What is the ICAO alphabet
The ICAO alphabet (also known as the NATO phonetic alphabet or spelling alphabet) is the international standard for pronouncing single letters via radio in aviation, maritime, and many military contexts. Each letter corresponds to a complete word — A = Alpha, B = Bravo, C = Charlie — chosen because it can be distinguished from all others even with weak signal, strong accents, or background noise.
The standard is codified in ICAO Annex 10 Volume II and Doc 9432 (Manual of Radiotelephony). It is used throughout Europe, including all Swiss, Italian, French, and German frequencies.
The complete table
The 26 letters with exact pronunciation. Stressed syllables carry the emphasis.
The spellings "Juliett" (with two T's) and "Alfa" (with F instead of PH) are intentional. ICAO chose them this way because in French and other Romance languages "Juliet" would be pronounced without the final T, and "Alpha" with the PH digraph creates ambiguity for non-English speakers. The double T and F guarantee unambiguous pronunciation worldwide.
When you actually use it
The operational rule is simple: when a letter could be mistaken for another, spell it out. Three situations where it's mandatory:
- Aircraft callsigns. "HB-XYZ" becomes "Hotel Bravo X-ray Yankee Zulu". The dash between national prefix and suffix isn't pronounced.
- Runway identifier. "Runway 28L" becomes "Runway two eight Left" — the side identifier (Left, Center, Right) is spelled out, not as Lima/Charlie/Romeo.
- Isolated letters within instructions or codes. "Taxi via Bravo" — taxiway B is pronounced Bravo. "Holding point Charlie" — Charlie, never "C".
The important exception: ATIS
The current ATIS version is identified by an ICAO letter. If the bulletin is "ATIS Information Bravo", when checking in with ground or tower you must confirm the version received: "...with information Bravo". If you say "B" instead, the controller will ask you to repeat — wasting a radio cycle.
TWRHotel Bravo Papa Mike Romeo, Lugano Tower, runway 19 cleared for take-off, wind 200 degrees 8 knots.
HB-PMRCleared for take-off runway 19, Hotel Bravo Papa Mike Romeo.
Common mistakes I hear every day
"Z" said as "Zed" or "Zeta" instead of "Zulu". The letter is Zulu, always.
"Y" said as "Why" or "I-greek". Same problem. The letter is Yankee.
Spelling your own surname when not asked. On the radio you spell the aircraft callsign, not the pilot's name.
Using a national alphabet (Ancona-Bologna-Como, Anton-Berta-Cäsar). Not ICAO, not standard. Never in aviation radio.
Swiss specifics
On Swiss German-speaking airfields (Zurich, Bern, Sion) you may hear local pilots pronouncing letters with marked accent — "Vahl-toh" for Victor, "Tsoo-loo" for Zulu. It's accepted as long as it stays intelligible. Skyguide controllers continuously switch between Italian, French, German, and English, and adapt — but you stick to standard ICAO English, because that guarantees you're understood wherever you fly.
Summary — to remember
- 26 letters, 26 words. From Alpha to Zulu, always.
- ICAO standard (Annex 10). Adopted internationally, identical across Europe.
- Used for aircraft callsigns, taxiways, holding points, ATIS letters. Not for the pilot's name.
- Errors to avoid: Zed instead of Zulu, Why instead of Yankee, national alphabets.
- Numbers ≠ letters. "1" is "Wun", not "Alpha One". See ICAO Numbers.
Sources
- ICAO Doc 9432 — Manual of Radiotelephony, Fourth Edition (2007), Chapter 2
- ICAO Annex 10 — Aeronautical Telecommunications, Volume II
- Aero Locarno · Subject 090 — VFR Communications (EASA syllabus)
- BAZL · Skyguide — daily operational experience
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