New ICAO Requirement of Aviation Meteorological Services

Aviation meteorological information is crucial to aviation safety. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regularly reviews the standard and recommended practices of aviation meteorological services (Annex 3) and makes regular amendments.  The following enhancements to flight document service are implemented to meet the new requirements arising from Amendment 75 to Annex 3 effective on 18 November 2010:

• higher temporal and vertical resolution upper wind and temperature charts;
• inclusion of Volcanic Ash and Tropical Cyclone Advisory bulletin; and
• refined SIGMET and Special Air-reports bulletin relevant to flight route.

To ensure smooth transition to the enhanced service and implementation of other new standards, the Observatory briefed the airlines and pilots on these changes in the regular meetings of the Liaison Group on Aviation Weather Services.

Figure 1 The Observatory briefed aviation users on the new ICAO aviation weather standards during the Liaison Group on Aviation Weather Services in October 2010