Automatic Terminal Information Service
Encyclopedia
Automatic Terminal Information Service, or ATIS, is a continuous broadcast of recorded noncontrol information in busier terminal
(i.e. airport) areas. ATIS broadcasts contain essential information, such as weather information
, which runways are active, available approaches, and any other information required by the pilots, such as important NOTAM
s. Pilots usually listen to an available ATIS broadcast before contacting the local control unit, in order to reduce the controllers' workload and relieve frequency congestion.
The recording is updated in fixed intervals or when there is a significant change in the information, like a change in the active runway. It is given a letter designation (e.g. bravo), from the ICAO spelling alphabet. The letter progresses down the alphabet with every update and starts at Alpha after a break in service of 12 hours or more. When contacting the local control unit, a pilot will indicate he/she has "information" and the ATIS identification letter to let the controller know that the pilot is up to date with all current information.
), through a network AFTN (see Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network), or AMHS connection (see Aeronautical Message Handling System
), or through templates within the software. ATIS systems use the weather data feed to process the data where it can then be fed to pilots in airplanes.
Real-world ATIS demo system: http://www.speechtech.com/products/ATIS/Demo.php
See METAR
for a more in-depth explanation of aviation weather messages and terminology.
This translates to:
Luton information oscar, time 1250. Runway in use 26. Expect an ILS approach. Surface wind 230 8 knots. Visibility 10 kilometers or more. Scattered 2,800 feet, broken 3,500 feet. Temperature +18. Dewpoint +10. QNH 1016. Threshold QFE 1005. Departing aircraft should make initial contact with Luton ground on 121.750. Acknowledge receipt of information oscar and advise aircraft type on first contact.
Stansted information oscar, time 1250. Runway in use 22. Expect an ILS approach. Ground is open. Delivery is closed. Surface wind 230 8 knots. Visibility 10 kilometers or more. Scattered 2,800 feet, broken 3,500 feet. Temperature +18. Dewpoint +10. QNH 1016. Acknowledge receipt of information oscar and advise aircraft type on first contact.
As Heathrow and Manchester airports both have two runways and both airports use one for arrivals and the other for departures, they have two ATIS frequencies, one for arrivals and one for departures. Manchester only uses its second runway part-time however both ATIS frequencies still remain active when only one runway is active, both ATIS services will have a recorded message saying "single runway operations" after it gives the runway in use when this is the case.
-Hardware, like normal rack-mounted PCs with multiple high-performance soundcards.
Many high-capacity airports employ the use of Digital ATIS (or dATIS). dATIS is a transcribed, digitally transmitted version of the ATIS audio broadcast, usually accessed from a digital display such as an EFB
or an FMS
. dATIS may be incorporated into the core ATIS system, or be realized as a separate system with a data interface between voice ATIS and dATIS.
Airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft....
(i.e. airport) areas. ATIS broadcasts contain essential information, such as weather information
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
, which runways are active, available approaches, and any other information required by the pilots, such as important NOTAM
NOTAM
NOTAM or NoTAM is the quasi-acronym for a "Notice To Airmen". NOTAMs are created and transmitted by government agencies and airport operators under guidelines specified by Annex 15: Aeronautical Information Services of the Convention on International Civil Aviation...
s. Pilots usually listen to an available ATIS broadcast before contacting the local control unit, in order to reduce the controllers' workload and relieve frequency congestion.
The recording is updated in fixed intervals or when there is a significant change in the information, like a change in the active runway. It is given a letter designation (e.g. bravo), from the ICAO spelling alphabet. The letter progresses down the alphabet with every update and starts at Alpha after a break in service of 12 hours or more. When contacting the local control unit, a pilot will indicate he/she has "information" and the ATIS identification letter to let the controller know that the pilot is up to date with all current information.
Example of an ATIS system - demo
Air Traffic Controllers who use an ATIS system need to make weather updates through software located on a host computer in the control tower. This user interface can receive weather data directly from an AWOS or ASOS system (see Automated airport weather stationAutomated airport weather station
Automated airport weather stations are automated sensor suites which are designed to serve aviation and meteorological observing needs for safe and efficient aviation operations and weather forecasting...
), through a network AFTN (see Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network), or AMHS connection (see Aeronautical Message Handling System
Aeronautical Message Handling System
ATS Message Handling System also known as Aeronautical Message Handling System is a standard for aeronautical ground-ground communications based on X.400 profiles...
), or through templates within the software. ATIS systems use the weather data feed to process the data where it can then be fed to pilots in airplanes.
Real-world ATIS demo system: http://www.speechtech.com/products/ATIS/Demo.php
Sample message - audio
| Message | Explanation |
|---|---|
| This is Schiphol arrival information Kilo | Indicates the broadcast is for aircraft inbound to Schiphol, and the bulletin's identification letter. |
| Main landing runway 18 Right | Main runway Runway According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth... used for landing is 18R |
| Transition level 50 | Lowest usable flight level is 50. See Transition altitude. |
| Two zero zero degrees, one one knots | Wind direction [MAGNETIC] from azimuth 200 degrees [MAGNETIC] (south-southwest), average 11 knots |
| Visibility 10 kilometres | General visibility 10 kilometers or more |
| Few 1300 feet, scattered 1800 feet broken 2200 feet | Cloud layers at the indicated altitude above the airport |
| Temperature 15, dewpoint 13 | Temperature and dewpoint in degrees Celsius. |
| QNH 995 hectopascal | QNH QNH QNH is one of the many Q codes. It is defined as, "barometric pressure adjusted to sea level." It is a pressure setting used by pilots, air traffic control , and low frequency weather beacons to refer to the barometric setting which, when set on an aircraft's altimeter, will cause the altimeter to... 995 hectopascal. |
| No Significant change | No significant change in weather expected. |
| Contact Approach and Arrival callsign only | When instructed to contact the Approach and Arrival controller, check in with callsign only (for the sake of brevity) |
| End of information Kilo | End of bulletin, and the bulletin's identification letter again. |
See METAR
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
for a more in-depth explanation of aviation weather messages and terminology.
Sample message - text
On tuning to an ATIS frequency, a pilot might hear:- Vancouver International information Bravo one three five five Zulu weather. Wind three zero zero at eight, visibility five. Five hundred few, one thousand two hundred scattered, ceiling three thousand overcast, temperature one five, dew-point eight. Altimeter two niner eight seven. IFRInstrument flight rulesInstrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
approach is ILS or visual, runway two six left and runway two six right. Simultaneous parallel ILS approaches in use. Departures, runway two six left. GPS approaches available. VFRVisual flight rulesVisual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
aircraft say direction of flight. All aircraft read back all hold short instructions. Advise controller on initial contact that you have Bravo.
This translates to:
- Vancouver International AirportVancouver International AirportVancouver International Airport is located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, about from Downtown Vancouver. In 2010 it was the second busiest airport in Canada by aircraft movements and passengers , behind Toronto Pearson International Airport, with non-stop flights daily to...
, the information Bravo is issued at 13:55 UTC. The winds are from 300 (~northwest) at 8 Knots. Five statute miles visibility. At 500 feet there are few clouds, at 1,200 there are scattered clouds, at 3,000 feet there is an overcast flight ceiling. The temperature is 15°C (some airports don't include this due to variability). The dew pointDew pointThe dew point is the temperature to which a given parcel of humid air must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for water vapor to condense into liquid water. The condensed water is called dew when it forms on a solid surface. The dew point is a saturation temperature.The dew point is...
is 8°C. The altimeterAltimeterAn altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth underwater.-Pressure altimeter:...
setting is 29.87 inches of mercuryInch of mercuryInches of mercury, ' is a unit of measurement for pressure. It is still widely used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States, but is seldom used elsewhere....
(however this could also be expressed in millibars or hectopascals.) Visual and simultaneous ILSInstrument Landing SystemAn instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
landings available using Instrument Flight RulesInstrument flight rulesInstrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
, using runways 26L and 26R, while departures may use runway 26L. You can conduct an approach via a GPS system. When you first contact air traffic control, inform them your direction of flight if you are using Visual Flight RulesVisual flight rulesVisual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
. Any "hold short" instructions the controller gives you need to be read back to the controller to confirm you have received them properly. Finally, inform the controller that you have information Bravo (i.e. this information).
System operation
The ATIS at an airport is usually given by an automated voice, this allows a busy air traffic controller to quickly type a new ATIS message instead of making a time-consuming voice recording. Most airports in a certain country will often have the same ATIS format or layout with the same automated voice. For example all ATIS information at major airports in the United Kingdom such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and even smaller ones such as East Midlands and Newcastle and many more have a similar format or layout and are all given by the same automated voice. Below shows the same ATIS information for two UK airports which have the same automated voice as nearly all other UK airports. Some airports will give information that others do not even within the same country.Luton information oscar, time 1250. Runway in use 26. Expect an ILS approach. Surface wind 230 8 knots. Visibility 10 kilometers or more. Scattered 2,800 feet, broken 3,500 feet. Temperature +18. Dewpoint +10. QNH 1016. Threshold QFE 1005. Departing aircraft should make initial contact with Luton ground on 121.750. Acknowledge receipt of information oscar and advise aircraft type on first contact.
Stansted information oscar, time 1250. Runway in use 22. Expect an ILS approach. Ground is open. Delivery is closed. Surface wind 230 8 knots. Visibility 10 kilometers or more. Scattered 2,800 feet, broken 3,500 feet. Temperature +18. Dewpoint +10. QNH 1016. Acknowledge receipt of information oscar and advise aircraft type on first contact.
As Heathrow and Manchester airports both have two runways and both airports use one for arrivals and the other for departures, they have two ATIS frequencies, one for arrivals and one for departures. Manchester only uses its second runway part-time however both ATIS frequencies still remain active when only one runway is active, both ATIS services will have a recorded message saying "single runway operations" after it gives the runway in use when this is the case.
Technical background
ATIS systems can be classified as Solid-State and PC-based. Solid-State ATIS systems are microcontroller-powered devices that incorporate speech synthesis and data processing in a single piece of proprietary equipment, while PC-ATIS systems are based on COTSCommercial off-the-shelf
In the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...
-Hardware, like normal rack-mounted PCs with multiple high-performance soundcards.
Many high-capacity airports employ the use of Digital ATIS (or dATIS). dATIS is a transcribed, digitally transmitted version of the ATIS audio broadcast, usually accessed from a digital display such as an EFB
Electronic flight bag
Electronic Flight Bag is an electronic information management device that helps flight crews perform flight management tasks more easily and efficiently with less paper...
or an FMS
Flight management system
A flight management system is a fundamental part of a modern airliner's avionics. An FMS is a specialized computer system that automates a wide variety of in-flight tasks, reducing the workload on the flight crew to the point that modern aircraft no longer carry flight engineers or navigators. A...
. dATIS may be incorporated into the core ATIS system, or be realized as a separate system with a data interface between voice ATIS and dATIS.