Communication - Lesson One
- Phonetic Alphabet, Numbers and Callsigns -

Phonetic Alphabet:

In order to avoid misunderstandings between Air Traffic Control and pilots, letters are not spoken normally. Instead, words beginning with the specific letter are used when spelling out a word. There is actually an international alphabet known as the phonetic alphabet, which is the standard for voice communication.

A - ALPHA
B - BRAVO
C - CHARLIE
D - DELTA
E - ECHO
F - FOXTROT
G - GOLF
H - HOTEL
I - INDIA
J - JULIET
K - KILO
L - LIMA
M - MIKE
N - NOVEMBER
O - OSCAR
P - PAPA
Q - QUEBEC
R - ROMEO
S - SIERRA
T - TANGO
U - UNIFORM
V - VICTOR
W - WHISKEY
X - X-RAY
Y - YANKEE
Z - ZULU

E.G. Paris Air Traffic Control wants EMD001 to route directly to the L’Aigle (LGL) VOR

• Paris: “Emerald 001, route direct to Lima Golf Lima”
• EMD001: “Direct Lima Golf Lima, roger, Emerald 001”

Numbers:

The same applies to numbers. The standard pronunciations are listed below.

0 - ZERO
1 - WUN
2 - TWO
3 - THREE
4 - FOUR
5 - FIVE
6 - SIX
7 - SEVEN
8 - EIGHT
9 - NINER
100 - WUN HUNDRED
1000 - WUN TOWSAND
. - DECIMAL

E.G. Shannon Control wants EMD001 to switch to London Control on frequency 133.600

• Shannon: “Emerald Zero Zero Wun, contact London on Wun Three Three Decimal Six, Good Day”
• EMD001: “London on Wun Three Three Decimal Six, roger, Good Day, Emerald Zero Zero Wun”

Callsigns:

Finally, note that ATC does not call EMD001 by saying Echo Mike Delta Zero Zero Wun, instead he/she uses a “callsign”. Every airline has its own callsign. For Emerald Air, it is simply Emerald. So, for the above example the callsign would be Emerald Zero Zero Wun.