API Documentation

Native JSON API (BETA!)

/api/beta/native/airspaces

Returns an array of airspaces. "LastUpdate" indicates the latest change in the dataset.

Example

{
    "ApiVersion": "beta", 
    "LastUpdate": "2021-03-24T18:16:07",
    "Airspaces": [ ... ]
}

Datastructures

Airspace Metadata

{
    "Name": "TMA Emmen 3 HX",
    "ASClass": "D",
    "ASType": "TMA",
    "HX": true,
    "DABS": false,
    "Dropzone": false,
    "InactiveByAgreement": false,
    "Callsign": "Emmen TWR",
    "Frequency": "120.425",
    "AdditionalInfos": "Sample text...",
    "Validity": [ ... ],
    "Segments": [
        {
            "Shape": [ ... ],
            "Upper": { ... },
            "Lower": { ... }
        }
    ]
}

Name

Name of the airspace

ASClass

Airspace class A-G (optional). Usually only provided for relevant airspaces (Class C and D). Class A and B don't exist in Switzerland. Class E-G are usually not designated, since they are not relevant for navigational purpose.

ASType

Airspace type:
CTA: according to ICAO/glider chart
AWY: Airway, according to ICAO/glider chart
CTR: according to ICAO/glider chart
TMA: according to ICAO/glider chart
FIZ: according to ICAO/glider chart
RMZ: Radio Mandatory Zone, according to ICAO/glider chart or local agreements
Q: Danger Area (LS-D) according to ICAO/glider chart
R: Restricted Area (LS-R) according to ICAO/glider chart
W: Glider Sector according to ICAO/glider chart
Airfield: according to VLK or local agreements
Heliport: according to VLK or local agreements

Whether the airspace is HX activated (can be activated any time)

DABS

Whether the airspace is activated by DABS

Dropzone

Whether the airspace/airfield contains a Para/Dropzone.

InactiveByAgreement

Whether the airspace (mostly used for small airfields / heliports) is replaced by some local agreements. In this case, the airspace is just depicted for situational awareness and the boundaries of the local agreement (usually smaller) counts.

Callsign

[optional] Callsign to be used when communicating on the airspace frequency

Frequency

[optional] Associated frequency of the airspace, e.g. to get a clearence

AdditionalInfos

[optional] Description / additional infos for the airspace if available

Validity

[optional] In what date range(s) the airspace is valid/active. E.g. if an airspace is newly added or removed or if it's only valid on certain dates during the year. See Validity object. If the airspace is always valid, the property is omitted.

Segments

An airspace consists of one or more 3-dimensional segments. Most airspaces are represented by only one segment. But if the airspace is cut appart e.g. by local agreements, the airspace needs to be represented by multiple segments. One segment consists of a 2-dimensional Shape, and Upper and Lower Altitude.

Airspace Shapes

An airspace shape is an array of features to represent not only points/polygons, but also arcs and circles. Coordinates are WGS84 latitude / longitude in degrees.

Airspace Shapes: Polygon

[
    {
        "Type": "Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.990833, "Longitude": 8.134722 }
    },
    {
        "Type":"Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.953888, "Longitude": 8.205 }
    },
    {
        "Type":"Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.904167, "Longitude": 8.159167 }
    },
    {
        "Type":"Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude":46.947778, "Longitude": 8.076389 }
    }
]

Points are connected with straight lines in this case. The first and last point are also connected. Latitude and longitude are in degrees.

Airspace Shapes: Arcs

Airspaces may contain arcs, for example Sion CTR. The "CoordArc" feature describes an arc around a center point (CoordArc.Coordinate), starting at the Point before the CoordArc and ending at the Point after the CoordArc. The arc can either run clockwise (ArcDirection: CW) or counterclockwise (ArcDirection: CW).

Corresponds to a DB record in an OpenAir file.

[
    {
        "Type": "Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.251667, "Longitude": 7.3475 }
    },
    {
        "Type": "Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.278055, "Longitude": 7.434722 }
    },
    {
        "Type": "Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.233333, "Longitude": 7.467222 }
    },
    {
        "Type": "Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.201111, "Longitude": 7.3975 }
    },
    {
        "Type": "Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.172222, "Longitude": 7.239167 }
    },
    {
        "Type": "CoordArc",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.198333, "Longitude": 7.229167 },
        "ArcDirection": "CW"
    },
    {
        "Type": "Point",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.224167, "Longitude": 7.217778 }
    }
]

Airspace Shapes: Circles

Circles should have only one feature (type "Circle") in the Shape array.

Corresponds to a DC record in an OpenAir file.

[
    {
        "Type": "Circle",
        "Coordinate": { "Latitude": 46.759166, "Longitude": 9.088055 },
        "Radius": 10.0000
    }
]

Coordinate

Center of the circle

Radius

Radius im km.

Airspace Altitudes

With each airspace (segment), an upper and lower altitude boundary is provided. Since published metric (glider chart) and imperial (ICAO) altitudes are not mathematical meter/feet conversions, we'll provide both numbers in separate fields. If only one of them is availabe, we will provide the original value and will not calculate the other.

"Upper": {
    "Metric": {
        "Alt": { "Type": "m STD", "Altitude": 3950 }
    }
    "Imperial": {
        "Alt": { "Type": "FL", "Altitude": 130 }
    }
},
"Lower": {
    "Metric": {
        "Alt": { "Type": "m QNH", "Altitude": 1850 },
        "Alt2": { "Type": "m AGL", "Altitude": 300 }
    },
    "Imperial": {
        "Alt": { "Type": "ft QNH", "Altitude": 6000 },
        "Alt2": { "Type": "ft AGL", "Altitude": 1000 }
    }
}

Alt

Primary altitude, always given

Alt2

[optional] Secondary altitude, if an airspace boundary is defined by two altitudes like "1850m AMSL or 300m AGL".

Type

Unit of the altitude and wheter it refers to local pressure (QNH) or standard atmosphere. Possible values are:
m QNH: Meters above mean sea level in local pressure (QNH)
m STD: Meters above mean sea level in standard atmosphere
m AGL: Meters above ground ("GND" will be encoded as 0 m AGL)
ft QNH: Feet above mean sea level in local pressure (QNH)
ft STD: Feet above mean sea level in standard atmosphere (usually, these altitudes should be given as FL)
ft AGL: Feet above ground ("GND" will be encoded as 0 ft AGL)
FL: Flight level, always in standard atmosphere
NOTAM: Altitude is only defined by NOTAM. Altitude value will be 0.

Altitude

The altitude value

Airspace Validity

Array of from/to dates, when an airspace is valid/active. The following example shows an airspace that is active until March 24th, from May 1st until May 31st, and then again from October 1st onwards.

[
    { "ValidFrom": null, "ValidTo": "2021-03-24" },
    { "ValidFrom": "2021-05-01", "ValidTo": "2021-05-31" },
    { "ValidFrom": "2021-10-01", "ValidTo": null },
]

DISCLAIMER

For the latest features and tests, we provide the BETA API. Please be aware that endpoints or data structures might change at any time. So this is not meant for production use.

Support

If you have any questions about the API, feel free to ask:
Dominik Mauchle.
Also, if you are using the API and want to be informed about updates, let me know.