Definition
ABDIS is an FAA messaging service used to distribute aeronautical data — including weather reports, flight plans, NOTAMs, and other operational messages — between FAA facilities, airlines, and other aviation users. 'Service B' is one of the FAA's standard message-handling channels, originally designed for airline and operational traffic, as distinct from 'Service A' which carries weather and flight data for air traffic control use.
Plain English
An FAA computer system that moves flight-related messages — like weather, flight plans, and NOTAMs — between FAA offices and the airlines and operators who need them.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym, abbreviation, and NOTAM-contraction lists; it is not a normal cockpit control or pilot action.
Derivation
Automated Data Interchange System' simply means a computer-based system that swaps data automatically. 'Service B' is FAA naming convention — a label for one of several parallel message channels, where Service A historically handled ATC weather and flight data, and Service B handled airline and operational messages.
Why Pilots Care
Most pilots will never touch ABDIS directly, but it is part of the plumbing that delivers flight plans, weather, and NOTAMs to dispatchers and operators. Recognizing the acronym keeps it from being a roadblock when reading FAA documents.
Intuition Check
Do not read ABDIS as an instruction to do something in the airplane. It is a system name for moving aviation data.
Example Sentence 1
The dispatcher's flight planning software receives weather updates through ABDIS before building the day's release.
Example Sentence 2
Pilots rarely interact directly with ABDIS; it works in the background to deliver updated data.