Proper ATC Phraseology

Depends where you are, hearing Americans talk on the radio makes me itch usually. In the UK pilots and controllers are very strictly adhering to standard phraseology, same for most of Europe. For a lot of people, English is not their first language, therefore adhering to standard ATC phraseology is paramount.

Phrases like “out of 3 for 4” or “left 180” you won’t hear in most of the world, only in the US, together with nonsense like “with you” :sweat_smile:. It is some kind of slang. Correct ICAO phraseology would be:

  • Left heading 180 degrees
  • Climb to altitude 3000 ft
  • Descent flight level 180
  • Reduce speed 200 kts

So always; what (altitude, heading, etc.), number (180, 3000 ft e.g.) and unit (degrees, feet, kts).

Transmissions concerning altitudes or heights: climb / descent “to” immediately followed by the phrase “altitude” or “height”, for flight levels the phrase “to” is omitted.

Degrees after a heading ending with zero is strictly speaking not standard ICAO phraseology, but it is a Eurocontrol recommendation to prevent confusion between headings ending in zero and flight levels.

1 Like