An ATIS is a continuously repeated recording that gives you the current weather and the operational state of an aerodrome in one broadcast, so you can copy it before you ever key the radio to ATC.
This is general educational information, not operational, legal, or regulatory advice. Rules differ by authority and change over time. Always verify against current official sources and follow your operator's approved procedures.
What the ATIS is for
ATIS stands for the Automatic Terminal Information Service. It is a continuous broadcast of recorded, non-control aeronautical information in busier terminal areas, and its purpose is to take the routine information off the controller's frequency so the controller can concentrate on separating traffic. The FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, paragraph 4-1-13 describes it as a service provided to improve controller effectiveness and to relieve frequency congestion. Internationally, the service sits within the air traffic services framework of ICAO Annex 11.
A new ATIS is recorded whenever a new routine weather report comes in, and also whenever there is a significant change to any of the information, such as a change of runway. Each recording is tagged with a phonetic letter, cycling through Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and so on. When you make your first call, you tell the controller you have the current letter, for example "with Information Golf", which confirms you are working from the latest weather and runway information.
What the ATIS contains
This is the key difference from a METAR. A METAR is an observation and nothing more. An ATIS takes the same kind of weather data and adds the operational picture, so a typical broadcast carries, in order:
- The aerodrome name and the phonetic information letter.
- The time of the weather observation, in UTC.
- The runway or runways in use, and the instrument approach in use.
- The wind, in degrees magnetic on a spoken ATIS, with speed and gusts in knots.
- The visibility, and runway visual range (RVR) when it is being reported.
- The present weather and the cloud.
- The temperature and dewpoint, in Celsius.
- The pressure setting: QNH in hectopascals, or an altimeter setting in inches of mercury in the United States.
- Remarks, which can include relevant NOTAMs, work in progress, taxiway closures, or bird activity.
- A closing instruction to acknowledge the information letter on first contact.
The exact running order and the items carried follow the FAA AIM in the United States and the local procedures published in the national Aeronautical Information Publication elsewhere, but the shape is consistent.
A worked example
Here is how a European ATIS reads, spelled out from the recording:
London Gatwick Information Golf. Time one one five zero. Runway in use two six left. Wind two four zero degrees, one two knots. Visibility one zero kilometres. Cloud broken two thousand five hundred feet. Temperature one one, dewpoint zero nine. QNH one zero zero four. On first contact, advise you have Information Golf.
And a United States ATIS, which uses statute miles and inches of mercury:
Boston Logan Information Bravo. One five five one Zulu. Wind three one zero at one four. Visibility one zero. Ceiling two five thousand broken. Temperature one eight, dewpoint zero seven. Altimeter three zero zero five. ILS runway three three left approach in use. Departing runway two seven. Advise on initial contact you have Information Bravo.
Read either one and you already know which runway to expect, what approach is in use, what the wind and pressure are, and which information letter to quote. That is far more than a METAR gives you.
ATIS, D-ATIS, and VOLMET
Most large airports also publish the ATIS as digital text, known as D-ATIS (datalink ATIS), which you can request through a datalink system and read rather than copy by ear. The content is the same; only the delivery differs.
Do not confuse the ATIS with VOLMET, which is a separate broadcast of routine weather (METARs, TAFs and SIGMETs) for a group of en-route and destination aerodromes, intended for use in the cruise rather than in the terminal area. And at some airports there are separate arrival and departure ATIS broadcasts, each on its own frequency, so make sure you copy the one that applies to your phase of flight.
How the ATIS relates to the METAR
The weather on the ATIS is drawn from the same observing system that produces the METAR, so the figures should agree closely, but two differences matter.
First, the wind reference is different. The wind written in a METAR is in degrees true. The wind spoken on the ATIS, like the wind the tower passes you and the runway designators themselves, is in degrees magnetic, because that is what you fly. The difference is the local magnetic variation, which can be several degrees. The UK Met Office and the FAA AIM weather chapter both set out the underlying observation conventions.
Second, the ATIS is operational. It tells you the runway and approach in use and carries remarks that no METAR would, which is exactly why you copy it before joining the frequency.
ATIS and automated weather at quieter fields
Not every airfield has an ATIS. The service is provided where traffic justifies it, so at smaller and non-towered fields the weather reaches you a different way, and the difference matters.
In the United States, two automated systems fill the gap: the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) and the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS). Both measure the weather continuously and broadcast it on a discrete frequency, and many can also be reached by telephone, as the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual weather chapter describes. What they give you is the weather and only the weather: wind, visibility, cloud, temperature, dewpoint, and the altimeter setting. What they do not give you is the operational layer an ATIS carries. There is no runway in use, no approach in use, and no remarks line, because no controller is curating the broadcast.
That changes how you use it. At a field with an ATIS you are handed the runway and approach in use; at a field with only AWOS or ASOS you take the wind from the broadcast and choose your own runway from it, and you get your NOTAMs from your pre-flight briefing rather than from the air. Elsewhere in the world the same idea appears as automated METAR broadcasts, and, for the cruise, as the VOLMET broadcast of en-route weather.
A worked contrast makes the point. At a towered field you might copy: Information Delta, runway 27 in use, ILS approach, wind 250 at 12. You know the runway before you key the radio. At a nearby non-towered strip the AWOS gives only: wind 250 at 12, visibility 10, sky clear, temperature 14, dewpoint 6, altimeter 30.05. The wind is the same, but the runway choice is now yours, and you would join and announce your intentions on the common frequency, having already read the field's NOTAMs from your briefing. The broadcast told you the weather; everything operational was on you.
Two habits carry across both kinds of broadcast. The observation time still tells you how fresh the weather is, and on an ATIS the information letter advancing is your signal that something has changed since you last copied it. And whether the source is a controller or a machine, the wind you hear is referenced to magnetic north, while the written METAR for the same field is referenced to true north, so the two can differ by the local variation.
Common pitfalls
- Not checking the letter. If you copied Information Golf and ATC says the current letter is Hotel, something has changed. Re-copy before you act on old information.
- Reading the wind as true. On a spoken ATIS the wind is magnetic. Only the written METAR is true.
- Time is UTC. As with every weather product, the observation time is Zulu, not local.
- Copying the wrong broadcast. Where arrival and departure ATIS are separate, use the one for your phase of flight.
- Treating remarks as optional. The remarks line is where a closed taxiway or a NOTAM you need is hiding.
In Pilot EFB
Pilot EFB lays out a structured, ATIS-style summary alongside the decoded weather for an aerodrome, drawing the wind, visibility, cloud, temperature and pressure together with a suggested runway worked from the reported wind. Treat it as a study and planning aid built from the weather data, not as the broadcast itself: it does not receive or replace the live ATIS, so always copy the real ATIS or D-ATIS for the runway in use, the approach in use, and the remarks before you fly. A briefing you have already pulled stays readable with no signal, because your device holds what you have saved, while pulling a fresh observation needs a connection. Pilot EFB is offline-first and is not a certified Electronic Flight Bag.