ATLAS — Air Traffic Logistics, Analysis & Simulation

Contents

⚠ Disclaimer

ATLAS is a decision-support tool only. All outputs are analytical aids based on public FAA data. Nothing here constitutes official FAA guidance, ATC instructions, or operational clearances.

What is ATLAS?

Air Traffic Logistics, Analysis & Simulation — an overview.

ATLAS is a public-data, geospatial decision-support workbench designed for FAA Traffic Management Unit (TMU) analysts, air carrier dispatch, and aviation students to model, analyze, and communicate the impact of airspace constraints on National Airspace System (NAS) traffic flows.

It pulls from publicly available FAA data sources — NASR, SWIM, ArcGIS, AviationWeather.gov — and fuses them into a single operations picture with analytical overlays.

Map Workbench

Understanding the interactive NAS Map and its layers.

TMI Types Explained

Traffic Management Initiatives — how they work and when they're used.

Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs) are actions taken by the FAA to manage the flow of aircraft through the NAS when demand exceeds capacity. ATLAS surfaces active TMIs from the FAA SWIM feed and helps you model new ones.

GDP — Ground Delay Program

A GDP assigns departure delays to flights destined for a specific airport, keeping them on the ground at their departure airport rather than airborne in holding. GDPs are issued when arrival demand exceeds the airport's Arrival Rate (AAR), typically due to weather, runway closures, or equipment outages. Key parameters: Airport (ARPT), Program Rate (PGMRATE), Start/End time, scope (miles from airport).

GS — Ground Stop

A Ground Stop halts all departures to an airport until further notice. Unlike a GDP which assigns specific delays, a GS is a complete stop — no new departures are permitted. Ground stops are used for severe/rapidly-changing conditions (thunderstorms, ATIS changes, equipment failures) when conditions are too uncertain to assign specific delay values.

AFP — Airspace Flow Program

An AFP rate-controls flights through a specified Trajectory Automation System (TAS) element or Flow Constrained Area (FCA) rather than targeting a single airport. Useful for managing en route congestion caused by weather or military activity.

MIT — Miles In Trail

MIT restricts the spacing between consecutive aircraft on a specific route or through a fix. Example: 'CARPE MIT 30' means aircraft must be spaced 30 nautical miles apart as they cross the CARPE fix. Used to manage sector workload and en route capacity.

MINIT — Minutes In Trail

Similar to MIT but spacing is measured in time (minutes) rather than distance. Preferred when wind and speed variations make distance-based spacing imprecise.

Scenarios & What-If

How to model, compare, and present TMI scenarios.

Data Fusion Levels

How ATLAS labels the trustworthiness of every data point.

Every piece of data in ATLAS is labeled with a Data Fusion Level badge so you always know what you're looking at and how much to trust it.

OBSERVED

Live or recent public-source data. Directly from FAA APIs, SWIM, or weather services. Citable source shown on hover. Examples: live METARs, active NOTAMs, FAA OIS AAR tables, NASR airport coordinates.

MODELED

Output of ATLAS's internal scenario engine. Calculations are transparent — assumptions panel shows exactly what was used. Examples: GDP delay estimates, traffic exposure calculations, program cost estimates.

AI NARRATIVE

Text generated by the AI Briefing assistant. Grounded in your scenario data, but not verified by a human controller. Always review before reading aloud. Examples: AI-written briefing summaries, coordination text.

STUB / FIXTURE

Demo or placeholder data used when a live data source is unavailable or not yet configured. ATLAS clearly labels all stub data so you never mistake a fixture for real operations data.

Live Data Sources

What's live, what's estimated, and what's stubbed.

Glossary

Key aviation and traffic management terms used in ATLAS.

AAR

Airport Arrival Rate — the number of aircraft per hour an airport can accept given its current runway configuration, weather, and equipment status. Set by the ATC facility based on FAA OIS data.

AFP

Airspace Flow Program — a rate-control TMI applied to a flow constrained area rather than a single airport.

AIRAC

Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control — the global 28-day cycle on which aviation charts, procedures, and navigation data are updated.

ARTCC

Air Route Traffic Control Center — a facility responsible for managing en route IFR traffic within its sector boundaries (e.g., ZNY = New York Center, ZLA = Los Angeles Center).

CDR

Coded Departure Route — published reroute alternatives activated when the primary airway is congested or blocked by weather.

CIFP

Coded Instrument Flight Procedures — FAA ARINC 424 dataset containing SIDs, STARs, airways, and approach procedures.

DME

Distance Measuring Equipment — a radio navigation aid that provides aircraft with slant-range distance from a ground station.

FAA OIS

FAA Operations Information System (fly.faa.gov/ois) — provides current airport configurations and arrival acceptance rates.

FCA

Flow Constrained Area — a defined volume of airspace where traffic flow is restricted by an AFP.

FIR

Flight Information Region — an ICAO-defined airspace region where air traffic services are provided.

FDPS

Flight Data Processing System — FAA SWIM message type containing flight plan and position data.

GDP

Ground Delay Program — a TMI that issues departure delays to flights bound for an airport with reduced arrival capacity.

GS / Ground Stop

A complete halt to departures to a specified airport. More severe than GDP; used when conditions are rapidly changing.

ICAO

International Civil Aviation Organization — sets global standards for aviation. ICAO airport codes are 4-letter identifiers (e.g., KJFK, KORD).

MIT

Miles In Trail — a spacing restriction requiring a minimum distance between consecutive aircraft through a fix or airspace.

MINIT

Minutes In Trail — like MIT but measured in time rather than distance.

NASR

National Airspace System Resources — FAA dataset of airports, navaids, fixes, airways, and airspace. Updated every 28 days.

NDB

Non-Directional Beacon — a ground-based radio navigation aid that transmits a non-directional signal. Being phased out in favor of RNAV.

NOTAM

Notice to Air Missions — official notice published by the FAA containing information essential to flight operations.

RNAV / RNP

Area Navigation / Required Navigation Performance — precision navigation using GPS and onboard computers, enabling direct routing without overflying ground navaids.

SID

Standard Instrument Departure — a published departure route that simplifies ATC clearances and reduces radio traffic.

STAR

Standard Terminal Arrival Route — a published arrival route that transitions aircraft from en route to approach phase.

SWIM

System Wide Information Management — FAA real-time data network distributing live operational information to authorized subscribers.

TMI

Traffic Management Initiative — any FAA action taken to balance demand with capacity in the NAS (GDP, GS, MIT, MINIT, AFP, Reroute).

TMU

Traffic Management Unit — the group within an ARTCC responsible for managing traffic flow into/out of the center.

TRACON

Terminal Radar Approach Control — controls approach/departure traffic around one or more airports.

VOR

VHF Omnidirectional Range — a ground-based navigation radio station that aircraft use to determine their bearing from the station.

VORTAC

A combined VOR and TACAN (military DME) facility used for both civilian and military navigation.

METAR

Meteorological Aerodrome Report — a standardized format for hourly surface weather observations at airports.

TAF

Terminal Aerodrome Forecast — a concise weather forecast for an airport, valid for 24–30 hours.

SIGMET

Significant Meteorological Information — airspace warning for significant weather (thunderstorms, icing, turbulence, volcanic ash) affecting aircraft safety.

AIRMET

Airmen's Meteorological Information — weather advisory for conditions potentially hazardous to light aircraft or IFR operations.

ATLAS v1.0.0 — Air Traffic Logistics, Analysis & Simulation