mvt-parser 1.0.0

Python library to parse IATA MVT flight movement messages

mvt-parser

Python library for parsing IATA MVT flight movement messages.

What is MVT?

MVT (Movement), MVA (Movement Advice), and DIV (Diversion) are standardised plain-text telegrams exchanged between airlines, airports, and handling agents to communicate real-time flight events.

They are used to:

• Control punctual and regular operation of all flights
• Form the basis for aircraft and crew rotation planning
• Alert operations control centres to diversions and unplanned routing changes

A typical MVT message looks like this:

MVT
BA100/27.PPVMU.LHR
AD1200/1210 EA1300 CDG
DL72/0015
PX145/12
SI DEICING

Every message has the same structure:

1. Header line — message type (MVT, MVA, or DIV) with optional COR (correction) or REV (revision) flag
2. Flight line — flight number, scheduled day, aircraft registration, and airport of movement
3. Body lines — one or more lines carrying movement data using two- or three-letter tokens

Tokens

Token	Meaning	Example
AD	Actual departure (off-block / airborne)	AD1200/1210
AA	Actual arrival (touchdown / on-block)	AA1515/1520
EA	Estimated arrival (touchdown) + airport	EA1300 CDG
ED	Estimated departure	ED041630
EB	Estimated on-block time	EB1320
DL	Delay — reason code(s) and duration(s)	DL72/0015
PX	Passengers on board / infants	PX145/12
RC	Reclearance time and airport	RC1200 LTN
DR	Diversion reason code	DR71
FR	Forced return from airborne	FR1215/1235
NI	Next information time (indefinite delay)	NI052215
FLD	Flight leg date	FLD16
CRT	Crew report time	CRT1530
MAP	Movement after pushback	MAP1015
TOF	Take-off fuel	TOF6400
TOW	Take-off weight	TOW63452
ZFW	Zero fuel weight	ZFW132500
EO	Estimated take-off time	EO1120
RR	Return to ramp	RR1130/1145
DLA	Sub delay code	DLA93A
EDL	Extra delay information	EDL AWAITING CREW
SI	Supplementary free-text information	SI DEICING

All times are UTC in HHMM (4-digit) or DDHHMM (6-digit) format.

---

Install

pip install mvt-parser

Quick start

from mvt_parser import MVTParser

parser = MVTParser()
msg = parser.parse("""
MVT
BA100/27.PPVMU.LHR
AD1200/1210 EA1300 CDG
DL72/0015
PX145/12
SI DEICING
""")

print(msg.flight_number)          # BA100
print(msg.actual_departure)       # 1200/1210
print(msg.estimated_arrival)      # 1300
print(msg.delays[0].reason_codes) # ['72']
print(msg.passenger_info.total)   # 145

Supported message types

Type	Description
MVT	Movement — actual departure or arrival
MVA	Movement Advice — estimated time update
DIV	Diversion — flight redirected to another airport

All three support optional COR (correction) and REV (revision) flags.

Parsed fields

msg.flight_number           # "BA100"
msg.scheduled_day           # "27"
msg.aircraft_registration   # "PPVMU"
msg.airport_of_movement     # "LHR"
msg.is_correction           # False
msg.is_revision             # False

msg.actual_departure        # MovementTime(primary="1200", secondary="1210")
msg.actual_arrival          # MovementTime(primary="1515", secondary=None)
msg.estimated_departure     # "1100"
msg.estimated_arrival       # "1300"
msg.estimated_onblock       # "1320"

msg.delays                  # [Delay(reason_codes=["72"], durations=["0015"])]
msg.passenger_info          # PassengerInfo(total=145, infants=12)
msg.destination_airport     # "CDG"
msg.reclearance             # "0945"
msg.reclearance_airport     # "LHR"

msg.takeoff_fuel            # 6400
msg.takeoff_weight          # 70000
msg.zero_fuel_weight        # 60000

msg.diversion_reason        # "71"
msg.return_from_airborne    # MovementTime(primary="1400", secondary="1420")
msg.return_to_ramp          # MovementTime(primary="1130", secondary="1145")
msg.estimated_takeoff       # "1120"
msg.sub_delay_code          # "93A"
msg.extra_delay_info        # "AWAITING CREW"
msg.supplementary_info      # ["DEICING"]
msg.next_info               # "221150"

Multi-leg flights

When a message contains multiple departure lines each line is captured as a FlightLeg:

msg = parser.parse("""
MVT
BA100/27.PPVMU.LHR
AD1200/1210 EA1300 CDG
AD1400/1415 EA1600 FRA
""")

for leg in msg.legs:
    print(leg.actual_departure, "->", leg.destination)
# 1200/1210 -> CDG
# 1400/1415 -> FRA

Serialize back to MVT

to_mvt() reconstructs the original wire format from parsed data — useful for forwarding or storing messages:

msg = parser.parse(raw)

# modify a field
msg.estimated_arrival = "1400"

# serialize back
print(msg.to_mvt())

Output:

MVT
BA100/27.PPVMU.LHR
AD1200/1210 EA1400 CDG
DL72/0015
PX145/12
SI DEICING

The result is always valid and parseable back by MVTParser.

Export to dict / JSON

msg.to_dict()  # plain Python dict
msg.to_json()  # pretty-printed JSON string

Error handling

All parse failures raise MVTParseError:

from mvt_parser import MVTParser, MVTParseError

try:
    msg = parser.parse(raw)
except MVTParseError as e:
    print(f"Invalid message: {e}")

References

• IATA MVT/MVA/DIV Message Types and Examples

License

MIT