Definition
An FAA publication, issued in regional volumes, that contains the instrument approach procedure charts, standard instrument departures (SIDs), standard terminal arrivals (STARs), airport diagrams, and related takeoff and alternate minimums for airports within that region. It is updated on a 56-day cycle and is the primary source pilots use to fly published instrument procedures into and out of airports.
Plain English
A book of charts that shows pilots how to fly into and out of airports using instruments. It contains the approach charts, departure procedures, arrival procedures, and airport diagrams for a particular region of the country.
Context Anchor
You will see TPPs when preparing for instrument flights, briefing an approach, checking a departure procedure, or reviewing airport diagram information before taxi.
Derivation
Terminal here refers to the area near an airport where arrivals and departures occur — the 'end points' of a flight. From Latin terminalis, meaning 'pertaining to a boundary or end.' So a Terminal Procedures Publication is a book of procedures used at the start and end of flights, near the airport.
Why Pilots Care
The TPP supplies the legally recognized procedures pilots must follow to conduct safe instrument approaches and departures.
Intuition Check
Terminal does not mean the passenger building here. It means the airport area where aircraft are arriving, departing, or maneuvering close to the airport.
Example Sentence 1
Before the IFR flight, she pulled out the TPP for the southeast region to review the approach chart for her destination.
Example Sentence 2
The new TPP cycle included an updated departure procedure that raised the minimum climb gradient.