When England won the World Cup quarter-finals against Norway on Saturday, British Airways Operations allegedly sent the following ACARS message to its fleet:

FROM ADDRESS: LHRWWBA

AC CTROLLER 320
ATTENTION ALL AIRCRAFT
ENGLAND HAVE WON 2-1
ITS COMING HOME
BA OPS CONTROL
SENT 2358Z/11

ACARS, the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, is a means to sent short text messages to and from aircraft in flight via radio or satellite using a Telex format. It is used as an alternative to voice radio for communication between airline operational staff and pilots on the flight deck. It is usually used to inform flight crew of weather or airport conditions, connecting flight changes or similar operational matters that aren’t immediately safety-critical.

Photo of the ACARS message from the flight deck of a Boeing Triple Seven (Photo: @a_swift_half on Twitter)

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