What are the ICAO wake turbulence categories?

ICAO defines four categories by Maximum Take-Off Weight: Light up to 7,000 kg, Medium from 7,000 to 136,000 kg, Heavy at 136,000 kg or more, and Super for the very largest designated aircraft such as the Airbus A380. Heavier aircraft shed stronger wingtip vortices.

Why does wake turbulence category matter?

It sets the minimum separation a following aircraft must keep behind a leading one. A lighter aircraft trailing a heavier one needs more spacing because it is most vulnerable to the leader's vortices, which can roll or pitch it dangerously near the ground.

Which aircraft are classed as Super?

Only the Airbus A380-800 and the Antonov An-225 Mriya are in the Super category. The word Super is spoken in the radio callsign so controllers and other pilots apply the largest wake separation behind them.

Is the category based on actual take-off weight?

No. The wake category uses the aircraft's certified Maximum Take-Off Weight, not the weight on a given flight. This keeps a type's category fixed regardless of how much fuel or payload it carries on any particular departure.

How does this relate to the FAA RECAT scheme?

The FAA RECAT (Wake Turbulence Re-categorisation) refines the classic four ICAO bands into more groups, A through F or I, to allow tighter but still safe separation. The ICAO Light/Medium/Heavy/Super bands shown here remain the values quoted on flight plans and in ATC callsigns.

Aircraft Wake Turbulence Category Reference

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Wake turbulence categories at a glance

Every aircraft trails a pair of counter-rotating vortices from its wingtips, and the heavier the aircraft the stronger those vortices are. ICAO groups aircraft into wake turbulence categories by Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) so air traffic control can apply the right separation behind each one. This reference lists the four categories — Light, Medium, Heavy, and Super — with their weight bands and example aircraft, and lets you classify any aircraft from its MTOW.

How it works

The category is decided purely by certified MTOW. The bands are:

Light   : MTOW <= 7,000 kg
Medium  : 7,000 kg < MTOW < 136,000 kg
Heavy   : MTOW >= 136,000 kg
Super   : designated (A380-800, An-225)

Enter a weight in kilograms and the tool walks these bands and returns the matching code. Because the A380’s MTOW of roughly 575,000 kg sits well above any other type, a weight in that range maps to the Super band; in practice Super is assigned by type designation rather than computed weight.

Tips and notes

The single-letter codes (L, M, H, J) appear in field 9 of an ICAO flight plan. The words Heavy and Super are appended to a flightcrew’s radio callsign on first contact with each ATC unit, e.g. “Speedbird 9 Heavy”, so everyone on frequency knows to expect strong wake. Separation is greatest for a Light following a Super and least for two aircraft in the same category.