Connecting Australian Aviation

Pilot Briefing Services

AIS/MET System - Briefing User Documentation

AIS/MET System Page

The AIS/MET System Page provides access to the following items:

  • Briefing
    • Area Briefing
    • Location/FIR Briefing
    • Briefing Update
    • First-Light / Last-Light
  • GPS RAIM Availability
    • Australia
    • Canada
    • East Timor
    • New Zealand
    • Tonga
  • International MET Bulletins
    • METAR
    • TAF
  • General Information
    • AvFax account information
    • AvFax product and custom code information
    • Briefing User Documentation (This document)
    • GPS RAIM Documentation

Area Briefing

To obtain an area briefing, select the Area Briefing menu item. An area briefing includes MET, NOTAM, ATIS and GPS RAIM data on the selected area and on all aerodromes within the area and includes relevant FIR NOTAM. Location headings and associated MET and NOTAM information are only returned if there is current data available for the location.

At the top of the area briefing form a user reference box is provided for any information that is to be included at the top of the returned briefing. Head Office (YSHO) NOTAM are not included in an area briefing, but can be obtained as a 1-line summary or in full by ticking the appropriate Head Office NOTAM box above the map.

To obtain the area briefing, click on the required area on the displayed map of Australia.

The returned briefing includes a 6-digit briefing reference number which can be used to obtain an update to the briefing via the Internet.

Location/FIR Briefing

When this item is selected a briefing request form will be displayed. This form must be filled in as described below. Information can be entered in either upper or lower case characters.  

  1. User reference: Enter the aircraft registration, flight number or other information which will identify the briefing. This information will be listed at the top of the returned briefing.
     
  2. Products: Enter up to twenty locations or areas in the boxes provided. Each location can be entered as
  • a 4-letter location designator (e.g. YSSY),
  • a navigation aid identifier (e.g. PLO),
  • the common name of the location (e.g. Sydney), or
  • a 2-digit Area Forecast area (e.g. 41).

The returned information for a individual location can be restricted to NOTAM or MET information only (independent of the NOTAM and MET format selection) by adding the word 'MET' or 'NOTAM' after the location code or name (e.g. YBBB MET). MET information on an Area Forecast area (Area Forecast and AREA QNH) can be obtained by entering the 2-digit area number (e.g. 41). MET and NOTAM information on all locations within an Area Forecast area can be obtained by entering the code 9nn0 where 'nn' is the area number (e.g. 9410 for Area 41).
Note: AvFax charts are not available using this form.
 

  1. FIRs: Select one or both of the FIRs (YBBB and YMMM) to obtain SIGMET and NOTAM information on the whole FIR. Alternatively, in order to restrict the number of returned FIR NOTAM, select one or more sub-FIR NOTAM restriction areas. (SIGMETs will still be returned on the whole FIR).
     
  2. Head Office NOTAM: Select Head Office NOTAM in summary or full format by clicking on the appropriate Head Office NOTAM box.
     
  3. MET Format: Click on this item to display a drop-down list of available MET formats:
    • Briefing format
    • Coded AFTN message format
    • Do not include MET information

      •  
  4. NOTAM format: Click on this item to display a drop-down list of available NOTAM formats:
    • Briefing format
    • NOTAM field A-G format
    • International series NOTAM
    • Do not include NOTAM

      •  
  5. GPS RAIM format: Click on this item to display a drop-down list if GPS RAIM information is not required.
     
  6. Submit the request by clicking on the 'Submit Request' button. If you are not currently logged on then a window will be displayed into which your account details must be entered.
     
  7. The 'Clear Form' button can be pressed to clear all entries on the form in order to enter a new request.

Location headings and associated MET, NOTAM and GPS RAIM information are only returned if there is current data available for the location. A list of requested locations which have no current NOTAM is given at the end of the briefing.

The returned briefing includes a 6-digit briefing reference number which can be used to obtain an update to the briefing via the Internet.

Obtaining specific MET information

To obtain only MET information on a specific location and not NOTAM, follow the location designator by the word 'MET'. e.g. YBCS MET

A specific MET data type can be obtained by following the location indicator code with the MET data type required (e.g. YSSY TAF). Available MET data type names are: TAF, METAR, ARFOR, AIRMET, SIGMET, AQNH, AIRMET and ATIS. TTF and SPECI can also be used but have the same meaning as METAR.

Obtaining specific NOTAM information

To obtain only NOTAM information on a specific location and not MET data, follow the location designator by the word 'NOTAM'. e.g. YBCS NOTAM

Specific NOTAM information on an aerodrome or FIR can be obtained as follows:

  1. To obtain a specific NOTAM, enter the location indicator code followed by the required NOTAM number and year. e.g. YBCG C0120/98
     
  2. To obtain en-route NOTAM only, enter the location indicator code followed by '(R)'. e.g. YBCG (R)
     
  3. To obtain a summary of current NOTAM, enter the location indicator code followed by the word 'SUMMARY'. e.g. YMHB SUMMARY. The summary contains a 1-line summary of each NOTAM.
     
  4. To obtain an index of current NOTAM, enter the location indicator code followed by the word 'INDEX'. e.g. YMLT INDEX. The index contains details of the NOTAM including the category and origination time.
     
  5. To obtain a NOTAM CHECK for a location enter the location code followed by the word 'CHECK'. e.g. YPPH CHECK. A NOTAM CHECK provides a list of the numbers of all current NOTAM on the requested location regardless of the NOTAM validity times, but does not include NOTAM raised on another location which also apply to the requested location. e.g. A NOTAM raised on YMMM/YBBB will be listed in the NOTAM CHECK for YMMM and not for YBBB.

Obtaining specific GPS RAIM information

To obtain only GPS RAIM information on a location and not NOTAM and MET information, follow the location designator by the word 'RAIM'. e.g. YMAV RAIM

ObtainingFirst-light / Last-light information

First-light/Last-light can be obtained from the briefing form or by selecting the separate item on the briefing home page. To use the briefing form, enter the location designator followed by the word 'LIGHT'. e.g. YSCB LIGHT. This will return first-light and last-light UTC times for the current day.

In order to obtain First-light and last-light information for a different day, follow the word 'LIGHT' with the required date. This can be in any standard day-month-year format. e.g. YSCB LIGHT 23/2/97 or YSBK LIGHT 10-Jan-2001

To obtain additional information about a location including latitude/longitude and first-light/last-light for the current day, follow the location designator by the word 'AGA'. e.g. YSBK AGA

Updating a Briefing

Each Internet briefing request is stored on the system in order to allow an update to be requested at a later time. When the item 'Update a Briefing' is selected, a briefing update form will be displayed which must be filled in as follows:  

  1. Previous Internet briefing reference number: Enter the 6-digit briefing reference number which was given on the original briefing (e.g. 120034).
     
  2. User reference: If this field was filled in when the original briefing was obtained, then the field can be left blank in order to use the original user reference data. Otherwise enter the aircraft callsign, flight number or other information which will identify the briefing. This information will be listed at the top of the response.
     
  3. Include summary of existing NOTAM: Only changes to the original briefing will normally be provided. If this box is selected, then the first line of current NOTAM which were provided on the initial briefing will be included.
     
  4. Provide a new briefing: If this box is selected, then a complete new briefing will be provided for the locations requested on the original briefing. This briefing will have a new briefing reference number to enable the briefing to be updated via the Internet at a later time.
     
  5. Submit the request by clicking on the 'Submit' button.
     
  6. The 'Clear Form' button can be pressed to clear all entries on the form in order to enter a new request.

Updates to a previous briefing can be obtained for at least 24 hours. An update can only be obtained to a previous full briefing and not to an update. If an update is requested to a briefing which is older than about 24 hours, then a full new briefing will be automatically provided if the system still holds the original briefing request.

GPS RAIM Availability

GPS RAIM availability information is available for Australia, New Zealand and Tonga. When one of these items is selected a list of aerodromes on which GPS non-precision approaches are approved will be displayed. Select one or more of these aerodromes by clicking in the box adjacent to the aerodrome code and then click on the 'Submit Request' button.

GPS RAIM outages are predicted each day at 1400 UTC and also when new satellite outage information is received. Outages are given for 72 hours from the UTC prediction time shown in the first line of the prediction message.

First-Light / Last-Light

The first-light / last-light page allows the times of first-light and last-light to be obtained for an aerodrome. The form should be filled in as follows:

  1. Location or Latitude/Longitude: Enter the location designator or fullname of the required aerodrome, or alternatively enter a latitude or longitude in the format indicated.
     
  2. Year, Month, Day: Optionally enter the date on which the first-light / last-light information is required.

First and last light times can also be obtained for a range of dates by entering the last required date in the indicated 'End date' boxes.

AvFax Product or Custom Code Enquiry

To obtain a list of the MET, NOTAM and chart products which will be supplied for an AvFax product  or to obtain details of your custom codes contact the Briefing Office on 1800 805 150 (Telstra PhoneAway Card required) or +61 7 3866 3517.

AvFax Account Enquiry

To obtain current details of your AVFAX account, contact the Airservices Australia Help Desk on 1800 801 960.

To obtain details of your custom codes, contact the Briefing Office on 1800 805 150 (Telstra PhoneAway Card required) or +61 7 3866 3517

Comments on the Internet Briefing Service are welcome and can be sent via E-Mail to briefing.manager@airservicesaustralia.com or posted to:

    Data Group Leader
    Australian Flight Information Centre
    National ATC Support Services
    Airservices Australia
    Locked Bag 747
    Eagle Farm QLD 4009