Definition
The computer-based radar and data processing systems used by air traffic controllers in terminal facilities (such as TRACONs and approach controls) to track aircraft, display radar targets and flight data, and assist in providing separation, sequencing, and traffic advisories within terminal airspace.
Plain English
These are the computer systems controllers use at busy airport-area facilities to see aircraft on radar, keep their flight information on the screen, and help manage traffic safely as planes arrive and depart.
Context Anchor
Seen in air traffic control and Pilot/Controller Glossary material, especially when discussing radar and computer support used by approach control and airport-area controllers.
Derivation
Terminal' here means the airspace and facilities around an airport — the start or end point of a flight — not a passenger building. 'Automation' refers to the computer systems doing the tracking and data handling that controllers once did manually with paper strips and basic radar scopes.
Why Pilots Care
These systems give controllers faster, clearer information so they can keep aircraft safely separated during arrivals and departures.
Intuition Check
Terminal does not mean the passenger building here; it means the airport-area airspace and control environment. TAS in this glossary entry does not mean true airspeed; it means Terminal Automation Systems.
Example Sentence 1
The approach controller used the Terminal Automation System to track our arrival and sequence us behind the regional jet on final.
Example Sentence 2
Updates to TAS improved how flight data appears on the radar scope during peak traffic periods.