Definition

An aerodrome traffic zone (ATZ) is defined as: An airspace of defined dimensions established around an aerodrome for the protection of aerodrome traffic.

This definition is used in ICAO Annex 2 "Rules of the air" and Regulation (EU) No. 923/2012 "Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA)".

Description

The ATZ is intended to protect the aerodrome traffic, i.e. the traffic on the manoeuvring area and the traffic in the immediate vicinity of an aerodrome. This includes, but is not limited to, the aircraft in the aerodrome traffic circuit. There are no worldwide-accepted definitions about the size of ATZs in terms of lateral or vertical limits. Generally, the ATZ is considered to be a "small-volume" airspace, usually a cyllinder extending from the surface up to a few thousand feet with a radius of a few miles. The centre of the ATZ may be the aerodrome reference point (ARP), the centre of the (longest) runway, or another suitable point.