TAF
Terminal Aerodrome Forecast
Last updated: April 20, 2026 · Maintained by Aviatr Editorial Team
What is TAF?
A TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) is a coded weather forecast for a specific airport covering the next 24 to 30 hours, issued four times daily and used by pilots to plan departure, en-route, and destination weather against the legal minimums for the planned flight operation.
How is TAF used?
Before every flight, pilots read the destination TAF and any en-route alternates to verify forecast conditions will remain above legal minimums on arrival. TAFs use the same coded format as METARs but add time-range groups like FM, BECMG, and TEMPO to describe when conditions are expected to change across the valid period. A TAF reading 'TEMPO 1418 3SM -RA BR' tells the pilot to plan for temporary three-mile visibility in light rain and mist between 14:00 and 18:00 UTC. For IFR flights an alternate airport must have a forecast above alternate minimums on ETA. Flight schools cover TAF interpretation as a core ground-school skill, and EASA theoretical knowledge exams test TAF decoding alongside METAR reading. Dispatchers and flight planners use TAFs alongside significant weather charts to choose routing and fuel loads for commercial flights. Pilots also compare TAF trends across successive issues to identify systematic bias in local forecasts at unfamiliar airports during cross-country training.