The global travel agency community is pushing back against a recent International Air Transport Association (IATA) decision to standardize payment deadlines under its Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP).
IATA’s Passenger Agency Conference (PAC), an airline-only decision-making body, has voted to shorten BSP remittance timelines worldwide. The move will require many agents to pass customer funds to airlines sooner, in some cases before they've even been fully paid themselves.
Under the new policy, all BSP markets must adopt a shorter, uniform payment deadline by mid-2026.
Currently, the remittance timetables are set locally in each BSP market and negotiated between airlines and agents. From mid-2026, some models would shift to a weekly cycle, with funds due five to seven days after the reporting date.
As a result of the change, local markets will lose the ability to set alternative remittance schedules through their Agency Programme Joint Councils (APJCs). These councils, made up of local airline representatives and IATA-accredited agents, have traditionally negotiated billing cycles and payment terms tailored to local markets.
Under the current BSP model, agents collect payments from customers and pass them to IATA, which then distributes the funds to airlines. This latest decison represents a significant shift in how cash flow is managed.
The World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA) has strongly criticized the decision, warning it could force agents to pre-finance ticket sales and undermine long-standing national agreements.
In a statement, the WTAAA said the move strips local markets of their authority to agree on payment schedules through APJCs and overrides arrangements reached through national-level consultation.
“By depriving national markets of their ability to tailor remittance schedules to local needs, the global alignment decision disregards long-standing local relationships between airlines and agents and ignores the operational realities of diverse business models, including high-volume corporate and tour operator accounts,” said Otto de Vries, Executive Director of the WTAAA.
The alliance is urging a review of the decision and calling for renewed collaboration with IATA and its member airlines.
