Definition
DTAS is the FAA's modernized terminal-area air traffic control automation platform used by approach and departure controllers (TRACONs) to process radar and surveillance data, display aircraft targets, manage flight data, and support separation services for aircraft operating within terminal airspace.
Plain English
It is the computer system that approach and departure controllers use to see aircraft on their screens and manage traffic around busy airports.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA glossary material and air traffic control equipment discussions, especially when describing systems used by approach control or other facilities that work traffic near airports.
Derivation
Digital means information is handled as computer data. Terminal, in air traffic control, means the airport-area environment for arrivals and departures, not the passenger building. Automation system means computer equipment that helps people perform a control task. Together, the words point to a computer-based system that supports controllers working airport-area traffic.
Why Pilots Care
It supplies controllers with accurate, timely data that supports safe separation and efficient handling of arrivals and departures in high-traffic terminal airspace.
Intuition Check
Terminal does not mean the passenger terminal building here. It means the airspace and control environment around an airport where arrivals and departures are handled.
Example Sentence 1
The TRACON briefed crews that DTAS would be undergoing maintenance overnight, so expect possible delays on early-morning arrivals.
Example Sentence 2
Maintenance on the DTAS required coordination with the facility to avoid disrupting terminal traffic management.