Background to AIS
The function of the Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) is to:
Collect, collate, edit and disseminate Aeronautical Information, necessary for
the safety and efficiency of air navigation, or interested parties. This
includes CAA, ATS Providers, operating companies, aircrew, flying clubs and
other aviation related organisations. (Source -
CAP 493 - Manual of Air Traffic Services)
On this site AIS means the world-wide AIS system. When referring to
the UK in particular we use UK AIS.
UK AIS employs around 30 people. They are highly skilled, know more about
NOTAM than any sane person would wish to know, and have one of the best
aeronautical databases in the world. They are not however experts in electronic
data processing or web design and therefore rely on outside contractors.
There is a very real desire to get the product right, hence the invitations to
Russell Howton and
Mike Cross to visit them and an ongoing dialogue with both of
us. We welcome input from anyone who has a constructive suggestion.
Now for the background.
ICAO Annexe 15 sets the standards for AIS. NOTAM, Flight Plans etc are based
on the format of messages sent on the AFS (Aeronautical Fixed Service), formerly AFTN. The format and
content of NOTAM messages is standardised and includes a lot more than what we
see in a Pre-flight Information Bulletin (PIB). In particular there are a set of
Q Codes contained in the Q Line which specify whether it affects Aerodrome or En
Route, VFR or IFR and what it’s geographical centre and radius of influence are.
As you will appreciate, these are crucial to the selection, sorting and
presentation of data into PIB’s. More info here.
The old A1/A8 bulletins did not rely on the Q Line. They were manually assembled,
relying totally on the skills of the compiler to select and present relevant
information. What you got depended on who the compiler was.
Some time ago UK AIS realised that it could not continue with manual production
of PIB, particularly if it was to provide a world-wide service. A decision was
made to invest in a database management system produced by the French aerospace
company Thales Information Systems. This system is called
ANAIS and the web
interface that we use is called
AES (Aeronautical e-services). ANAIS was
originally designed for in-house use by national AIS organisations. AES is a
recent addition.
To make sure you understand where NOTAM fit into the scheme of things we
suggest you look at the NOTAM page next.
Return to top of page
