Commercial aircraft use four‑digit octal squawk codes for ATC identification
Based on · First reported
Sources
- Every commercial flight receives a four‑digit code before it pushes back from the gate, and the code appears on air traffic control radar screens wherever the aircraft travels.
- The squawk code is not a decimal number and never includes the digits 8 or 9 because it uses octal notation, a base‑8 system where each digit runs from 0 to 7, a practice inherited from a World War II system originally designed for a different purpose, and the term “squawk” comes from the British Royal Air Force’s wartime Identification Friend or Foe system.
How we use AI · Report an error
Related stories
- Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber crashes near Krasnojaro village
- Bomb alarm triggers evacuation and suspends check‑in at Chisinau airport
- First Poste Air Cargo flight links Taranto‑Grottaglie with Istanbul
- Tigray Peace Forces claim full control of Mekelle Alula Aba Nega Airport
- Air traffic controller Jake Hutzler flies himself to Pueblo airport