Definition
A computer-generated graphical display used by air traffic management that shows the position, identity, and flight data of aircraft within a defined airspace, derived from radar and flight plan information. It is used primarily by traffic flow managers and supervisors to monitor traffic patterns across large regions rather than to control individual aircraft.
Plain English
A big-picture screen showing where many aircraft are right now, used by traffic managers to see how busy the skies and airports are.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists, air traffic control discussions, and flight operations settings where aircraft movement is monitored on a screen.
Why Pilots Care
Gives controllers and pilots immediate awareness of nearby traffic to maintain safe separation.
Intuition Check
Do not assume an aircraft situation display is a normal cockpit instrument. In this context, it usually means a display used to monitor aircraft positions, often by controllers or operations personnel.
Example Sentence 1
The traffic management coordinator watched the ASD as a line of thunderstorms began pushing arrivals off their planned routes.
Example Sentence 2
With ADS-B in, the pilot viewed nearby traffic on the aircraft situation display.