Zulu time converter
See the Zulu time now, to the second, and turn any UK or local time into Zulu and back. GMT and BST are handled for you.
Zulu time now
--:--:-- Z
Day-time group: ------Z ·
UK clock time: --:--
Your device: --:--
Read from your device's clock, so it is only as right as that clock.
Convert a time
Pick a date, type a time like 14:30 and say which clock it is on. You get the same moment in Zulu and in UK time.
When the UK clocks change, in Zulu
Worked out with the same sums as the tool. Zulu time itself never changes.
| Year | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday, 29 March 2026, 0100Z | Sunday, 25 October 2026, 0100Z |
| 2027 | Sunday, 28 March 2027, 0100Z | Sunday, 31 October 2027, 0100Z |
| 2028 | Sunday, 26 March 2028, 0100Z | Sunday, 29 October 2028, 0100Z |
What Zulu time is
Zulu time is Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. The UK's official air navigation handbook, the UK AIP, says UTC is the time used for air navigation. Its list of abbreviations gives the letter Z for it. On the radio, Z is said "Zulu", so a time written 1420Z is read "fourteen twenty Zulu".
That is why every METAR and TAF carries a Z. In 301220Z the first two figures are the day of the month, then the hours and minutes: the 30th at 12:20 UTC. Paste a whole report into the METAR decoder to see the rest of it.
Zulu and UK time
Zulu time never changes for summer. UK clocks do. In winter the UK is on GMT and the clock matches Zulu. In summer the UK is on British Summer Time, BST, which is Zulu plus 1 hour. So 1420Z is 14:20 in January and 15:20 in July.
The clocks go forward 1 hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March and back 1 hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October. In Zulu, both changes happen at 0100Z. The UK AIP gives the same rule.
Two hours need care. When the clocks go forward, 1am jumps straight to 2am, so a time like 01:30 never shows on a UK clock that night. When they go back, 1am to 2am happens twice. The converter tells you when you've typed one of those, and gives both answers for the repeated hour.
Time on the radio
The CAA's radiotelephony manual, CAP 413, says UTC is to be used at all times unless something else is stated. Usually only the minutes are said; the hour is added if there could be any mix-up. A time check is given to the nearest minute and starts with the word "time", as in "time check 45". It also says 2400 means midnight at the end of a day and 0000 the start of one.
How the converter works
The clock at the top reads your device's own clock and shows it in Zulu, in UK time and in your device's time zone. It is only as right as your device, so set that to update itself. To convert, pick a date, type a time and say which clock it's on: UK time, Zulu, or any offset such as +5:30. UK time follows the March and October rule above, so the date matters. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Sources
- UK AIP GEN 2.1, paragraphs 2.1 to 2.3, and GEN 2.2 abbreviations, NATS, issue of 29 October 2026, read 30 October 2026.
- CAP 413 Radiotelephony Manual, Edition 24, paragraph 2.17 and the phonetic alphabet table, CAA, read 30 October 2026.
- When do the clocks change?, GOV.UK, read 30 October 2026.
Their home airfield, on the wall
Most pilots have one airfield they always come back to. Our airport code print puts those four letters up large, with its name and where it is underneath.