Korea Sub-area: Japan, North Korea, South Korea
South West Pacific: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and 15+ Pacific island nations
Longitude and Time: Earth rotates 360° in 24 hours = 15° per hour. Every 15° longitude = 1 hour time difference. Moving eastwards: gain an hour per 15°. Moving westwards: lose an hour per 15°.
India Standard Time (IST): GMT + 5:30 (UTC +5:30). India is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich.
DST (Daylight Saving Time): Clocks moved 1 hour forward in summer to extend evening daylight. Used in USA, Europe, Australia — NOT in India. When DST is in effect, time difference with India changes by 1 hour.
◆ TC1 = Western Hemisphere · TC2 + TC3 = Eastern Hemisphere
◆ TC1 HQ: Montreal, Canada · TC2 HQ: Geneva, Switzerland · TC3 HQ: Singapore
◆ TC1 = Americas + Caribbean + Greenland + Hawaiian Islands
◆ TC2 = Europe + Africa + Middle East (west of Ural Mountains/Tehran)
◆ TC3 = Asia (east of Urals) + Oceania + South Pacific
◆ Divider TC2/TC3: Ural Mountains of Russia + Tehran, Iran
◆ India is in TC3 · South Asian Sub-Continent sub-area
◆ Pacific Ocean = largest ocean · Atlantic = 2nd largest, busiest
◆ Largest continent: Asia · Smallest: Australia
◆ GMT: standard time reference from Greenwich (0° longitude)
◆ 15° longitude = 1 hour time difference · IST = GMT + 5:30
◆ DST (Daylight Saving Time): used in USA, Europe, Australia — NOT India