Methods and apparatus are provided for traffic prioritization of surrounding air traffic for display onboard an aircraft. The apparatus includes a traffic data source configured to supply surrounding traffic data. The apparatus includes a traffic control module coupled to receive user selection data from the user input device and the surrounding traffic data. The traffic control module can be configured to determine a prioritization zone for prioritizing the surrounding air traffic to identify air traffic preceding the aircraft based on the user selection data, the range and the vertical speed of the surrounding air traffic, and set first traffic data that includes the surrounding air traffic within the prioritization zone listed by priority and second traffic data that includes the surrounding air traffic outside of the prioritization zone listed in received sequence. The apparatus displays a graphical user interface that includes the first traffic and the second traffic data.