Flights — Airfare Search via Travelpayouts/Aviasales
Prerequisites
Environment variable TRAVELPAYOUTS_TOKEN must be set with a valid Travelpayouts API token.
Quick Reference
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Search flights on a date | --from MOW --to LED --date 2026-04-15 [--return 2026-04-20] [--direct] [--limit 10] |
| Price calendar for a month | --from MOW --to LED --month 2026-04 |
| Lookup IATA code | --lookup "Istanbul" |
| Latest found prices | --from MOW --to AER --latest [--one-way] |
| Popular destinations | --from MOW --directions |
Usage
1. Resolve IATA codes
If the user provides a city name instead of an IATA code, resolve it first:
python3 scripts/search_flights.py --lookup "Istanbul"
Pick the most relevant result's code field.
2. Search flights on a specific date
python3 scripts/search_flights.py --from MOW --to LED --date 2026-04-15 --return 2026-04-20
Add --direct for non-stop only. Add --limit N to cap results (default 10).
3. Price calendar (cheapest days in a month)
python3 scripts/search_flights.py --from MOW --to LED --month 2026-04
Returns results sorted by price. Use to recommend the cheapest travel dates.
4. Latest found prices (price monitoring)
python3 scripts/search_flights.py --from MOW --latest
Shows recently found prices from the origin to any destination. Add --to AER to filter. Add --one-way for one-way only.
5. Popular destinations from a city
python3 scripts/search_flights.py --from MOW --directions
Returns destinations sorted by price — useful for "where can I fly cheaply from X?" queries.
Output Format
All commands output JSON to stdout:
{
"query": {"from": "MOW", "to": "LED", "date": "2026-04-15"},
"results": [
{
"price": 2454,
"airline": "Pobeda",
"airline_code": "DP",
"flight": "DP 209",
"from_airport": "VKO",
"to_airport": "LED",
"departure": "2026-04-07T07:50:00+03:00",
"duration_min": 90,
"duration_str": "1h 30min",
"transfers": 0,
"transfers_str": "non-stop",
"link": "https://aviasales.ru/search/..."
}
],
"cheapest": 2454,
"count": 5
}
Presenting Results to the User
- Highlight the cheapest option first.
- For each result show: price, airline, flight number, departure time, duration, stop type.
- Format the
linkfield as a clickable URL for booking. - For calendar queries, recommend the cheapest dates.
API Endpoints
| Method | URL | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| GET | https://api.travelpayouts.com/aviasales/v3/prices_for_dates |
Prices for specific dates |
| GET | https://api.travelpayouts.com/aviasales/v3/get_latest_prices |
Latest found prices |
| GET | https://api.travelpayouts.com/aviasales/v3/grouped_prices |
Min prices by month/day |
| GET | https://api.travelpayouts.com/v1/city-directions |
Popular destinations |
| GET | https://autocomplete.travelpayouts.com/places2 |
IATA code autocomplete |
Common IATA Codes
| City | Code |
|---|---|
| Moscow (all airports) | MOW |
| Moscow Sheremetyevo | SVO |
| Moscow Domodedovo | DME |
| Moscow Vnukovo | VKO |
| Saint Petersburg | LED |
| Sochi | AER |
| Kazan | KZN |
| Minsk | MSQ |
| Istanbul | IST |
| Dubai | DXB |
| Yerevan | EVN |
| Tbilisi | TBS |
| Bishkek | FRU |
| Tashkent | TAS |
References
- Airline codes: See
references/airlines.mdfor a reference mapping of IATA airline codes to names. The script auto-fetches the latest mapping from the Travelpayouts API with a 24-hour cache; this file serves as a fallback.