README

BCBP PHP is a PHP 8.1+ library for working with IATA barcoded boarding passes. It can decode boarding passes data into structured arrays and re-encode them back into the compact 2D barcode format. The codebase mirrors the reference TypeScript implementation in georgesmith46/bcbp.

Features

• Decode barcoded boarding pass (BCBP) payloads into passenger metadata and leg details.
• Encode structured passenger data back into an IATA-conformant BCBP string.
• Handle conditional sections (A and B), multiple flight legs, and security data blocks.
• Normalize flight dates relative to issuance dates using the IATA day-of-year convention.

Installation

Install the library via Composer:

composer require tectiv3/bcbp

If you are working from a local clone, ensure dependencies are installed before running tests:

composer install

Quick Start

Decoding a boarding pass

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use function Bcbp\decode;

$barcode = 'M1DESMARAIS/LUC       EABC123 YULFRAAC 0834 226F001A0025 106>60000';
$result = decode($barcode);

print_r($result);

The decoder returns an associative array with a meta section (format code, leg count, version, etc.) and a data section containing passenger fields and an array of legs. Optional fields are omitted when they are not present in the barcode.

You can provide an optional reference year to correctly resolve three-digit day-of-year fields when the boarding pass spans calendar boundaries:

$result = decode($barcode, 2016);

Encoding a boarding pass

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use function Bcbp\encode;

$payload = [
    'data' => [
        'passengerName' => 'DESMARAIS/LUC',
        'legs' => [
            [
                'operatingCarrierPNR' => 'ABC123',
                'departureAirport' => 'YUL',
                'arrivalAirport' => 'FRA',
                'operatingCarrierDesignator' => 'AC',
                'flightNumber' => '0834',
                'flightDate' => new DateTimeImmutable('2016-01-01T00:00:00+00:00'),
                'compartmentCode' => 'F',
                'seatNumber' => '001A',
                'checkInSequenceNumber' => '0025',
                'passengerStatus' => '1',
                'fastTrack' => false,
            ],
        ],
    ],
];

$barcode = encode($payload);

When encoding, fields that are omitted default to spaces so the resulting string respects the IATA fixed-width specification.

Testing

Run the automated test suite with PHPUnit:

composer test

Contributing

Pull requests and issues are welcome. Please include relevant fixtures, outline the steps you used to verify changes, and avoid committing real passenger data.