Definition
An area flight plan (AFP) is a traffic management initiative used by the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center to manage the flow of aircraft through a defined volume of airspace, rather than into a specific airport. When demand is forecast to exceed capacity in that area — for example because of weather, a special activity, or a constrained route structure — the FAA issues an AFP that assigns controlled departure times (EDCTs) to flights filed through the affected airspace.
Plain English
It's a traffic management tool the FAA uses to spread out flights passing through a busy or restricted chunk of airspace. Affected aircraft get assigned departure times so the area doesn't get overloaded.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym and abbreviation lists, and sometimes in flight-planning or notice information where space is limited.
Why Pilots Care
It gives pilots operating in one region, such as for training or aerial work, the flexibility to maneuver without repeatedly amending a point-to-point flight plan.
Intuition Check
Do not read AFP as a general English abbreviation or as an airport name. In this FAA context, it means area flight plan.
Example Sentence 1
Dispatch advised that an AFP was active over the northeast corridor due to thunderstorms, and our flight had been assigned a departure time 40 minutes later than scheduled.
Example Sentence 2
Because the photo mission stayed inside the same valley, the pilot used an AFP rather than a route-specific plan.