How to Copy the ATIS (and What “Numbers” Means)

Copy this recorded broadcast before your first call. Here is what it contains, how to copy it efficiently, how to report it — and the trap of "the numbers." · 6 min read

Before you ever talk to Ground or Tower at a towered airport, you copy the ATIS — the Automatic Terminal Information Service. It is a continuously looping recording of the airport’s current weather, altimeter, and active runway, broadcast on its own frequency (printed on the sectional and in the chart supplement, near the airport). Copying it before you call does two important things: it sets you up so nothing about the arrival surprises you (you already know the runway and wind), and it lets you tell the controller you have it, which keeps your initial call short and frees them from reading you the weather. Copying the ATIS well is a small skill that instantly makes you sound organized.

What is on it, in order

An ATIS is read in a consistent order, so you can pre-format your notepad. Write down at least the letter, wind, altimeter, and runway:

The information code letter (e.g. "Information Quebec") — advances by one phonetic letter each time the broadcast updates
The time (Zulu) the observation was taken
Wind — direction and speed ("wind 310 at 8")
Visibility and any weather
Sky condition (clear, or cloud layers)
Temperature and dew point
Altimeter setting ("altimeter 30.05")
The runway(s) in use ("landing and departing Runway 31")
Any special notes (closed taxiways, birds, an approach in use)

How to copy it efficiently

You do not have to catch everything on the first loop — it repeats. Use shorthand: jot the letter, then wind as "310/8," the altimeter as "3005," and the runway number. The pieces you truly must have before you call are the letter (to report it), the altimeter (to set), and the runway (to plan your pattern). If you miss something, just listen to the next loop.

How you report that you have it

Name the letter in your first call to Ground or Tower: "…with Quebec" or "…information Quebec received." That single word confirms you have the current broadcast, code letter and all, so the controller knows you are up to date:

🎙 You say “Palo Alto Ground, Skyhawk Five-Two-Kilo, transient ramp with Quebec, request taxi.”

"With Quebec" = I have the current ATIS.

The "numbers" trap

Here is a classic mistake: do NOT say you "have the numbers" to mean you copied the ATIS. In ATC language, "numbers" means the wind, runway, and altimeter ONLY — it does not tell the controller you received the whole broadcast or, crucially, which code letter is current. If a newer ATIS came out, "numbers" would not reveal that you have the old one. So always name the letter instead; it is unambiguous.

When there is no ATIS

Smaller and non-towered airports do not have an ATIS. Instead they often have an automated weather station — ASOS or AWOS — on its own frequency, giving you the wind, altimeter, and conditions in a computer voice. There is no code letter to report, but you still tune it before you arrive so you know the wind and can pick the right runway.

💡 A full ATIS sounds like: "Palo Alto Information Quebec. 1750 Zulu. Wind 310 at 8. Visibility 10. Sky clear. Temperature 22, dew point 12. Altimeter 30.05. Landing and departing Runway 31. Advise on initial contact you have Quebec." Copy it a few times and the format becomes second nature.

💡 The only way this becomes automatic is saying it out loud, dozens of times, before you key a live mic. That is exactly what ATCpal is for — practice copying an ATIS and reporting it correctly on your first call. Practice it free at atcpal.app.

Phraseology sourced from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Change 3, effective 9 July 2026) and the Pilot/Controller Glossary. Check the AIM · Last reviewed 13 August 2026.

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