Definition
A set of FAA publications, organized by geographic region, that contain the instrument approach procedure charts, departure procedures, standard terminal arrivals, and airport diagrams pilots use when flying under instrument flight rules into and out of airports in the United States.
Plain English
These are the books of charts pilots use to fly instrument approaches, departures, and arrivals at U.S. airports. Each book covers a region of the country and is updated regularly.
Context Anchor
You will see Terminal Procedures Publications when planning or flying IFR arrivals, departures, and approaches, especially before using an airport-specific procedure.
Derivation
Terminal here refers to the airport end of a flight (arrival or departure), not a screen or computer terminal. The term comes from the Latin terminus, meaning end or boundary. So 'terminal procedures' simply means the procedures used at the start and finish of the flight, near the airport.
Why Pilots Care
They supply the precise, legally approved guidance required to conduct safe instrument operations at an airport.
Intuition Check
“Terminal” does not mean the passenger building here. It means the airport area where aircraft are arriving, departing, or approaching.
Example Sentence 1
Before the flight, she pulled out the Terminal Procedures Publication for the southeast region to review the approach into Charleston.
Example Sentence 2
Before departure the instructor verified that the latest Terminal Procedures Publications were loaded in the electronic flight bag.