Definition
A specific departure routing assigned by Air Traffic Control that the pilot is expected to fly after takeoff, used in place of, or in addition to, a published Standard Instrument Departure (SID). It typically consists of headings, altitudes, fixes, or airways that ATC issues in the IFR clearance to fit the flight into the surrounding traffic flow.
Plain English
It is the path out of the airport that ATC tells you to fly, rather than one you picked yourself. ATC chooses it to keep your aircraft safely separated from other traffic leaving or arriving in the area.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument departure planning and clearances, especially when ATC assigns a route from the airport instead of simply accepting the pilot’s filed departure plan.
Why Pilots Care
Allows ATC to manage traffic flow and maintain separation during departures in busy airspace.
Intuition Check
Do not read “requested” as casual or optional. In this context, if ATC includes the route in your clearance and you accept it, you are expected to fly it.
Example Sentence 1
Tower issued an ATC-requested departure route of runway heading to 3,000 feet, then direct CADUC.
Example Sentence 2
Instead of the published SID, the pilot was given an ATC-requested departure route consisting of radar vectors to the enroute structure.