1. ATIS and Controller Information Requirements

a. The VATSIM EC policy mandates that ATIS shall have not more than 4-lines.

b. All ATIS and controller information used within the VATPAC Division must:

i. Comply with the VATSIM 4-line rule.

ii. Conform to the VATPAC ATIS Guidelines contained herein.

Note: A "line" is technically a standard 64-character data packet for transmission purposes.

Note: An ATIS refers to the information service provided for an airport. Controller information refers to the information presented to pilots when joining the controllers frequency.

2. Guidelines

a. The purpose of an ATIS is to:

i. Provide operational information to pilots, based on the on-line weather from the network.

b. The purpose of Controller Information is to:

i. Provide pilots with information relating to controller position, ATIS frequency and other operationally important details.

3. Content

a. Controller Information content:

i. If using ASRC, the first line of controller information MUST have:

• The alias $mypvtrw to enable proper voice channel switching
• VRC/ES users need not include this as it is appended automatically

ii. Then other miscellaneous operational information such as:

• Controller position (eg. Melbourne Centre)
• Extended coverage details (eg. Extended coverage to SNO)
• Logoff time (eg. Logoff 0900z)
• ATIS frequency (eg. YMML ATIS on 132.7)

b. ATIS content:

i. Operational information for the airport the ATIS is provided for using standard abbreviations and the format described below.

ii. The following items should NOT be included in an ATIS:

• Raw METAR data that has not been decoded by the controller.
• Unnecessary or insignificant optional information.
• Information that should realistically provided by voice interaction with ATC.

iii. The ATIS should be updated when any of the following conditions are met:

• Approach Changes
• Runway changes
• Operational Info changes
• Windshear status changes
• MET info when conditions change by:

Wind - 10 degrees / 5 knots
QNH - 1 HPA
Temperature - 1 degree C
Cloud - Base changes 200ft / changes descriptor
Visibility - If between 1500M and 10KM, 1KM change. If < 1500M as required.

4. ATIS Format

a. Operational information should be presented in the sequence shown, and use standard abbreviations where possible, eg; APCH, ARR, DEP, EXP, PARL, RWY, WIND, XW, DW, KTS, VIS, CLD, SKC, FEW, SCT, BKN, OVC, CAVOK, T, QNH, WX, Z.

Note: ATIS identifier codes should be allocated according to the relevant TMA document, otherwise starting from ALPHA and incrementing each change. (See special arrangements within a TMA that ensure nearby adjacent ATIS are never the same as each other). ZULU is reserved for special use and is not used.

b. The following sequence of information should be used for all VATPAC ATIS:

ATIS ID	Identifier
APCH	Approach information where a particular approach is in use
RWY	States arrival runways, then departure runways
OPR INFO	States other operational information; eg. PARL RWY OPS
WIND	Direction and strength shown as ddd/ss
XW MAX	Maximum crosswind shown as nn KTS RWY xx
DW MAX	Maximum downwind shown as nn KTS RWY xx
VIS	Visibility shown as nnnn or GT 10KM
WX	Applicable weather in the area
CLD	Cloud coverage shown as amount then altitude
T	Temperature in degrees C
QNH	Shown as nnnn

For example:

        <------------------------------------ 64-CHARACTER WIDTH ------------------------------------->
        ATIS: YMML NOV. APCH: EXP ILS. RWY: 16 FOR ARR, 27 FOR DEP.
        OPR INFO: RAPID EXIT TWY GOLF NOT AVBL. + WIND: 190/7. VIS: 5000.
        WX: RA. CLD: BKN008, BKN012, SCT018. + T: 13. QNH: 1012.

This ATIS would be spoken:

"Melbourne Terminal Information November. Expect I L S Approach. Runway One Six for arrivals, runway Two Seven for departures. Rapid exit taxiway Golf not available. Wind One Nine Zero degrees, Seven knots. Visibility reduced to Five thousand metres in rain. Cloud broken Eight hundred, broken One thousand Two hundred, scattered One thousand Eight hundred. Temperature One Three. Q N H One Zero One Two. On first contact with Melbourne ground or approach notify receipt of November."

Note: Extra information such as OPR INFO can be omitted if required in order to comply with the guidelines.

Note 2: The ATIS identifier must appear on the first line of the operational information, and it then becomes unnecessary to use it again at the end.

Note 3: Aliases and placeholders etc may be used to generate parts of the above ATIS. For complete information consult the client documentation.

Note 4: The "+" symbol is used to indicate the changes from the previous ATIS at a glance.

c. Voice ATIS (VRC/ES) users must be mindful of VATSIM policies concerning its use. ATIS in VRC should be setup in a simular format as below:

Voice ATIS should be established on the same frequency as the published ATIS frequency as per real life
operations. When an airport does not have a published COM frequency (in range on 118.00 - 136.00), standard procedure shall be to use a generic frequency of 134.00