Plain English Meaning
The path an aircraft follows from one place to another, made up of one or more straight legs across the ground.
Full Definition
A defined path, consisting of one or more courses in a horizontal plane, that aircraft traverse over the surface of the earth.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight planning, navigation charts, clearances from air traffic control, and in-flight route changes.
Derivation
From the Old French 'route', meaning a way or path, originally from the Latin 'rupta via' — literally 'a broken way' or 'a way cut through.' The aviation meaning carries the same idea: a planned path from one point to another.
Why Pilots Care
Determines navigation requirements, fuel planning, airspace compliance, and ATC coordination.
Intuition Check
Route does not just mean a general direction or the destination. In aviation, it means the specific path over the ground that the aircraft is planned, cleared, or expected to follow.
Example Sentence 1
The pilot filed a route from KPAO direct to SNS, then via V25 to Santa Barbara.
Example Sentence 2
ATC issued a route amendment to avoid restricted airspace.