Definition
A standardized taxi route at certain busy airports that is identified by a specific name rather than by listing each taxiway in sequence. Air traffic control issues the route by its name, and the pilot is expected to follow the published taxiway sequence associated with that name.
Plain English
A pre-set taxi path at a busy airport that has been given a single name, so the controller can clear you along the whole path by saying just that name instead of reading out every taxiway.
Context Anchor
Seen on airport diagrams or taxi-route charts and heard in ground-control taxi instructions at larger or more complex airports.
Why Pilots Care
Reduces radio congestion and the chance of taxi errors by letting controllers issue concise, unambiguous clearances.
Intuition Check
Do not assume a named route is just any path someone casually gives a nickname. In this context, it is a published standard taxi path that pilots and controllers both recognize by its assigned name.
Example Sentence 1
Ground control issued the clearance "taxi to runway 27L via Route Bravo," and the crew followed the published named route from the gate to the runway.
Example Sentence 2
The airport diagram shows several named routes that keep arriving and departing aircraft separated on the taxiways.