Plain English Meaning

A pre-built arrival zone around a GPS approach. Wherever you arrive within the zone, the chart tells you the safe altitude to descend to and which fix to fly toward, so you can join the approach without help from ATC.

Full Definition

A Terminal Arrival Area is a defined block of airspace built around an RNAV (GPS) instrument approach that lets a pilot transition from the en route phase directly to the approach without needing radar vectors or a published feeder route. The TAA is normally a circle of 30 NM radius centered on the initial approach fix, divided into (typically , , and ). Each has its own published that guarantees for any arriving within that sector.