Flight itinerary basics
Read flight times in each airport’s local time
How to read departure and arrival dates and times on a flight itinerary, account for time-zone changes, and verify details with the airline.
Are departure and arrival times shown in local time?
IATA’s passenger-list implementation guidance says flight date and time fields in that message format are provided in local time. For a ticket, read each segment using the airport shown for that event: departure at the origin’s local clock time and arrival at the destination’s local clock time. Check the airline or booking agent’s current itinerary for your ticket.
Why can the arrival clock time look earlier than departure?
The two airports may use different time zones, and the arrival date can be on the next calendar day or another date. Compare the full dates and airport locations; do not subtract the two displayed clock readings as if they share one time zone. Use a time-zone converter with the correct origin and destination zones to understand the offset, then verify the itinerary with the airline.
How do I check a ticket when the date or time seems unclear?
Check the origin and destination airport codes, the full date beside each flight segment, the airline’s latest itinerary or manage-booking page, and any schedule-change notice. Read departure against the origin’s local clock and arrival against the destination’s local clock. Confirm overnight or date-line crossings and daylight-saving changes with the carrier. The time-zone converter linked below can help you understand the offset between the two local times. This page does not establish the time display rules for every booking system or replace the ticketing airline’s current itinerary.