| Acronym |
Meaning |
| AAR |
Airport Acceptance Rate or
Airport Arrival Rate. The number of arrivals an airport is capable of
accepting each hour. |
| AC or A/C |
Aircraft |
| ADZY |
Advisory |
| ARPT |
Airport |
| ARSR |
Air Route Surveillance
Radar. Air Route Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) radar used primarily to
detect and display an aircraft's position while en route between
terminal areas. The ARSR enables controllers to provide radar air
traffic control service when aircraft are within the ARSR coverage. In
some instances, ARSR may enable an ARTCC to provide terminal radar
services similar to but usually more limited than those provided by a
radar approach control. |
| ARTCC |
Air Route Traffic Control
Centre. A facility established to provide air traffic control service to
aircraft operating on IFR flight plans within controlled airspace and
principally during the en route phase of flight. When equipment
capabilities and controller workload permit, certain advisory/assistance
services may be provided to VFR aircraft. There are 20 ARTCCs in the
continental U.S. |
| ASR |
Airport Surveillance
Radar. Approach control radar used to detect and display an aircraft's
position in the terminal area. ASR provides range and azimuth
information but does not provide elevation data. Coverage of the ASR can
extend up to 60 miles. |
| ATC |
Air Traffic Control. A
service operated by appropriate authority to promote the safe, orderly
and expeditious flow of air traffic. |
| ATCSCC |
Air Traffic Control System
Command Centre |
| ATCT
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 |
Airport Traffic Control
Tower. A terminal facility that uses air/ground communications, visual
signalling, and other devices to provide ATC services to aircraft
operating in the vicinity of an airport or on the movement area.
Authorizes aircraft to land or takeoff at the airport controlled by the
tower or to transit the Class D airspace area regardless of flight plan
or weather conditions (IFR or VFR). A tower may also provide approach
control services (radar or nonradar).
|
|
CDM |
Collaborative Decision
Making. Cooperative effort between the various components of aviation
transportation, both government and industry, to exchange information
for better decision making. |
| CDR |
Coded Departure Routes.
Predefined routes used to route air traffic around areas of severe
weather. |
| CIGS |
Ceilings. The height above
the ground of the base of the lowest layer of clouds when over half of
the sky is obscured. |
| CLSD
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|
Closed |
|
EDCT |
Expected Departure
Clearance Time. Time issued to a flight to indicate when it can expect
to receive departure clearance. EDCTs are issued as part of Traffic
Management Programs, such as a Ground Delay Program (GDP). |
| EMERG |
Emergency |
| EQUIP
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|
Equipment |
|
FSM |
Flight Schedule Monitor. A
tool used by Air Traffic Management Specialists to monitor air traffic
demand at airports. |
| FSS
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|
Flight Service Station.
Air traffic facilities which provide pilot briefing, en route
communications and VFR search and rescue services, assist lost aircraft
and aircraft in emergency situations, relay ATC clearances, originate
Notices to Airmen, broadcast aviation weather and NAS information,
receive and process IFR flight plans, and monitor NAVAIDs. In addition,
at selected locations, FSSs provide En Route Flight Advisory Service
(Flight Watch), take weather observations, issue airport advisories, and
advise Customs and Immigration of transborder flights. |
|
GDP |
Ground Delay Program.
Ground Delay Programs are implemented to control air traffic volume to
airports where the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the
airport's acceptance rate for a lengthy period of time. Lengthy periods
of demand exceeding acceptance rate are normally a result of the
airport's acceptance rate being reduced for some reason. The most common
reason for a reduction in acceptance rate is adverse weather such as low
ceilings and visibility.
How it works:
Flights that are destined to the affected airport are issued Expected
Departure Clearance Times (EDCT) at their point of departure. Flights
that have been issued EDCTs are not permitted to depart until their
Expected Departure Clearance Time. These ECDTs are calculated in such a
way as to meter the rate that traffic arrives at the affected airport;
ensuring that demand is equal to acceptance rate. The length of delays
that result from the implementation of a Ground Delay Program depends
upon two factors: how much greater than the acceptance rate the original
demand was, and for what length of time the original demand was expected
to exceed the acceptance rate. |
| GPS |
Global Positioning System |
| GS
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|
Ground Stop. Ground Stops
are implemented for a number of reasons. The most common reasons are:
- To control air traffic volume to
airports when the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the
airport's acceptance rate for a short period of time.
- To temporarily stop traffic allowing
for the implementation of a longer-term solution, such as a Ground
Delay Program.
- The affected airport's acceptance rate
has been reduced to zero.
How it works:
Flights that are destined to the affected airport are held at their
departure point for the duration of the Ground Stop.
|
|
IFR |
Instrument Flight Rules. A
set of rules governing the conduct of flight under instrument
meteorological conditions. |
| ILS
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|
Instrument Landing System.
A ground based precision approach system that provides course and
vertical guidance to landing aircraft.
|
|
LAADR |
Low Altitude Airway
Departure Route. |
| LAHSO |
Land and Hold Short
Operations. Operations which include simultaneous takeoffs and landings
and/or simultaneous landings when a landing aircraft is able and is
instructed by the controller to hold short of the intersecting
runway/taxiway or designated hold-short point. Pilots are expected to
promptly inform the controller if the hold short clearance cannot be
accepted. |
| LO CIGS |
Low Ceilings. Low clouds. |
| LOC
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Localizer. The component
of an ILS that provides course guidance to the runway. |
|
MINIT |
Minutes in Trail. A
specified interval between aircraft expressed in time. |
| MIT |
Miles in Trail. A
specified interval between aircraft expressed in nautical miles. |
| MULTI-TAXI
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Many aircraft trying to
taxi at once, creating congestion. |
|
N90 |
New York TRACON |
| NAS |
National Airspace System.
The common network of U.S. airspace; air navigation facilities,
equipment and services, airports or landing areas. |
| NAVAID |
Navigational Aid. Any
visual or electronic device, airborne or on the surface, which provides
point-to-point guidance information or position data to aircraft in
flight. |
| NM |
Nautical Mile.
International unit equal to 6076.115 feet (1852 meters). |
| NOTAM |
Notice to Airmen. A notice
containing information (not known sufficiently in advance to publicize
by other means) concerning the establishment, condition, or change in
any component (facility, service, or procedure of, or hazard in the
National Airspace System) the timely knowledge of which is essential to
personnel concerned with flight operations. |
| NRP
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National Route Plan. The
NRP is a set of rules and procedures which are designed to increase the
flexibility of user flight planning within published guidelines.
|
|
OTS
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Out of service |
|
RLSD |
Released |
| RRTES |
Reroutes |
| RWY |
Runway |
| RWY CONFIG |
Runway Configuration |
| RY
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Runway |
|
SPO |
Strategic Plan of
Operation. See SPT. |
| SPT |
Strategic Planning Team.
The Strategic Planning Team acts as a focal point for the development of
collaborative Strategic Plans of Operation. Their goal is to provide
advanced planning information for system users and air traffic
facilities in order to maximize the utilization of the NAS in an
organized and equitable manner. |
| STMP |
Special Traffic Management
Program. Reservation program implemented to regulate arrivals and/or
departures at airports that are in areas hosting special events such as
the Masters Golf Tournament and Indianapolis 500. |
| SVRWX |
Severe Weather |
| SWAP
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Severe Weather Avoidance
Plan. An approved plan to minimize the effect of severe weather on
traffic flows in impacted terminal and/or ARTCC areas. SWAP is normally
implemented to provide the least disruption to the ATC system when
flight through portions of airspace is difficult or impossible due to
severe weather. |
|
TACAN |
Tactical Air Navigation
Aid. An ultra-high frequency electronic rho-theta air navigation aid
which provides suitably equipped aircraft a continuous indication of
bearing and distance to the TACAN station. |
| TFC |
Traffic |
| TRACON |
Terminal Radar Control
Facility. A terminal ATC facility that uses radar and nonradar
capabilities to provide approach control services to aircraft arriving,
departing, or transiting airspace controlled by the facility. |
| TSD |
Traffic Situation Display.
A tool used by Traffic Management Specialists to monitor the position of
air traffic and to determine the traffic demand on airports and sectors. |
| TSTMS
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Thunderstorms |
|
UTC
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|
Coordinated Universal Time
(abbreviated as UTC, and therefore often spelled out as Universal Time
Coordinated and sometimes as Universal Coordinated Time) is the standard
time common to every place in the world. Formerly and still widely
called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and also World Time, UTC nominally
reflects the mean solar time along the Earth's prime meridian. |
|
VAPS |
Visual Approaches. An
approach conducted under Instrument Flight Rules that authorizes the
pilot to proceed visually and clear of clouds to the airport. Usually
this will be used in conjunction with Visual Separation. When using
Visual Separation, a pilot sees the other aircraft involved, and upon
instructions from the controller, provides his own separation by
manoeuvring his aircraft as necessary to avoid it. Visual Separation
requires less spacing between aircraft than radar separation allowing
more aircraft to land in a given period of time. |
| VFR |
Visual Flight Rules. Rules
that govern the procedures for conducting flight under visual
conditions. The term "VFR" is also used in the United States to indicate
weather conditions that are equal to or greater than minimum VFR
requirements. In addition, it is used by pilots and controllers to
indicate a type of flight plan. |
| VOL |
Volume. Usually used to
indicate that the volume of aircraft exceeds the airport's capacity. |
| VOR |
Very High Frequency Omni
Directional Range. A ground-based electronic navigation aid transmitting
very high frequency navigation signals, 360 degrees in azimuth, oriented
from magnetic north. Used as the basis for navigation in the National
Airspace System. The VOR periodically identifies itself by Morse Code
and may have an additional voice identification feature. Voice features
may be used by ATC or FSS for transmitting instructions/information to
pilots. |
| VORTAC |
A navigation aid providing
VOR azimuth, TACAN azimuth, and TACAN distance measuring equipment (DME)
at one site. |
| VSBY
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Visibility. The ability,
as determined by atmospheric conditions and expressed in units of
distance, to see and identify prominent unlighted objects by day and
prominent lighted objects by night. |
|
WND |
Wind |
| WX |
Weather |
| WX DEV
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Weather Deviation |
|
Z |
Zulu Time. Another term
used to designate Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the standard time
common to every place in the world. Formerly and still widely called
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and also World Time, UTC nominally reflects
the mean solar time along the Earth's prime meridian. |
| ZAB |
Albuquerque Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZAU |
Chicago Air Route Traffic
Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZBW |
Boston Air Route Traffic
Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZDC |
Washington Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZFW |
Dallas-Ft Worth Air Route
Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) |
| ZHU |
Houston Air Route Traffic
Control Center (ARTCC) |
| ZID |
Indianapolis Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZJX |
Jacksonville Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZKC |
Kansas City Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZLA |
Los Angeles Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZLC |
Salt Lake City Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZMA |
Miami Air Route Traffic
Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZME |
Memphis Air Route Traffic
Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZMP |
Minneapolis Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZNY |
New York Air Route Traffic
Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZOA |
Oakland Air Route Traffic
Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZOB |
Cleveland Air Route
Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZSE |
Seattle Air Route Traffic
Control Centre (ARTCC) |
| ZTL |
Atlanta Air Route Traffic
Control Centre (ARTCC) |
