Definition
The set of rules that determine which aircraft has priority to maintain its course when two or more aircraft are converging, approaching head-on, overtaking, or operating in the traffic pattern. These rules are established in 14 CFR Part 91 and dictate which aircraft must give way and which may continue.
Plain English
Rules that decide who goes first when two aircraft are about to be in each other's way. One pilot keeps flying as planned; the other must move out of the way.
Context Anchor
Seen in airport descriptions, land-use discussions, and airport planning material.
Derivation
From the older legal phrase 'right of way,' meaning the legal entitlement to pass first across a path another also wants to use. The aviation use is a direct borrowing from road and maritime law.
Why Pilots Care
Knowing who has priority prevents runway incursions and mid-air conflicts and is required for safe, legal operations.
Intuition Check
Do not confuse “rights of way” here with aircraft right-of-way rules about who must yield in flight or on the ground. In this airport-category context, it is mainly about legal use of land or access routes.
Example Sentence 1
A balloon has the right of way over an airplane, so the airplane must alter course to stay clear.
Example Sentence 2
When two airplanes approach head-on on a taxiway, each turns right and yields right of way to the other.