Miscellaneous charge order (MCO)

A miscellaneous charge order (MCO) is a document that was traditionally issued by airlines or travel agencies to cover charges for services not directly tied to a standard flight ticket.

These charges could include seat upgrades, baggage fees, lounge access, rebooking penalties, or other ancillary airline services. 

Today, only ARC-accredited travel agencies can issue MCOs, and agencies reporting through a Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) are required to issue electronic miscellaneous documents (EMDs) instead, in line with IATA’s paperless e-ticketing mandate. 

These EMDs perform the same function as traditional MCOs but in a fully digital format.

Although MCOs have largely been replaced by EMDs, the concept remains relevant for understanding older travel records, legacy systems, and older GDS interfaces where the terminology and processing rules may still appear.