Definition
A service that delivers Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) broadcasts as text data over a datalink, in addition to or instead of the conventional spoken VHF radio broadcast. The text contains the same airport information found in a standard ATIS — active runways, weather, approach in use, NOTAMs, and other arrival or departure information — and is updated on the same schedule as the voice version.
Plain English
It is the airport information broadcast you would normally listen to on the radio, delivered instead as a text message you can read on a cockpit display.
Context Anchor
Seen before departure, before arrival, or during flight planning at airports that provide digital ATIS information.
Derivation
ATIS stands for Automatic Terminal Information Service. The leading 'D' simply marks the digital version. The name follows the common aviation convention of adding 'D' to indicate that an existing service has been moved onto a datalink rather than voice radio.
Why Pilots Care
It reduces radio frequency congestion and lets the pilot review the information at any time without missing updates.
Intuition Check
D ATIS is not a different kind of weather report. It is the normal ATIS airport information delivered in a digital form.
Example Sentence 1
Before descent, the crew pulled up the D ATIS for their destination and noted the active runway and current altimeter setting.
Example Sentence 2
When the tower updated the information, the new D ATIS appeared automatically on the aircraft's data link screen.