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Time Based Flow Management (TBFM)

JO 7110.65BB, Change 3, effective July 9, 2026 · Official text on faa.gov

During periods of metering, personnel providing air traffic services must:

Display TBFM schedule information on the situation display.
Comply with TBFM-generated metering times within +/- 1 minute.
1. If TBFM-generated metering time accuracy within +/- 1 minute cannot be used for specific aircraft due to significant jumps in the delay countdown timer (DCT), then TMIs may be used between those aircraft such as miles-in-trail (MIT) or minutes-in-trail (MINIT) to assist in delay absorption until stability resumes.
2. An exception to the requirement to comply within +/- 1 minute may be authorized for certain ARTCC sectors if explicitly defined in an appropriate facility directive.
When compliance is not possible, coordinate with OS/CIC, personnel providing traffic management services, and adjacent facilities/sectors as appropriate.
Note

TBFM accuracy of generated metering times is predicated on several factors, including vectoring outside of TBFM route conformance boundaries (route recovery logic), certain trajectory ground speed calculations, and when TMU resequences a specific flight or flight list. Caution should be used in these situations to minimize impact on surrounding sector traffic and complexity levels, flight efficiencies, and user preferences.