With aeronautical information service being one of the important pillars for safe and efficient air navigation, the world aviation community is observing World Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) day on May 15, the anniversary of the adoption of Annex 15 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
With aeronautical information service being one of the important pillars for safe and efficient air navigation, the world aviation community is observing World Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) day on May 15, the anniversary of the adoption of Annex 15 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
The Standards and Recommended Practices for Aeronautical Information Services were first adopted by the ICAO Council on May 15, 1953, pursuant to the provisions of Article 37.
The aeronautical information service is just one of many examples of international standardization where States working together can achieve well defined goals. Whether provided by government agencies or private companies, AIS is a fundamental aviation service that makes modern flying possible.
As a youngster in the air traffic control profession, we were taught that the AIS was the “brains” of the Air Traffic Services (ATS) system. This truly puts things into perspective as global air navigation would virtually be impossible without the information that the service generates.
The aim of the aeronautical information service (AIS) is to ensure the flow of aeronautical information necessary for safety, regularity, economy and efficiency of international air navigation.
Change is one of the few constants in life and the AIS is experiencing one of its own. The product oriented AIS is morphing into a data oriented enterprise called Aeronautical Information Management (AIM).
The importance of aeronautical data changed significantly with the implementation of area navigation (RNAV), performance-based navigation (PBN), airborne computer-based navigation systems and data link systems.
The AIS’s paper-based documentation and telex-based text messages can not satisfy modern requirements since they are incompatible. In addition, corrupt or erroneous aeronautical information/data can potentially affect the safety of air navigation.
The transition to AIM places emphasis on data distribution, which puts it in a position to better serve airspace users and the needs of Air Traffic Management (ATM) in terms of their information management requirements.
So to all the AIS/AIM Officers around the globe, Happy AIS/AIM Day!!!
