The International Phonetic Alphabet and Numbers : Alphanumerics are a practical means of communication, increasing the aviation safety which we use in radio telephony. It is useful because misunderstanding may occur in the radio message communications. Therefore, aviation phonetic alphabet helps make communication clearer and more precise.
What does it consist of?
To begin with, the aviation phonetic alphabet consists of the generally accepted, standardized and authorized words which work as codes for each letter of the regular, English alphabet.
What are the benefits of using the aviation phonetic alphabet?
Above all, the aviation (international) phonetic alphabet is used to avoid misunderstanding in radio message communication. As some letters may sound similar to other letters, especially in radio-telephony, transmitting letters and certain words can be hard and ambiguous.
Due to, avoiding misunderstanding and possible aviation safety risks, the international phonetic alphabet is used whenever there is a chance of hearing some words, letters, or phrases incorrectly.
So, all pilots in the world, as well as the flight dispatchers and other personnel included in the air traffic communication, are obliged to learn the aviation phonetic alphabet.
What does the International Phonetic Alphabet look like?
Hence, according to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), the International Phonetic Alphabet uses code words for standard English alphabet letters. For example, we use code Alpha to report the letter “A”, code Echo, similarly, instead of “E”, while code November replaces the letter “N”. Each letter has its own code.
Thus, the full alphabet looks like this: Alpha stands for “A”, Bravo stands for “B”, Charlie replaces the letter “C”, while Delta stands for “D”. Moreover, Echo stands for “E”, Foxtrot for “F”, Golf for “G”, and Hotel for letter “H”. Word India is used instead of the letter “I”, Juliet instead of “J”, Kilo instead of “K”, and Lima replaced letter “L”. Mike is used to denoting letter “M”, word November, stands for “N”, while Oscar and Papa replace O and P, respectively. Words Quebec, Romeo, and Sierra stand for letters Q, R, and S, respectively, while Tango is to replace the letter T. Uniform is for U, Victor for V, Whiskey for W, and X-Ray for X. Yankee and Zulu replace letters Y and Z, respectively.
How is the International Phonetic Alphabet used?
As already said, the International phonetic alphabet is necessary for all air traffic personnel included in aviation communication, not only for flight dispatchers and pilots. They all must memorize the aviation phonetic alphabet, in order.
So, if a pilot wants to say a certain letter of the alphabet during the radio messaging, he/she will not say “B”, “D”, or “S”, but “Bravo”, “Delta”, and “Sierra”. I.e. they are using codes instead of letters.
On the other hand, the flight dispatcher, who also knows the aviation phonetic alphabet, clearly understands the pilot’s message, without any doubt.
Numbers in Radio Communication
There is similar code for numbers. As numbers are very often communicated through the radio messages in aviation, there was an obvious need for designing a rule not only for letters but numbers as well.
There are a few rules regarding numbers in aviation communication. Namely, we communicate each digit of a number separately. Accordingly, the pilot says each digit in the form of a single number.
Moreover, “0” is not spelled as “O”, but as “zero”. There is a rule about number nine as well. In aviation number rule-book for radio communication, “niner” is for nine.
Reporting time via the radio communication system
The communication safety rules in aviation are comprehensive. They don’t imply only letters and numbers, but also time.
In aviation radio-telephony, time is reported through the 24-hour military time reporting system.
Moreover, the rule related to reporting numbers is used here as well. Namely, each digit must be reported separately within the 24-hour time reporting military system.
For example, a flight dispatcher would say to the pilot “It is one fife four tree” to say that it is 15:43.
Reporting altitudes in aviation radio-telephony
Altitudes are another crucial aspect of radio messaging communication. Understanding the altitudes correctly is of the utmost importance for aviation safety.
When communicating the altitudes, pilots say the digits of thousands separately. Then, they say the hundreds. For example, an altitude of 8,500 feet is “eight thousand fife hundred”. Here’s another example. If you are flying at 11,000 feet, you report this altitude as “one one thousand”. If you are flying at 11,500 feet, you say “one one thousand fife hundred”.
These rules are valid for altitudes under 18,000 feet. However, if you are flying at or above 18,000 feet, you must say code “flight level” and then say the first tree digits of the altitude. For example, if you are flying at 18,500 feet, you say “flight level one eight fife”. Similarly, if you are flying at 21,000 feet, you say “flight level two one zero”. If you are flying at 33,500 feet, you report this as “flight level tree tree fife”.
Re-spelling of numbers in aviation radio-telephony
Thus, we have written the versions of spelling you are usually using in the above examples. However, you should know that the spelling of the numbers changes as well. Here is the table showing the correct spelling of numbers in aviation:
|
Number |
Respelling
|
|
0 |
ZE-RO
|
|
1 |
WUN
|
|
2 |
TOO
|
|
3 |
TREE
|
|
4 |
FOW-er
|
|
5 |
FIFE
|
|
6 |
SIX
|
|
7 |
SEV-en
|
|
8 |
AIT
|
|
9 |
NIN-er
|
What do these re-spelling rules mean? Namely, when we communicate numbers via the radio, pilots and flight dispatchers say them, i.e. pronounce them differently than in normal situations we all do.
The first rule says that each digit is pronounced separately. Also, some digits we pronounce significantly different, for example, “NINER” (for 9), “FIFE” (for 5), “AIT” (for 8), and “TREE” (for 3).
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, aviation phonetics and numbers are a very important segment of safety in aviation communication. There is a code word for each letter in the alphabet. In the same fashion, pilots, controllers and dispatchers have to memorize and use these codes by all means to avoid misunderstanding.
Moreover, the military 24-hour system is used for reporting time. The time is communicated as four separately pronounced digits where the first two represent the hour, while the last two represent the minutes. Each digit is pronounced individually.
From the other hand, when it comes to altitudes, the thousands and the hundreds, we communicate them separately. Additionally, if the pilot or the flight dispatcher wants to report an altitude higher than 18,000 feet (or equal to it), he or she must use the code words “FLIGHT LEVEL”. Afterward, it is enough to say the first three digits of altitude (separately).
Finally, when it comes to the spelling of numbers, there is a rule-book for this issue as well. Namely, we pronounce numbers differently than in usual conversations in order to avoid misunderstanding.