How to Use Flight Search Filters, Sorting, and Pagination

The Flights API search endpoint supports filtering, sorting, and pagination to help you narrow down results and build efficient user interfaces. All three are optional parameters on the search request body.

Filters

Add a filters object to your search request to narrow results. All filter fields are optional — include only the ones you need.

Filter Options

Time Window Definitions

Example: Filtered Search

{
  "flight_info": [
    {
      "departure_date": "2026-04-15",
      "origin": "SFO",
      "destination": "BLR"
    }
  ],
  "route_type": "Oneway",
  "cabin_type": "economy",
  "adults": 1,
  "filters": {
    "departure_time": [
      "morning",
      "afternoon"
    ],
    "stops": [
      "non_stop",
      "one_stop"
    ],
    "airlines": [
      "United Airlines",
      "Air India"
    ],
    "baggage": [
      "checked"
    ]
  }
}

This request returns economy flights departing in the morning or afternoon, with at most one stop, operated by United Airlines or Air India, and including checked baggage.

Discovering Available Airlines

The search response includes an available_airlines field containing all airlines present in the unfiltered result set. Use this list to populate airline filter options in your UI.

{
  "available_airlines": [
    "United Airlines",
    "Lufthansa",
    "Air India",
    "Emirates",
    "Alaska Airlines"
  ]
}

Sorting

Add a sorting object to control the order of results.

Example: Sort by Price (Lowest First)

{
  "sorting": {
    "sort_by": "price",
    "sort_order": "asc"
  }
}

Example: Sort by Duration (Shortest First)

{
  "sorting": {
    "sort_by": "duration",
    "sort_order": "asc"
  }
}

Example: Recommended

{
  "sorting": {
    "sort_by": "recommended",
    "sort_order": "desc"
  }
}

The recommended sort uses a combination of price, duration, and number of stops to surface the best overall options.

Pagination

Add a pagination object to control the number of results per page and navigate through pages.

Example: Paginated Request

{
  "pagination": {
    "page": 2,
    "limit": 10
  }
}

Pagination Response Fields

The search response includes pagination metadata:

Example Pagination Response

{
  "pagination": {
    "total": 45,
    "page": 2,
    "limit": 10,
    "total_pages": 5,
    "has_next": true,
    "has_prev": true
  }
}

Complete Example

Here is a full search request combining filters, sorting, and pagination:

{
  "flight_info": [
    {
      "departure_date": "2026-04-15",
      "origin": "SFO",
      "destination": "BLR"
    }
  ],
  "route_type": "Oneway",
  "cabin_type": "economy",
  "adults": 2,
  "children": 1,
  "infants": 0,
  "filters": {
    "departure_time": [
      "morning"
    ],
    "stops": [
      "non_stop"
    ],
    "baggage": [
      "cabin",
      "checked"
    ]
  },
  "sorting": {
    "sort_by": "price",
    "sort_order": "asc"
  },
  "pagination": {
    "page": 1,
    "limit": 20
  }
}

Tips

• Omit the filters object entirely to return all results without filtering.
• Use the available_airlines field from the response to build dynamic airline filter lists.
• Start with page: 1 and use has_next to determine whether to offer a "next page" control.
• Combining multiple filter values within a field uses OR logic (e.g., ["morning", "afternoon"] returns flights departing in either window).
• Combining different filter fields uses AND logic (e.g., stops: ["non_stop"] AND airlines: ["United Airlines"] returns only non-stop United flights).

Related Articles

• How to Search for Flights — Core search endpoint documentation.
• How to Check Flight Availability and Pricing — Next step after finding a flight.