Definition 1 of 2
Definition
A geographic point, identified on aeronautical charts, that air traffic controllers use as a common reference when transferring control of an aircraft from one ATC facility or sector to another. The aircraft is expected to be at a specified altitude, route, and sometimes time as it crosses this point, allowing the receiving controller to accept it cleanly.
Plain English
A specific point on a chart where one air traffic controller hands an aircraft off to the next controller. Both controllers agree in advance how the aircraft will be flying when it reaches that point.
Context Anchor
Seen mostly in ATC procedures, IFR route planning, and materials that describe how aircraft move from one controller or control area to another.
Derivation
Coordination comes from Latin co- (together) and ordinare (to arrange in order) — literally arranging things together. A fix in aviation is a defined geographic point. So a coordination fix is the point where two ATC facilities arrange the handoff together.
Why Pilots Care
Ensures safe and efficient transfer of aircraft between controllers without gaps in separation.
Intuition Check
Do not read fix as repair. In aviation, a fix is a known point in the sky or on a route, and a coordination fix is that point used for ATC coordination.
Example Sentence 1
ATC instructed the pilot to cross the coordination fix at 10,000 feet before being handed off to the next center.
Example Sentence 2
Controllers timed the aircraft to cross the coordination fix at the agreed altitude.