Modernisation of the Australian Aeronautical Information Publication

In order to modernise Airservices' aeronautical information and data products, Airservices is continuing to progress a number of activities to change the way it produces and publishes the Australian Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), primarily through migration of the AIP to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard eAIP format and modernisation of the way we produce our aeronautical charts.

This program is a key step in enhancing the way Airservices provides information, data products and related services.

Modernisation of the AIP will:

  • provide the ability to develop wider and more flexible range of aeronautical information and data products to support pilots, aircraft operators and the broader industry, including improving the ability for other key industry partners (such as application developers) to continue to innovate using aeronautical data from Airservices
  • provide more timely updates to aeronautical data to improve consistency of information and distribution
  • improve the level of digitisation of aeronautical data to promote a more dynamic and future oriented way of managing aeronautical data
  • ensure consistency with the ICAO recommended eAIP format and charting standards to improve interoperability, readability and standardisation.

Next Steps

During 2023 the following work will be continued:

  • Incorporation of DAH into the relevant ENR sections of the eAIP and removal of DAH as a standalone product.
  • Incorporation of non-aerodrome information published in ERSA into the relevant sections of the eAIP or other reference material and removal of these sections from ERSA.
  • Production of prototypes of selected AIP Charts and eAIP sections to be used to demonstrate the expected changes as a result of the modernisation

It is important to note that there are no planned changes to the print and distribution of AIP products during 2023 and customers will be informed in advance of any changes to these services.

Q&A Forum:

Airservices invites you to provide questions and comments using the Q&A box found at the bottom of this page. Questions and answers will be posted publicly to facilitate information sharing. Should you wish to contact us privately, please email stakeholder@airservicesaustralia.com


In order to modernise Airservices' aeronautical information and data products, Airservices is continuing to progress a number of activities to change the way it produces and publishes the Australian Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), primarily through migration of the AIP to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard eAIP format and modernisation of the way we produce our aeronautical charts.

This program is a key step in enhancing the way Airservices provides information, data products and related services.

Modernisation of the AIP will:

  • provide the ability to develop wider and more flexible range of aeronautical information and data products to support pilots, aircraft operators and the broader industry, including improving the ability for other key industry partners (such as application developers) to continue to innovate using aeronautical data from Airservices
  • provide more timely updates to aeronautical data to improve consistency of information and distribution
  • improve the level of digitisation of aeronautical data to promote a more dynamic and future oriented way of managing aeronautical data
  • ensure consistency with the ICAO recommended eAIP format and charting standards to improve interoperability, readability and standardisation.

Next Steps

During 2023 the following work will be continued:

  • Incorporation of DAH into the relevant ENR sections of the eAIP and removal of DAH as a standalone product.
  • Incorporation of non-aerodrome information published in ERSA into the relevant sections of the eAIP or other reference material and removal of these sections from ERSA.
  • Production of prototypes of selected AIP Charts and eAIP sections to be used to demonstrate the expected changes as a result of the modernisation

It is important to note that there are no planned changes to the print and distribution of AIP products during 2023 and customers will be informed in advance of any changes to these services.

Q&A Forum:

Airservices invites you to provide questions and comments using the Q&A box found at the bottom of this page. Questions and answers will be posted publicly to facilitate information sharing. Should you wish to contact us privately, please email stakeholder@airservicesaustralia.com


Q&A Forum

Airservices is commencing a number of activities to change the way it produces and publishes the Australian Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP). Please use this Q&A forum is you have any questions on this change. 

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  • Hi, Will this process make aeronautical data available in the AIXM format and how will it support Australia's progress toward SWIM principles? Many thanks

    Daniel Smith asked 8 days ago

    Hi Daniel,

    Being able to produce a AIXM report for Australia is a key goal of this project, to achieve this requires data to be in an ICAO standard format which is how the eAIP is being designed. We are hoping to share more information with relevant users of AIXM in the coming months.

    Thanks

  • Hi, this is a great move and really pleasing to see Australia transition to an eAIP. One of the challenges today is that it can difficult to tell if new information is new or just relocated. The change bars don’t make this distinction. Will the eAIP have the function to summarise changes and advise if they are new or just re-located?

    Daniel Smith asked 8 days ago

    Hi Daniel,

    Change bars are simply a text comparison tool so unfortunately, they will always pick up text changes regardless of whether they are new or moved information. The eAIP will not introduce any additional functionality with how changes will be displayed. The summary of changes at the bottom of IAL (DAP) charts and the AIC publishing the major chart changes are not being changed as part of this project and will still be available. Continuation of the summary of changes to the GEN and ENR sections of the eAIP is still being discussed.

    Thanks

  • Hi, I know Australia typically makes the significant changes on the June and Nov AIRAC cycle. Given the large amount of change that has occurred in these cycles over the last two years, will you consider spreading out changes throughout the year with the new eAIP? Many thanks

    Daniel Smith asked 8 days ago

    Hi Daniel,

    The major updates coincide with the charting cycles and the timing of chart release is related to the current printing requirements. More regular updates of the eAIP and charts is currently being explored and we hope to have more information about this early in the new year.

    Thanks

  • Hi, Will the chart prototypes be posted in this forum? Cheers.

    Chartographer asked 10 days ago

    Hi,

    We plan to publish the chart prototypes in Q1 of 2024 to identify any safety and operational implications the change may have on chart users.  Please subscribe to this page for further updates, as we would appreciate your feedback.

    Thanks

  • It would be good to produce pictorial guides for inbound / outbound lanes for major D class airports. CASA produced some as part Visual Pilot Guide in 2010 for Jandakot which was very good and has not since produced another. I found these to be a very useful quick reference guides for airport inbound / outbound lanes and seems like it would be a good idea to include in FAC information pictorially rather than in text. I still actually use these figures in visual pilot guide while flying as a quick reference confirmation of outbound / inbound lanes and circuit directions.

    Wade asked 3 months ago

    Hi,

    As you mentioned the Stay on Track series is produced by CASA, they have let us know that the guides, that cover many areas of Australia and are updated annually, are available online. These guides are quite lengthy, and a lot of the content does not fit within an ICAO eAIP therefore they will not be included.

    Thanks

  • Great to see this project taking shape. Are there any plans to incorporate the Off Air Route Planning (OARP) Manual into the eAIP?

    Chris Wilson (Air NZ) asked 3 months ago

    Hi Chris,

    Apologies for the slow response to your question. 

    The OARP is not a standard ICAO function published in an eAIP, therefore it is not in scope of this project to include. Planning for the long term publication of the OARP is ongoing and any changes will be communicated to industry. If you have any further questions/feedback regarding the OARP and its publication, contact the team via email: oarp@airservicesaustralia.com.

    Thanks.

  • When will the eaip be available for full scale implementation. As someone who is keen to begin using the electronic versions I’m curious as to how this will be deployed. Will paper copies be replaced by the eaip in full? Will I be able to conduct all my current aip activities with the eaip?

    Charliel asked 9 months ago

    Thanks for your question. The overall project timeline is still being finalised. We are currently reviewing industry, regulator and our own operational requirements and will be in a position to provide more information later this year. 

    Over the coming months we will be engaging with industry, which will further inform this timeline. Please keep an eye on this page for further information as we would appreciate your feedback. 

    While the eAIP was designed to support transition away from printed products, we expect to be providing AIP information in a printable format for some time to come.  

    The eAIP will contain all information required of an AIP. Our transition approach will ensure that any variations in location or presentation of content are shared with the aviation community to support transition from the current to future AIP Products.

  • Will there be a newsletter (Like the ones which are sent out for new SUP and AIC) when new AMDT will be published?

    Nina Suter (skyguide) asked about 1 year ago

    Hi,

    SUP and AIC can be published at any time which is why notification is sent out to those who request it when a new one issued. The IAIP (and when it is transitioned to the eAIP) is published on a fixed and regular schedule so there is no requirement to notify users of its release. The IAIP/eAIP is available online 56 days (i.e., 2 AIRAC cycles) prior to it being effective.

    Thanks 

  • I have a suggestion to make rather than asking a question. ERSA contains a diagram of each runway at significantly important airports and airfields. If, off the upwind end of each runway there was a 90deg arrow showing the circuit direction, visiting aircraft would be alerted to the correct circuit direction without having to look for this in the small print. It could be used to show left hand circuits versus runways with right hand circuits.

    Dave Smith asked about 1 year ago

    Hi Dave,

    Thank you for the suggestion, we won’t be showing circuit direction on aerodrome charts either in the ERSA or in the future eAIP, as it’s out of scope in regard to ICAO standardisation. 

    The purpose of an aerodrome chart is to provide flight crews with information which will facilitate the ground movement of aircraft, including:

    a) from the aircraft stand to the runway; and

    b) from the runway to the aircraft stand.

    As you mentioned the circuit information is contained in the text-based sections of the IAIP which is as per the ICAO recommendations.

  • Hi there, AIP GEN 3.3.7 was the original reference. It appears to have been changed in Dec 21

    jhaselgrove asked about 1 year ago

    Hi, could you please email ais@airservicesaustralia.com with your specific question as the reference you have provided doesn't relate to the content in your question. Thanks. 

Page last updated: 21 Aug 2023, 09:38 AM