How to check a flight reservation

Find the right booking reference, understand what it identifies, and check the reservation with the airline or its issuer.

Flight document explainedIllustration

Select an underlined detail to read what it means.

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CDGParis

Flight date12 March 2027 Airline booking referenceABC123 Ticket number (if issued)176 0000000000

Invented example values. This is not a booking, a ticket or a document for submission.

Airline reference or agency reference?

Use the reference labelled for the airline when one is supplied. An agency or supplier order number can identify a different record. On Emirates documents, the airline booking reference is a six-character code. Other issuers may present references differently.

A booking reference is not a ticket number

Emirates distinguishes its booking reference from its 13-character ticket number. A held reservation can exist before a ticket is issued. Seeing a booking online does not by itself prove that a ticket has been paid for or that you can board.

Read the whole route

Check the traveler’s name, every flight leg, the airports and local travel dates against your plans. For connections or flights involving several airlines, ask the issuer which reference applies to each airline.

Check with the airline

Use the airline name on your reservation to find its official website. Look for “Manage booking”, “My trips” or a similar section. If several airlines are involved, ask the issuer which reference belongs to each airline.
Follow the airline’s requested fields, often its booking reference and the traveler’s surname. An agency order number may not work. Avoid sharing these details publicly.
Compare the route, passenger details and displayed status. If a field or status is unclear, contact the airline or the issuer.

Follow the airline’s own instructions. Some unticketed holds cannot be viewed on an airline website; ask the issuer to confirm the current status. VisaSlip does not perform a booking lookup on this page.

If the reservation does not appear

Check the code and surname first. Then ask the issuer for the airline record locator and the current status. A missing web result alone does not establish whether the record exists. Holds expire and may be released early; use the expiry and constraints in your confirmation.

What to ask the reservation issuer

“Please confirm whether my reservation is still active and tell me which airline booking reference to use for each airline on my itinerary.”

What this means for VisaSlip documents

Standard: A document showing planned flights. It does not create an airline booking and has no airline PNR to verify.
Premium: An unticketed reservation held with an airline, with a booking reference. Airline-website lookup depends on the airline and the available record locator. The hold is time-limited; follow the expiry and constraints in your confirmation.

A reservation is different from a paid ticket. For example, New Zealand requires visa-waiver travelers’ onward tickets to be paid for before travel. A PNR alone is not a universal substitute for the evidence an airline, border authority or consulate requires.

Sources & scope

Official guidance for the specific situations described here. Your own consulate or airline may ask for different evidence. Follow its current requirements.

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. VisaSlip provides practical explanations, not an official assessment.

Check my dates Proof of accommodation for a visa application