ATIS

ATIS saves controllers from reading the same details to every arriving and departing crew. Each update gets a letter — "information Charlie" — so a crew can confirm which version they have. A radio scanner tuned to ATIS tells a spotter the runway in use before a single aircraft appears.

Nearby in Aviation

• apron — The paved area where aircraft park, load, refuel and are serviced.
• APU — A small turbine engine, usually in the tail, that supplies electrical power and bleed air on the ground.
• callsign — The name a flight uses on the radio, usually an airline telephony name plus a flight number.
• crosswind — A wind blowing across the runway rather than along it.