General (ICAO)

An AIC (Aeronautical Information Circular) is, per ICAO Annex 15 §6.4, a notice containing information that does not qualify for inclusion in the AIP (AMDT) or as a NOTAM, but which concerns flight safety, air navigation or administration.

Purpose: forward-looking announcements, technical advice, clarifications, administrative procedures, statistical data — content important for pilots and operators that does not fit into the rigid AIP format.

Typical content (Annex 15 §6.4.1):

Advance notice of major future changes (pre-announcement before AIP AMDT),
Safety advisories: recurring occurrences, trends,
Explanations of new regulations,
Technical advice on radio communications, R/T procedures,
Statistics (accident, traffic),
Course and training information.

Colour coding:

AIC A (white) — information of long-term validity.
AIC B (yellow) — administrative and financial topics.
(Further colours are used nationally — e.g. AIC C = green for charts in some States.)

Publication: AICs appear irregularly as required, numbered within the calendar year (e.g. AIC A 03/2024). They are not a substitute for NOTAMs — short-notice operational data remains in NOTAMs.

Europe (EASA / EU)

Regulation (EU) 2017/373 Annex VI (Part-AIS) requires AICs as part of the Integrated Aeronautical Information Package. National differences in colour coding remain permitted.

Germany (national)

DFS publishes German AICs in two main series:

AIC IFR — IFR-relevant notices.
AIC VFR — VFR-relevant notices.

Colours: AIC A = white (operational topics), AIC B = yellow (administrative/financial topics).

Available via the DFS AIS portal.