Definition
Instructions or information provided to a pilot — typically by ATC, ground-based navigation aids, or onboard equipment — that direct the aircraft along a desired course, track, or path during flight.
Plain English
Help that tells the pilot which way to fly to stay on the right path.
Context Anchor
Seen in radar approach procedures, where a controller talks the pilot toward the runway using radar-based position information.
Derivation
From 'navigation' (Latin navigare, 'to sail or steer a ship') and 'guidance' (Old French guider, 'to lead'). Together: information that leads the aircraft along its intended path.
Why Pilots Care
Keeps the aircraft safely aligned with the runway and separated from other traffic when the pilot cannot see the ground.
Intuition Check
Do not read guidance as general advice here. In this context, navigational guidance means specific direction or position information used to fly the aircraft along the intended path.
Example Sentence 1
During the radar approach, the controller provided navigational guidance with headings to keep the aircraft aligned with the final approach course.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot followed the controller's navigational guidance until visual contact with the runway was established.