Definition
A computer workstation used by air traffic controllers as the main interface to a larger automation system, allowing the controller to view aircraft data, accept handoffs, and manage flight information on a radar display.
Plain English
The controller's working computer screen and keyboard. It's the station they sit at to do their job, connected to the bigger system that tracks aircraft.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists, NOTAM-related material, and older aviation information-system references rather than in normal cockpit controls.
Derivation
Principal means main or primary. User refers to the controller using the system. Processor here means the workstation that handles the data — together, the main station a controller works from.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots usually do not operate a PUP, but recognizing the abbreviation helps when reading FAA material about how official flight information is created or distributed.
Intuition Check
Do not read “processor” as an aircraft engine part here. In this context, it means a computer or workstation that handles information.
Example Sentence 1
The controller accepted the handoff at her principal user processor.
Example Sentence 2
Pilots receive weather briefings that have already passed through the PUP.