The EUROCONTROL eAIP is a specification for the publication and exchange of the Aeronautical Information Publication in electronic format.

When compared to the current paper AIP, the implementation of an eAIP has advantages for both the Organisation producing the eAIP and for its Users.

Advantages for users of an eAIP:

Advantages for producers of an eAIP:

Yes, the eAIP Specification is free and anybody may use it. Also provided are some free supporting tools, just to let you "play around" with the eAIP Specification and see what can be done with a truly electronic AIP.

Short answer: it is an electronic AIP but it is not compliant to the EUROCONTROL eAIP Specification and it does not fulfil all user expectations with regard to an electronic AIP. If interested, please read the Electronic Aeronautical Information Publications: User Requirements and Usability Guidelines document.

Longer answer: Yes, one could say that an AIP in PDF format is an electronic AIP, since PDF is indeed an electronic document format. However, PDF (Portable Document Format) is only designed for paper document presentation on screen and does not have the flexibility and all the capabilities of the EUROCONTROL eAIP Specification, which is based on XML. In fact, we could also consider that the AIPs written in HTML, PostScript, in a database or even a scanned image of the paper AIP pages are electronic AIPs as well. These document formats are all meant for one single purpose (HTML for on-screen display by human beings, PostScript for printer, and so on). This is not the case of the eAIP.

See also the following questions: What is the eAIP? What is XML?

No. The EUROCONTROL eAIP is a specification, not any kind of software. To state it differently, the eAIP is a data format. EUROCONTROL does provide some tools together with the eAIP in order for adventurous and enthusiast users (and especially: computer-literate people) to be able to check out the eAIP and see how it can be used. But these tools are not part of the eAIP specification (only the general concepts are). EUROCONTROL expects the industry to provide more user-friendly software that are compliant with the eAIP specification.

The eAIP is 100% compliant with the ICAO Annex 15. It closely follows the SARPS standard, including ICAO Document 8126 (AIP Template), with some differences in the formatting (such as the route tables) and some optional additions in content to take advantage of the electronic format (such as with the use of hyperlinks or interactivity as far as the on-screen version is concerned).

Paper will still be used for many years... but we now have an additional option. The EUROCONTROL eAIP does not ignore paper: eAIP editors and users are still able to produce a paper version of the AIP. With a big difference: the same electronic source, the eAIP, will be used to produce both paper and screen-based (e.g. HTML) formats. And that same electronic source (in XML) will be directly used by users who need to present the AIP data differently (on board, for instance).

The EUROCONTROL eAIP project proposes a complete solution, encompassing all the above mentioned elements of the IAIP (Integrated Aeronautical Information Package). So we could have named it "eIAIP", but eAIP is already difficult enough to pronounce, isn't it?

Charts can be provided with an eAIP in various format. One particularly interesting format is SVG, as it is an XML representation of vectorial graphics.

See also the following questions: What is SVG?

Yes. We are in contact with a few companies, which are already working on adapting their existing products to comply with the EUROCONTROL eAIP specification, or on developing new products specifically for the eAIP.

The eAIP DTD 1.0.3 is the current stable release. This means that it can be used to produce an eAIP or to develop software based on it without the risk of loosing pace with the eAIP DTD development.

Obviously, a stable release does not mean that the DTD will never be changed. Subsequent eAIP development will result in new versions being published. At the time of the writing, there were no plans for such changes. Any future changes will be implemented only after consultation with the eAIP Specification stakeholders.

See also the following questions: Which countries have already prepared their eAIP?

At the date of the writing, 4 States have implemented an eAIP:

Also, a complete example of an eAIP, based on the ICAO AIP Template, is available on the EUROCONTROL Web site.

See also the following questions: How do I create an eAIP? How can I use an eAIP?

90% of the textual information in the AIP is not available in a structured form in the EAD. EAD also recognises the need for the AIP, because it offers for consultation PDF versions of AIP. With the eAIP, we try to offer it in a format which is more adapted to screen presentations than PDF. Many eAIP user requirements, as defined during the usability study, are not supported by PDF.

Therefore, the AIP Tool of the EAD will be enhanced with support the eAIP Specification.

The eAIP may be regarded as a special type of report, incorporating static data and other textual information, comprehensive for one State (or more), in a format that users are accustomed to, which may be carried away.

The eAIP is an end product. The EAD is a complete system, the AIP and the eAIP being one of the subsystems.

EUROCONTROL has investigated the most effective way to support the eAIP Specification through the EAD. This will be done within 12-18 months after the start of the EAD Tentative Operations.

AIXM and the eAIP have many things in common, such as the fact that they are both based on XML. The essential difference is that AIXM models the aeronautical information, while the eAIP models the AIP document. AIXM is primarily intended for computer-to-computer aeronautical data exchange. The eAIP is primarily intended for providing the AIP content for publication in various formats and on various media, according to user needs.

AIXM focuses on describing in detail the characteristics of aeronautical features such as airports, runways, navaids, routes, etc. and the relationships which exist between these. AIXM does not contain the (unstructured) textual content of the AIP. The recommended way of producing an eAIP is to incorporate such data into the eAIP XML files from an AIXM compatible database.

Edition: please read "How to create a new eAIP", from the eAIP Developer's Manual.

Publication: please read "Publication Process", from the eAIP Editor's Manual, and "Publication Process (revisited)", from the eAIP Developer's Manual.

This is quite simple: if you have an eAIP on CD-ROM, just insert it in your CD drive and your default Web browser should open itself on the first page of the eAIP. If you want to access an eAIP online, just point your Web browser to an eAIP Web site.

Please read as well the eAIP User's Manual.

On the Internet: The main way is to publish your eAIP on your Web site. You will typically have a dedicated section for AIS publications. Depending on your policy, access to this section might be either cost-free or subject to a specific fee. On this AIS publications section, you will give access to the 3 formats of your eAIP: XML, HTML and PDF. We expect this method to be the main way to publish eAIP because online eAIP could be linked to dynamic AIS data such as NOTAMs, which is obviously not possible on a CD-ROM.

On CD-ROM: You can burn a CD-ROM with all 3 formats of the eAIP, together with Supplements, Circulars and other relevant documents. You might even be able to add permanent NOTAM. A link can also be provided to your site for NOTAMs and other dynamic information, but these will not be accessible if the user does not have Internet connection. Amendment issues of this CD-ROM will then be sent by post just like paper AIP. The only difference is that a complete eAIP is sent on CD-ROM, instead of only the few pages that have been amended.

EUROCONTROL is working on a business case to compare costs of paper vs. electronic AIP production and distribution. The business case will notably use input from the eAIP Pilot Countries.

We consider that day-to-day costs will be lower than paper AIP production and distribution, at least because of a simplified Amendments management. However, the initial move towards a fully electronic Static Data Process will require some investments in hardware, possibly in software, certainly in personnel training and time. Another strong return on investment is expected in regards to data integrity and quality of service.

For users (browsing an eAIP online or on a CD-ROM)

For editors and publishers

Windows XP users should add 64MB to the memory requirements above.

Because the EUROCONTROL eAIP relies on open standards such as XML, your software options are quite large: from Open Source (free) Software to COTS XML software to AIS-specific ones in the near future. The actual software you should use depend on your computer literacy and the presence of IT expertise in your organisation. Editors and publishers will certainly need IT support to create their eAIP, at least in the beginning.

Editing tasks

You will need an XML editor software. There are plenty of them, including free ones, which you can download from the Internet. COTS XML editors examples are XML Spy, XMetal, Epic, Morphon, etc. Finally, EUROCONTROL expects the industry to provide AIS-domain specific software supporting the eAIP specification.

Publishing tasks

The objectives of these tasks is to let your users access the eAIP in the format they are most interested in: HTML for on-screen browsing, PDF for printing or XML itself for further processing. Again, plenty of tools are available. For transformation of XML into HTML or PDF, all you need is an XSLT processor and an XSL-FO renderer. Most such software are developed in Java, so you will probably need a Java Runtime Environment as well.

XSLT processor: An XSLT processor is a software that transforms XML files into other formats, using XSLT instructions. For more information about XSLT, see the references section. Two common XSLT processors are Xalan, an Open Source Software written in Java by the Apache Software Foundation and MSXML from Microsoft. Note that MSXML only runs on Windows platforms, while Xalan runs on any Java 2 platform (Windows, Unix, Mac and others). There are many other processors available.

XSL-FO renderer: An XSL-FO renderer is a software that transforms XSL-FO files into other formats, such as PDF (Portable Document Format, made popular by Adobe Acrobat) and PostScript. For more information about XSL-FO, see the references section. Two common XSL-FO renderers are FOP, an Open Source Software written in Java by the Apache Software Foundation and XEP from RenderX. Both run on any Java 2 platform (Windows, Unix, Mac and others). FOP is free but not complete. XEP is complete but not free. A free evaluation version of XEP is available at their Web site. There are some other renderers available.

Usage tasks

On-screen display: a Web browser is the typical software to use for on-screen display of an eAIP. Some of these browsers are able to display the XML format directly, but this is not the recommended method, due to the size of an AIP document. It is recommended to use the HTML version (which will be provided by AIS offices on their Web site or on CD-ROM).

On paper: users would typically print an eAIP from the PDF files, as provided by the AIS offices. To do that, they would need a PDF document reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Computer processing: when further processing of AIP data is needed, such as to extract specific parts of the AIP or to format it differently for on-board devices, developers would use the eAIP in XML format directly. In this case, tools such as an XSLT processor and probably a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK) will be needed.

See also the following questions: How do I create an eAIP? How can I use an eAIP? Is the eAIP supported by the industry?

The EUROCONTROL eAIP is based on XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language). An electronic AIP is in fact an XML document, conforming to eAIP DTD. The eAIP in XML is transformed into other formats using XSLT. For on-screen display, the eAIP is transformed into HTML (Hyper-Text Mark-up Language). When paper is the target, the eAIP is transformed into XSL-FO. Charts and graphics can be in various formats, and a very interesting one for aeronautical charts is SVG. All these technologies are official recommendations (standards) by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). Finally, software tools must be used to print XSL-FO; currently, the most convenient method is to first convert XSL-FO to PDF or PostScript and then print those files.

See also the answers to the questions What is XML? What is a DTD and what has it to do with eAIP? What is XSLT? What is XSL-FO? What is SVG?

XML stands for eXtensible Mark-up Language. XML is a subset of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML, ISO 8879). Since 1998, when it was published as a recommendation by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), XML has rapidly become the de-facto industry standard for electronic data interchange.

XML is a meta-language (a language to define other languages). It allows us to define an "AIP language" for computers. Using the EUROCONTROL eAIP language, people and computers can talk to each other using the same vocabulary and grammar.

You can find a lot more information about XML on the Web, but the XML FAQ might be a good place to start.

DTD stands for Document Type Definition. It is a formal representation of XML documents' structure. To keep up with our previous analogy with languages, the eAIP DTD is a formal definition of our eAIP language's vocabulary and grammar. For more details about the eAIP DTD, please read the eAIP DTD Documentation.

XML has been chosen because it fulfils the main eAIP objectives: it is commonly used for structuring documents and it is suitable for both human to computer and computer to computer interactions. Also, it is a recognised standard since 1998, widely adopted by the software developers in many industries.

XSLT stands for eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations. It is an XML-based language that allows to transform an XML document into another XML document (or into text document as well). In the eAIP context, we use XSLT to convert an eAIP in XML into an HTML format or an XSL-FO format. For more information about XSLT, see the references section.

XSL-FO stands for eXtensible Stylesheet Language Formatting Objects. It is an XML-based language that allows to express a document with its formatting, for example to print it on paper. In the eAIP context, we use XSL-FO to format an eAIP in order to print it on paper. With adequate software will be available, one will be able to directly print an XSL-FO document. In the mean time, we use software that convert XSL-FO to PDF or PostScript and then print those files. For more information about XSL-FO, see the references section.

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. It is an XML-based language to express 2-dimensional drawings using simple graphical objects such as lines, circles, rectangles and text, and object properties such as color, size and position. One can zoom in to a small portion of an SVG image and still see a very precise definition of the image. In fact, SVG image resolution is only limited by printers' resolution. SVG images can be interactive; for example, one can highlight a single route on route map or click on an object on a map and get additional information about this object. For more information about SVG, see the references section.

Being written in XML, SVG charts can quite easily be linked to other XML information. We will very soon see SVG graphics on-line that are linked to NOTAMs and to textual sections of an eAIP.

The eAIP Specification defines an electronic format for the AIP data, which is different from the paper format currently in use. The information content and structure is exactly the same. The quality control system and the static data procedures currently implemented in AIS (ICAO Annex 15 requirement) are equally applicable to the eAIP production process. This ensures that data issued in the form of an electronic AIP is of the same quality as data issued in the form of a paper AIP.

The way AIP/eAIP data is used for operational needs is subject to specific ATS, ATM, avionics, etc. regulations. This will be within the scope of the end-to-end data integrity EUROCONTROL project.

The safety / security considerations included in the eAIP Specification demonstrate that the use of electronic signature technologies can provide better data integrity for the electronic format than for the paper format.

No. Or at least not "naturally": we need to protect data by using security technologies such as electronic signature and authentication.

On a Web site serving an eAIP, for instance, this would mean that the Web server can be accessed securely (through the HTTPS/SSL protocol), much like we are used to access secured e-commerce Web sites. The Web server would feature a security certificate, ensuring that it is indeed the official Web site for serving that eAIP. For more detailed discussion, please read the safety and security considerations.

This is very similar to paper: Most people tend to say yes, because data written on a CD-ROM cannot be modified (though it can be destructed). However, when you receive a CD-ROM by post, how can you be sure that it has not been replaced on the way? Similarly to data transmitted over the Internet, data on CD-ROM must be authenticated.

Strictly speaking, we cannot offer that guarantee. However, the use of XML technology is a great step in the right direction. Because elements of data in the eAIP are individually identified and marked up, XML developers can write scripts to process data without actually tampering with data itself.

For example, all routes in sections ENR-3.1 to 3.4 are marked up as route tables. One can fetch all route tables from an eAIP and display them differently (say, with other colours). The actual route definitions are preserved: only formatting is different. Now what we cannot guarantee is that one will not display the route remarks written in white on a white background...