Definition
A contraction used in NOTAMs and FAA publications meaning 'instead of' or 'in place of.' It indicates that one item, frequency, runway, procedure, or facility is being substituted for another.
Plain English
A short way of saying 'instead of.' When you see it, the thing after VICE is being replaced by the thing before it.
Context Anchor
Seen in Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs), airport messages, and other short aviation notices where space is limited.
Derivation
From the Latin 'vice,' meaning 'in place of' or 'in turn.' Same root that gives us 'vice president' — the person who acts in place of the president. Knowing this makes the NOTAM usage feel natural: 'X vice Y' means 'X standing in for Y.'
Why Pilots Care
Misreading VICE can flip the meaning of a NOTAM entirely. If a NOTAM says 'RWY 27 VICE RWY 09,' you need to know that Runway 27 is being used instead of Runway 09 — not the other way around.
Intuition Check
VICE does not mean a bad habit, a clamp, or “vice president” here. In aviation notices, it means “instead of” or “versus.”
Example Sentence 1
The NOTAM stated that ILS RWY 27 was in use VICE RWY 09, so the pilot briefed an approach to Runway 27.
Example Sentence 2
The revised NOTAM specified the new frequency vice the one previously published.