Definition
The network of published air routes within the United States National Airspace System, established and maintained by the FAA, that connects navigation aids and waypoints to provide structured paths for instrument flight. The system includes low-altitude Victor airways (below 18,000 feet MSL) defined primarily by VOR stations, and high-altitude Jet routes (18,000 feet MSL and above) used in the en route structure. Each airway has a designated centerline, width, and minimum altitudes for obstacle clearance and navigation signal reception.
Plain English
The official set of pre-defined highways in the sky that pilots use to fly from one place to another, especially when flying on instruments. Each route runs between known navigation points and has set altitudes and a fixed width.
Context Anchor
You will see this term when reading about IFR navigation, flight planning, and the published routes shown on aeronautical charts.
Derivation
‘Federal’ because the system is established and regulated by the U.S. federal government (the FAA). ‘Airways’ comes from the idea of a roadway through the air — a defined path aircraft follow, just as cars follow highways on the ground.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rely on these airways for safe, efficient IFR routing with ATC separation from terrain and traffic.
Analogy
Think of it like the interstate highway system, but in the sky. Each airway is a numbered route between fixed points, with rules about how high or low you can travel on it.
Intuition Check
Do not read “airway” as meaning any open space where an aircraft can fly. In this context, an airway is a published route with a defined use in the national airspace system.
Example Sentence 1
The pilot filed an IFR flight plan along Victor airways from departure to destination, using the Federal Airways System to build the route.
Example Sentence 2
Charts show the Federal Airways System as a grid of routes pilots can select for enroute navigation.