In a few months, major aerodromes around the country will align their METAR and TAF reporting procedures with international standards.
Changes in the MetService-produced Meteorological Aerodrome Reports (METARs) and Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) are coming to several aerodromes.
“International operations are continuing to return to regional aerodromes in New Zealand. The TAFs and METARs for Hamilton, Ohakea, Queenstown, and Dunedin aerodromes will change to align with the ICAO format on 2 October 2025,” says CAA’s Chief Meteorological Officer Paula Acethorp.
“TAFs and METARs will have the same format as those provided for Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington aerodromes.
“The alignment will affect the reporting and forecasting of two elements of the METAR and TAF system – cloud and visibility.
“This will meet international operational requirements,” says Paula, “and introduce a number of changes.”
These changes include an increase in the length and number of updates of the TAF for Dunedin and Queenstown. Also, the TAF validity times for Dunedin will no longer adjust back an hour during New Zealand Daylight Time (when daylight saving time is in force).
Cloud will now be included in the METAR only when it’s of operational significance. This means that the base must either be below 5000 feet or below the highest minimum sector altitude – whichever is greater.
Visibility of 10KM or more will be indicated by ‘9999’.
Lastly, the term CAVOK (pronounced ‘cav-oh-kay’ for cloud and visibility OK), will be used when the following occur simultaneously:
- Visibility is 10KM or more.
- There is no cloud of operational significance.
- There is no weather of significance to aviation (for example, precipitation, fog, mist, thunderstorms).
“Pilots can refer to ATIS reports at these locations if they would like more detailed cloud or visibility observation information,” says Paula.
“Additionally, all aerodrome TAFs, both international and domestic, will adopt the international standard of differentiating between ‘midnight at the start of the day’ by using 0000Z, while ‘midnight at the end of the day’ will use 2400Z.
“This is in line with the World Meteorological Organization requirements,” she says.
“The changes outlined will better align the services for our international aerodromes with the required international standards.
"They’ll also allow flight planning and pilot briefing tools to more easily access and display the data for use in operational activities.”
And now...
GAP booklet: VFR MET [PDF 4.3 MB]
Photo: iStock.com/Natalya Bosyak