Amadeus Lesson 7: How to add passport Information (SR DOCS)

A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Adding Travel Documents in Amadeus GDS

By now you’ve learned how to search for flights, add passenger names, arrange ticketing, include contact information, add a frequent flyer card, and price the PNR. In this seventh lesson, we’ll cover an essential security requirement for international travel: adding passport information to the PNR. Many countries — including the United States, Canada, and the UK — now require advance passenger information (API) before departure. In this lesson, we’ll show you exactly how to use the SR DOCS command to add passport details in Amadeus, with a full video demonstration at the end.

Why Add Passport Information?

Airlines are legally required to transmit passenger passport data to immigration authorities in many countries before the flight departs. If the passport details are missing from the PNR, the passenger may be denied boarding at the airport — even with a valid ticket. Adding the passport early also speeds up check-in, prevents last-minute rejections, and ensures a smoother travel experience for your customer.

Step 1: Understand the SR DOCS Command

The SR DOCS command is used to add travel document information to the PNR. The general format is:

Let’s break this command down piece by piece:

• SR DOCS – The command to add document information
• YY – The airline code (YY = generic, or use a specific airline like MS, LH, EK)
• HK1 – Action code (HK = Holds Confirmed)
• -P- – Document type (P = Passport)
• EG – Issuing country (EG = Egypt)
• 123456789 – Passport number
• EG – Nationality (EG = Egypt)
• 15JAN1990 – Date of birth (DDMMMYYYY)
• M – Gender (M = Male, F = Female)
• 15JAN2030 – Passport expiry date (DDMMMYYYY)
• SMITH – Last name (as shown on passport)
• JOHN – First name
• -P1 – Applies to passenger 1

Step 2: Adding Passport for Multiple Passengers

For a PNR with multiple passengers, you need to add a separate SR DOCS entry for each one. Use -P1, -P2, -P3 to indicate the passenger number:

Step 3: Adding Other Document Types

Besides passports, the SR DOCS command can be used for other travel documents:

• P – Passport
• V – Visa
• I – National ID Card
• F – Facilitation document
• A – Alien registration card

For a US visa, for example, the command would start with SR DOCS YY HK1-V-USA-... followed by the visa details.

Step 4: Save the PNR Again

After adding the passport information, always save and retrieve the PNR using the ER command. If you don’t save, the document data will be lost at the end of the session, and the passenger may face problems at check-in.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

The most common errors with SR DOCS include: using the wrong date format (Amadeus expects DDMMMYYYY, not the US format), confusing the issuing country with the nationality, missing the -P1 passenger reference, writing the name in the wrong order (last name first, then first name), using a lowercase airline code, and forgetting to save the PNR after adding the document. Another frequent mistake is relying on a scanned copy of the passport instead of the actual physical document — always ask the passenger for a clear photo or in-person copy to avoid transcription errors.

Video Lesson

Watch the practical, step-by-step walkthrough in the video below:

Conclusion

Adding passport information with the SR DOCS command is a mandatory step for most international bookings. Use it to transmit accurate API data to the airline, prevent boarding issues, and ensure compliance with immigration rules. Combined with the previous lessons, you now have a complete toolkit for building a professional PNR in Amadeus. In the next lesson, we’ll move on to issuing the actual e-ticket and handling post-ticketing services.