The Travel Information Manual Automatic (Timatic) is a database containing documentation requirements for passengers traveling internationally via air, e.g. passport and visa requirements. Timatic is used by airlines and their representatives (check-in agents, managers, etc.), airport staff, and travel agents to determine whether a passenger can be carried, as well as by airlines and travel agents to provide this information to travellers at the time of booking. This is critical for airlines due to the fines levied by immigration authorities every time a passenger is carried who does not have the correct travel documentation, as well as the airline's costs to return the incorrectly-boarded passenger to the original airport from which the passenger departed. The information contained in Timatic includes:
Passport requirements and recommendations Visa requirements and recommendations Health requirements and recommendations Airport tax to be paid by the traveller at either departure or arrival airport Customs regulations relating to import/export of goods and small pets by a passenger Currency regulations relating to import and export by a passenger Timatic was first established in 1963 and is managed by the Montreal-based International Air Transport Association (IATA). Over 500 million travellers have their documentation requirements checked against the Timatic database every year. It is available in a number of forms, including:
Timatic – available via the SITA network TIM – hard-copy book TimaticWeb – web-based Timatic XML IATA Travel Centre, Consumer web portal IATA has announced the Travel Pass application as an extension of Timatic that can manage COVID-19 test results, proof of vaccination and national entry rules.
References
External links Timatic Web Online Timatic Database IATA Travel Centre, Timatic Consumer Portal article on TIM/Timatic (archived at Wayback Machine)