AirTrafficManagementGlossaryofTerms

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Acronym Meaning
AAR AirportAcceptanceRateorAirportArrivalRate.Thenumberofarrivalsan
airportiscapableofacceptingeachhour.
AC,A/CorACFT Aircraft
ADZYorADVZY Advisory
ARPT Airport
ARSR AirRouteSurveillanceRadar.AirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
radarusedprimarilytodetectanddisplayanaircraft'spositionwhileen
routebetweenterminalareas.TheARSRenablescontrollerstoprovide
radarairtrafficcontrolservicewhenaircraftarewithintheARSRcoverage.
Insomeinstances,ARSRmayenableanARTCCtoprovideterminalradar
servicessimilartobutusuallymorelimitedthanthoseprovidedbyaradar
approachcontrol.
ARTCC AirRouteTrafficControlCenter.Afacilityestablishedtoprovideairtraffic
controlservicetoaircraftoperatingonIFRflightplanswithincontrolled
airspaceandprincipallyduringtheenroutephaseofflight.When
equipmentcapabilitiesandcontrollerworkloadpermit,certain
advisory/assistanceservicesmaybeprovidedtoVFRaircraft.Thereare20
ARTCCsinthecontinentalU.S.
ASR AirportSurveillanceRadar.Approachcontrolradarusedtodetectand
displayanaircraft'spositionintheterminalarea.ASRprovidesrangeand
azimuthinformationbutdoesnotprovideelevationdata.Coverageofthe
ASRcanextendupto60miles.
ATC AirTrafficControl.Aserviceoperatedbyappropriateauthoritytopromote
thesafe,orderlyandexpeditiousflowofairtraffic.
ATCSCC AirTrafficControlSystemCommandCenter
ATCT AirportTrafficControlTower.Aterminalfacilitythatusesair/ground
communications,visualsignaling,andotherdevicestoprovideATC
servicestoaircraftoperatinginthevicinityofanairportoronthemovement
area.Authorizesaircrafttolandortakeoffattheairportcontrolledbythe
towerortotransittheClassDairspacearearegardlessofflightplanor
weatherconditions(IFRorVFR).Atowermayalsoprovideapproach
controlservices(radarornonradar).
CDM CollaborativeDecisionMaking.Cooperativeeffortbetweenthevarious
componentsofaviationtransportation,bothgovernmentandindustry,to
exchangeinformationforbetterdecisionmaking.
CDR CodedDepartureRoutes.Predefinedroutesusedtorouteairtrafficaround
areasofsevereweather.
CIGS Ceilings.Theheightabovethegroundofthebaseofthelowestlayerof
cloudswhenoverhalfoftheskyisobscured.
CLSD Closed
EDCT ExpectDepartureClearanceTime.Thetimeissuedtoaflighttoindicate
whenitcanexpecttoreceivedepartureclearance.EDCTsareissuedas
partofTrafficManagementPrograms,suchasaGroundDelayProgram
(GDP).
EMERG Emergency
EQUIP Equipment
FSM FlightScheduleMonitor.AtoolusedbyAirTrafficManagementSpecialists
tomonitorairtrafficdemandatairports.
FSS FlightServiceStation.Airtrafficfacilitieswhichprovidepilotbriefing,en
routecommunicationsandVFRsearchandrescueservices,assistlost
aircraftandaircraftinemergencysituations,relayATCclearances,
originateNoticestoAirmen,broadcastaviationweatherandNAS
information,receiveandprocessIFRflightplans,andmonitorNAVAIDs.In
addition,atselectedlocations,FSSsprovideEnRouteFlightAdvisory
Service(FlightWatch),takeweatherobservations,issueairportadvisories,
andadviseCustomsandImmigrationoftransborderflights.
GDP GroundDelayProgram.GroundDelayProgramsareimplementedto
controlairtrafficvolumetoairportswheretheprojectedtrafficdemandis
expectedtoexceedtheairport'sacceptancerateforalengthyperiodof
time.Lengthyperiodsofdemandexceedingacceptanceratearenormallya
resultoftheairport'sacceptanceratebeingreducedforsomereason.The
mostcommonreasonforareductioninacceptancerateisadverseweather
suchaslowceilingsandvisibility.
Howitworks:
FlightsthataredestinedtotheaffectedairportareissuedExpected
DepartureClearanceTimes(EDCT)attheirpointofdeparture.Flightsthat
havebeenissuedEDCTsarenotpermittedtodepartuntiltheirExpected
DepartureClearanceTime.TheseECDTsarecalculatedinsuchawayas
tometertheratethattrafficarrivesattheaffectedairportensuringthat
demandisequaltoacceptancerate.Thelengthofdelaysthatresultfrom
theimplementationofaGroundDelayProgramdependsupontwofactors:
howmuchgreaterthantheacceptanceratetheoriginaldemandwas,and
forwhatlengthoftimetheoriginaldemandwasexpectedtoexceedthe
acceptancerate.
GPS GlobalPositioningSystem
GS GroundStop.GroundStopsareimplementedforanumberofreasons.The
mostcommonreasonsare:
Tocontrolairtrafficvolumetoairportswhentheprojectedtraffic
demandisexpectedtoexceedtheairport'sacceptanceratefora
shortperiodoftime.
Totemporarilystoptrafficallowingfortheimplementationofa
longertermsolution,suchasaGroundDelayProgram.
Theaffectedairport'sacceptanceratehasbeenreducedtozero.
Howitworks:
Flightsthataredestinedtotheaffectedairportareheldattheirdeparture
pointforthedurationoftheGroundStop.
IFR InstrumentFlightRules.Asetofrulesgoverningtheconductofflightunder
instrumentmeteorologicalconditions.
ILS InstrumentLandingSystem.Agroundbasedprecisionapproachsystem
thatprovidescourseandverticalguidancetolandingaircraft.
LAADR LowAltitudeArrival/DepartureRouting.
LAHSO LandandHoldShortOperations.Operationswhichincludesimultaneous
takeoffsandlandingsand/orsimultaneouslandingswhenalandingaircraft
isableandisinstructedbythecontrollertoholdshortoftheintersecting
runway/taxiwayordesignatedholdshortpoint.Pilotsareexpectedto
promptlyinformthecontrolleriftheholdshortclearancecannotbe
accepted.
LOCIGS LowCeilings.Lowclouds.
LOC Localizer.ThecomponentofanILSthatprovidescourseguidancetothe
runway.
MINIT MinutesinTrail.Aspecifiedintervalbetweenaircraftexpressedintime.
MIT MilesinTrail.Aspecifiedintervalbetweenaircraftexpressedinnautical
miles.
MULTITAXI Manyaircrafttryingtotaxiatonce,creatingcongestion.
N90 NewYorkTRACON
NAS NationalAirspaceSystem.ThecommonnetworkofU.S.airspaceair
navigationfacilities,equipmentandservices,airportsorlandingareas.
NAVAID NavigationalAid.Anyvisualorelectronicdevice,airborneoronthesurface,
whichprovidespointtopointguidanceinformationorpositiondatato
aircraftinflight.
NM NauticalMile.Internationalunitequalto6076.115feet(1852meters).
NOTAM NoticetoAirmen.Anoticecontaininginformation(notknownsufficientlyin
advancetopublicizebyothermeans)concerningtheestablishment,
condition,orchangeinanycomponent(facility,service,orprocedureof,or
hazardintheNationalAirspaceSystem)thetimelyknowledgeofwhichis
essentialtopersonnelconcernedwithflightoperations.
NRP NorthAmericanRouteProgram.TheNRPisasetofrulesandprocedures
whicharedesignedtoincreasetheflexibilityofuserflightplanningwithin
publishedguidelines.
OTS Outofservice
RLSD Released
RRTES Reroutes
RWY Runway
RWYCONFIG RunwayConfiguration
RY Runway
SPO StrategicPlanofOperation.SeeSPT.
SPT StrategicPlanningTeam.TheStrategicPlanningTeamactsasafocalpoint
forthedevelopmentofcollaborativeStrategicPlansofOperation.Their
goalistoprovideadvancedplanninginformationforsystemusersandair
trafficfacilitiesinordertomaximizetheutilizationoftheNASinan
organizedandequitablemanner.
STMP SpecialTrafficManagementProgram.Reservationprogramimplementedto
regulatearrivalsand/ordeparturesatairportsthatareinareashosting
specialeventssuchastheMastersGolfTournamentandIndianapolis500.
SVRWX SevereWeather
SWAP SevereWeatherAvoidancePlan.Anapprovedplantominimizetheeffect
ofsevereweatherontrafficflowsinimpactedterminaland/orARTCC
areas.SWAPisnormallyimplementedtoprovidetheleastdisruptiontothe
ATCsystemwhenflightthroughportionsofairspaceisdifficultor
impossibleduetosevereweather.
TACAN TacticalAirNavigationAid.Anultrahighfrequencyelectronicrhothetaair
navigationaidwhichprovidessuitablyequippedaircraftacontinuous
indicationofbearinganddistancetotheTACANstation.
TFC Traffic
TRACON TerminalRadarControlFacility.AterminalATCfacilitythatusesradarand
nonradarcapabilitiestoprovideapproachcontrolservicestoaircraft
arriving,departing,ortransitingairspacecontrolledbythefacility.
TSD TrafficSituationDisplay.AtoolusedbyTrafficManagementSpecialiststo
monitorthepositionofairtrafficandtodeterminethetrafficdemandon
airportsandsectors.
TSTMS Thunderstorms
UTC CoordinatedUniversalTime(abbreviatedasUTC,andthereforeoften
spelledoutasUniversalTimeCoordinatedandsometimesasUniversal
CoordinatedTime)isthestandardtimecommontoeveryplaceintheworld.
FormerlyandstillwidelycalledGreenwichMeanTime(GMT)andalso
WorldTime,UTCnominallyreflectsthemeansolartimealongtheEarth's
primemeridian.
VAPS VisualApproaches.AnapproachconductedunderInstrumentFlightRules
thatauthorizesthepilottoproceedvisuallyandclearofcloudstothe
airport.UsuallythiswillbeusedinconjunctionwithVisualSeparation.
WhenusingVisualSeparation,apilotseestheotheraircraftinvolved,and
uponinstructionsfromthecontroller,provideshisownseparationby
maneuveringhisaircraftasnecessarytoavoidit.VisualSeparation
requireslessspacingbetweenaircraftthanradarseparationallowingmore
aircrafttolandinagivenperiodoftime.
VFR VisualFlightRules.Rulesthatgoverntheproceduresforconductingflight
undervisualconditions.Theterm"VFR"isalsousedintheUnitedStatesto
indicateweatherconditionsthatareequaltoorgreaterthanminimumVFR
requirements.Inaddition,itisusedbypilotsandcontrollerstoindicatea
typeofflightplan.
VOL Volume.Usuallyusedtoindicatethatthevolumeofaircraftexceedsthe
airport'scapacity.
VOR VeryHighFrequencyOmniDirectionalRange.Agroundbasedelectronic
navigationaidtransmittingveryhighfrequencynavigationsignals,360
degreesinazimuth,orientedfrommagneticnorth.Usedasthebasisfor
navigationintheNationalAirspaceSystem.TheVORperiodicallyidentifies
itselfbyMorseCodeandmayhaveanadditionalvoiceidentification
feature.VoicefeaturesmaybeusedbyATCorFSSfortransmitting
instructions/informationtopilots.
VORTAC AnavigationaidprovidingVORazimuth,TACANazimuth,andTACAN
distancemeasuringequipment(DME)atonesite.
VSBY Visibility.Theability,asdeterminedbyatmosphericconditionsand
expressedinunitsofdistance,toseeandidentifyprominentunlighted
objectsbydayandprominentlightedobjectsbynight.
WND Wind
WX Weather
WXDEV WeatherDeviation
Z ZuluTime.AnothertermusedtodesignateCoordinatedUniversalTime
(UTC),thestandardtimecommontoeveryplaceintheworld.Formerlyand
stillwidelycalledGreenwichMeanTime(GMT)andalsoWorldTime,UTC
nominallyreflectsthemeansolartimealongtheEarth'sprimemeridian.
ZAB AlbuquerqueAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZAU ChicagoAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZBW BostonAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZDC WashingtonAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZFW DallasFtWorthAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZHU HoustonAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZID IndianapolisAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZJX JacksonvilleAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZKC KansasCityAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZLA LosAngelesAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZLC SaltLakeCityAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZMA MiamiAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZME MemphisAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZMP MinneapolisAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZNY NewYorkAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZOA OaklandAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZOB ClevelandAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZSE SeattleAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
ZTL AtlantaAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)