Definition
A set of FAA publications containing the charts and procedures pilots use for instrument operations at airports, including instrument approach procedures (IAPs), standard instrument departures (SIDs), standard terminal arrival routes (STARs), and airport diagrams. The TPP is issued in regional volumes and updated on a 56-day cycle.
Plain English
An official FAA booklet of the charts pilots need to fly instrument approaches, departures, and arrivals at airports in a given region of the United States. It also includes diagrams of the airports themselves.
Context Anchor
Seen during IFR flight planning, approach briefing, and when selecting the current procedure chart for an airport.
Derivation
"Terminal" here refers to the airport environment — the area where flights begin and end — not a passenger terminal building. "Procedures" refers to the published step-by-step routes and altitudes pilots fly when transitioning between en route airspace and the airport.
Why Pilots Care
They provide the precise, legally required guidance needed to conduct safe instrument approaches and departures.
Intuition Check
“Terminal” does not mean just the passenger building here. It means the airport-area phase of flight, including departures, arrivals, and approaches.
Example Sentence 1
Before the flight, she pulled up the current TPP volume to review the instrument approach procedure for her destination.
Example Sentence 2
Changes to airport procedures are published in the next TPP cycle.