Definition
A Required Navigation Performance (RNP) operation that uses a direct course between two defined waypoints, typically flown by aircraft equipped with advanced area navigation systems. PTP routing allows aircraft to proceed directly from one fix to another without following conventional airways or ground-based navigation aids.
Plain English
A direct flight path from one specific point to another, instead of following the usual zig-zag route along established airways.
Context Anchor
Seen in routing, navigation, and air traffic control material when a flight path is described by the points it connects.
Derivation
From the plain English phrase 'point to point,' meaning travel directly between two locations. In aviation it carries the specific meaning of a navigation segment defined by two waypoints with no required path in between other than the straight line connecting them.
Why Pilots Care
Direct routing reduces flight time and fuel use when approved by ATC and weather permits.
Intuition Check
Do not read PTP as a specific piece of equipment. Here it describes a kind of route: one point to another point.
Example Sentence 1
ATC issued a PTP clearance from CYRIL to BAMBE, allowing the crew to bypass the usual airway routing.
Example Sentence 2
We filed a PTP route through the GPS to avoid a busy airway.