Definition
An Airborne Reroute (ABRR) is a revised route of flight issued by Air Traffic Control to an aircraft already airborne, used by Traffic Flow Management to move flights around forecast or actual constraints such as weather, congestion, or airspace restrictions. The new routing is coordinated and transmitted to the flight crew while en route, replacing the original cleared route from a specified point onward.
Plain English
A new route given to a pilot after takeoff to steer the flight around a problem area, such as a line of thunderstorms or a busy section of airspace.
Context Anchor
You may encounter ABRR in ATC, flight plan, or traffic management discussions when an aircraft’s route is changed after departure.
Derivation
Airborne' simply means 'in the air,' and 'reroute' combines 're-' (again) with 'route' (a planned path). The term is descriptive: a new path, given while flying.
Why Pilots Care
Enables pilots to adapt to changing conditions in real time while maintaining safety and efficiency.
Intuition Check
Do not read “airborne reroute” as a pilot casually choosing a different path in the air. In this context, it means a route change issued or approved through ATC while the aircraft is already airborne.
Example Sentence 1
Center issued an ABRR to send the flight south of the convective line that had built up along the original route.
Example Sentence 2
The crew accepted the ABRR and updated the flight management system accordingly.