Aeronautical Information Publications (AIPs)

Description

An Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) is a publication issued by or with the authority of a State and containing aeronautical information of a lasting character essential to air navigation. (ICAO Annex 15 - Aeronautical Information Services)

The AIP contains details of regulations, procedures and other information pertinent to the operation of aircraft in the particular country to which it relates. It is usually issued by or on behalf of the respective civil aviation administration and constitutes the basic information source for permanent information and long duration temporary changes.

The structure and contents of the document are standardised by international agreement through ICAO. AIPs normally have three parts - GEN (general), ENR (en route) and AD (aerodromes). The documents contain many charts; most of these are in the AD section where details and charts of all public aerodromes are published.

Full details regarding AIPs are contained in ICAO Annex 15 (AIS), Chapter 4.

AIPs are kept up-to-date by regular revision on a fixed cycle. For operationally significant changes in information, the cycle known as the AIRAC (Aeronautical Information And Control) cycle is used: revisions (normally 1 per 28 days) are produced every 56 days (double AIRAC cycle) or every 28 days (single AIRAC cycle). These changes are received well in advance so that users of the aeronautical data can make necessary amendments, for example, updating standard routes and flight management systems (FMS).

AIPs are cumbersome documents, not usually intended to be used in the air. Commercial organisations make relevant extracts to form flight information publications (Flight Information Publication) of convenient size to be used on aircraft.

Further Reading

• ICAO Annex 15 Chapter 4
• CAP 1054: Aeronautical Information Management, UK CAA, July 2015