Definition
A radar-based air traffic control service provided in the airspace surrounding certain airports, giving participating aircraft sequencing, separation from other participating IFR and VFR traffic, and traffic advisories on observed non-participating aircraft.
Plain English
A service where controllers use radar to watch over aircraft near busy airports, helping line them up for landing, keep them apart from other planes, and warn them about nearby traffic.
Context Anchor
Seen in Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs), airport information, and FAA abbreviation lists when radar service near an airport is being described.
Derivation
“Terminal” comes from the Latin terminus, meaning end or boundary — in aviation it refers to the airspace at the ends of a flight, near the departure and arrival airports. “Radar” is short for Radio Detection and Ranging. Together, the phrase points to radar-based help provided in the airspace closest to an airport.
Why Pilots Care
Gives VFR pilots extra safety margin through radar vectors and advisories without requiring an IFR clearance.
Intuition Check
Do not read terminal as the passenger building. Here, terminal means the airspace and control area near an airport.
Example Sentence 1
On the way into the Class C airport, the pilot contacted approach and received terminal radar service for sequencing with arriving jet traffic.
Example Sentence 2
TRAD allowed the VFR flight to receive vectors around a busy traffic pattern without entering controlled airspace.