diff --git a/cmd/ingestor/config.go b/cmd/ingestor/config.go
index a43552af..a6b02e8b 100644
--- a/cmd/ingestor/config.go
+++ b/cmd/ingestor/config.go
@@ -55,6 +55,16 @@ type Config struct {
 	ValidateSignatures   *bool             `json:"validateSignatures,omitempty"`
 	DB                   *DBConfig         `json:"db,omitempty"`
 
+	// ObserverIATAWhitelist restricts which observer IATA regions are processed.
+	// When non-empty, only observers whose IATA code (from the MQTT topic) matches
+	// one of these entries are accepted. Case-insensitive. An empty list means all
+	// IATA codes are allowed. This applies globally, unlike the per-source iataFilter.
+	ObserverIATAWhitelist []string `json:"observerIATAWhitelist,omitempty"`
+
+	// obsIATAWhitelistCached is the lazily-built uppercase set for O(1) lookups.
+	obsIATAWhitelistCached map[string]bool
+	obsIATAWhitelistOnce   sync.Once
+
 	// ObserverBlacklist is a list of observer public keys to drop at ingest.
 	// Messages from blacklisted observers are silently discarded — no DB writes,
 	// no UpsertObserver, no observations, no metrics.
@@ -150,6 +160,25 @@ func (c *Config) IsObserverBlacklisted(id string) bool {
 	return c.obsBlacklistSetCached[strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(id))]
 }
 
+// IsObserverIATAAllowed returns true if the given IATA code is permitted.
+// When ObserverIATAWhitelist is empty, all codes are allowed.
+func (c *Config) IsObserverIATAAllowed(iata string) bool {
+	if c == nil || len(c.ObserverIATAWhitelist) == 0 {
+		return true
+	}
+	c.obsIATAWhitelistOnce.Do(func() {
+		m := make(map[string]bool, len(c.ObserverIATAWhitelist))
+		for _, code := range c.ObserverIATAWhitelist {
+			trimmed := strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(code))
+			if trimmed != "" {
+				m[trimmed] = true
+			}
+		}
+		c.obsIATAWhitelistCached = m
+	})
+	return c.obsIATAWhitelistCached[strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(iata))]
+}
+
 // LoadConfig reads configuration from a JSON file, with env var overrides.
 // If the config file does not exist, sensible defaults are used (zero-config startup).
 func LoadConfig(path string) (*Config, error) {
diff --git a/cmd/ingestor/config_test.go b/cmd/ingestor/config_test.go
index d2694f4a..574c2a5c 100644
--- a/cmd/ingestor/config_test.go
+++ b/cmd/ingestor/config_test.go
@@ -317,3 +317,61 @@ func TestConnectTimeoutFromJSON(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("from JSON: got %d, want 5", got)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestObserverIATAWhitelist(t *testing.T) {
+	// Config with whitelist set
+	cfg := Config{
+		ObserverIATAWhitelist: []string{"ARN", "got"},
+	}
+
+	// Matching (case-insensitive)
+	if !cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed("ARN") {
+		t.Error("ARN should be allowed")
+	}
+	if !cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed("arn") {
+		t.Error("arn (lowercase) should be allowed")
+	}
+	if !cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed("GOT") {
+		t.Error("GOT should be allowed")
+	}
+
+	// Non-matching
+	if cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed("SJC") {
+		t.Error("SJC should NOT be allowed")
+	}
+
+	// Empty string not allowed
+	if cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed("") {
+		t.Error("empty IATA should NOT be allowed")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestObserverIATAWhitelistEmpty(t *testing.T) {
+	// No whitelist = allow all
+	cfg := Config{}
+	if !cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed("SJC") {
+		t.Error("with no whitelist, all IATAs should be allowed")
+	}
+	if !cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed("") {
+		t.Error("with no whitelist, even empty IATA should be allowed")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestObserverIATAWhitelistJSON(t *testing.T) {
+	json := `{
+		"dbPath": "test.db",
+		"observerIATAWhitelist": ["ARN", "GOT"]
+	}`
+	tmp := t.TempDir() + "/config.json"
+	os.WriteFile(tmp, []byte(json), 0644)
+	cfg, err := LoadConfig(tmp)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(cfg.ObserverIATAWhitelist) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 2 entries, got %d", len(cfg.ObserverIATAWhitelist))
+	}
+	if !cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed("ARN") {
+		t.Error("ARN should be allowed after loading from JSON")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/ingestor/main.go b/cmd/ingestor/main.go
index 2ae93bbe..5af44c9d 100644
--- a/cmd/ingestor/main.go
+++ b/cmd/ingestor/main.go
@@ -274,8 +274,14 @@ func handleMessage(store *Store, tag string, source MQTTSource, m mqtt.Message,
 		return
 	}
 
+	// Global observer IATA whitelist: if configured, drop messages from observers
+	// in non-whitelisted IATA regions. Applies to ALL message types (status + packets).
+	if len(parts) > 1 && !cfg.IsObserverIATAAllowed(parts[1]) {
+		return
+	}
+
 	// Status topic: meshcore/<region>/<observer_id>/status
-	// IATA filter does NOT apply here — observer metadata (noise_floor, battery, etc.)
+	// Per-source IATA filter does NOT apply here — observer metadata (noise_floor, battery, etc.)
 	// is region-independent and should be accepted from all observers regardless of
 	// which IATA regions are configured for packet ingestion.
 	if len(parts) >= 4 && parts[3] == "status" {
diff --git a/cmd/ingestor/main_test.go b/cmd/ingestor/main_test.go
index d90f4e88..ce5b3116 100644
--- a/cmd/ingestor/main_test.go
+++ b/cmd/ingestor/main_test.go
@@ -904,3 +904,34 @@ func TestBL2_ZeroConnectedFatals(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Log("BL2 confirmed: old guard len(clients)==0 would NOT fatal; new guard connectedCount==0 correctly catches zero-connected state")
 	}
 }
+
+func TestHandleMessageObserverIATAWhitelist(t *testing.T) {
+	store := newTestStore(t)
+	source := MQTTSource{Name: "test"}
+	cfg := &Config{
+		ObserverIATAWhitelist: []string{"ARN"},
+	}
+
+	// Message from non-whitelisted region GOT — should be dropped
+	handleMessage(store, "test", source, &mockMessage{
+		topic:   "meshcore/GOT/obs1/status",
+		payload: []byte(`{"origin":"node1","noise_floor":-110}`),
+	}, nil, cfg)
+
+	var count int
+	store.db.QueryRow("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM observers WHERE id='obs1'").Scan(&count)
+	if count != 0 {
+		t.Error("observer from non-whitelisted IATA GOT should be dropped")
+	}
+
+	// Message from whitelisted region ARN — should be accepted
+	handleMessage(store, "test", source, &mockMessage{
+		topic:   "meshcore/ARN/obs2/status",
+		payload: []byte(`{"origin":"node2","noise_floor":-105}`),
+	}, nil, cfg)
+
+	store.db.QueryRow("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM observers WHERE id='obs2'").Scan(&count)
+	if count != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("observer from whitelisted IATA ARN should be accepted, got count=%d", count)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/config.example.json b/config.example.json
index 87bd9415..e54c37c0 100644
--- a/config.example.json
+++ b/config.example.json
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
   "apiKey": "your-secret-api-key-here",
   "nodeBlacklist": [],
   "_comment_nodeBlacklist": "Public keys of nodes to hide from all API responses. Use for trolls, offensive names, or nodes reporting false data that operators refuse to fix.",
+  "observerIATAWhitelist": [],
+  "_comment_observerIATAWhitelist": "Global IATA region whitelist. When non-empty, only observers whose IATA code (from MQTT topic) matches are processed. Case-insensitive. Empty = allow all. Unlike per-source iataFilter, this applies across all MQTT sources.",
   "retention": {
     "nodeDays": 7,
     "observerDays": 14,