Description

The Aerodrome Weather Information Service (AWIS) is a service in Australia which provides a broadcast, to the aviation industry, of observed weather conditions at aerodromes from approved Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs). This information is provided by radio frequency (either via a standalone VHF transmitter or a navigation aid (NavAid)) and/or by telephone.

In 2017, the Australian AWIS service was provided to approximately 230 aerodromes, with VHF broadcast being available at 115 aerodromes and phone services being available at more than 220 aerodromes.

What is AWIS?

The AWIS provides the aviation industry, in particular pilots, with current (one minute) observations of surface wind, pressure, air temperature, dew point temperature, rainfall, cloud information, humidity, visibility and present weather. These can either be used in the flight planning phase or prior to approach to the aerodrome. The weather observations can assist in the following ways:

• Wind information assists pilots to determine which runway approach to use prior to becoming visual with the aerodrome;

• Rainfall indicates the wetness of the runway for braking distances;

• Pressure (QNH) is used for setting altimeter and allows a lower approach minima (Approach with Vertical Guide (APV));

• Cloud and visibility allows the pilots to determine if current conditions are better (or worse) than required minima(s);

• Dewpoint and humidity can indicate the possible existence of fog, mist or low cloud (particularly useful where there are no ceilometers or visibility sensors installed); and

• Temperature is used for approach and take-off calculations.

The QNH broadcast on the AWIS is considered an approved source of QNH.

The format of AWIS is largely aligned with ICAO ATIS and Local Met Report format.

Related Articles

• Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS)
• Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS)
• Weather Observations at Aerodromes