Operational Acceptable Level of Traffic

An air traffic activity level associated with the designed capacity for a sector or airport. The OALT considers dynamic changes in staffing, personnel experience levels, equipment outages, operational configurations, weather, traffic complexity, aircraft performance mixtures, transitioning flights, adjacent airspace, handoff/point-out responsibilities, and other factors that may affect an air traffic operational position or system element. The OALT is normally considered to be the total number of aircraft that any air traffic functional position can accommodate for a defined period of time under a given set of circumstances. (FAA4)