Definition
A service that delivers the standard ATIS broadcast (current weather, active runways, approach in use, NOTAMs, and other airport information) as text via datalink, in addition to the traditional voice broadcast over a VHF radio frequency. The text version is requested through onboard datalink equipment such as ACARS and is displayed on the flight deck rather than listened to.
Plain English
It's the regular airport information broadcast, but sent to the cockpit as a written message instead of, or as well as, being read out over the radio. Pilots can pull it up on a screen rather than copying it down by ear.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter D-ATIS before departure, before arrival, or during flight planning when checking the current information for a controlled airport.
Derivation
"Digital" was added to the older ATIS name to mark the version delivered as data rather than voice. ATIS itself stands for Automatic Terminal Information Service — automatic because it repeats on a loop without a controller having to read it each time, and terminal because it covers the airport area.
Why Pilots Care
It gives pilots immediate, accurate airport data without occupying the voice frequency, reducing radio congestion and allowing faster access to updates.
Intuition Check
Do not read “terminal” as a computer screen or airline building here. In D-ATIS, “terminal” means the area around an airport where arrivals and departures are being handled.
Example Sentence 1
Before pushback, the first officer requested D-ATIS through ACARS and printed the current information for reference.
Example Sentence 2
While still twenty miles out, the crew received an updated D-ATIS on the data link showing a change in visibility.