Definition
A display setting on a Traffic Advisory System (TAS) or Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) that shows nearby aircraft as targets on the cockpit display, along with their relative altitude and movement, so the pilot can see and avoid other traffic.
Plain English
The screen setting that shows you where other aircraft are around you, how high or low they are compared to you, and which way they are moving.
Context Anchor
Seen on cockpit traffic displays and in traffic-avoidance system descriptions, especially when checking whether traffic information is being displayed normally.
Derivation
Traffic comes from an older word meaning movement or trade along a route. Mode comes from a word meaning manner or way. Together, traffic mode means the way the system is set to handle and display aircraft traffic.
Why Pilots Care
Enables early visual acquisition and avoidance of conflicting traffic before a collision risk develops.
Intuition Check
Traffic mode does not mean how busy the sky is. It means the selected state or display setting of the aircraft traffic system.
Example Sentence 1
Before entering the busy terminal area, she switched the MFD to traffic mode to monitor surrounding aircraft.
Example Sentence 2
With traffic mode active, the display showed a target three miles ahead at the same altitude.