Definition
The waypoint that marks the beginning of the runway-specific portion of a Standard Instrument Departure (SID) or the end of the runway-specific portion of a Standard Terminal Arrival (STAR). It is the point where the route tied to a particular runway joins or leaves the common portion of the procedure shared by other runways at the airport.
Plain English
A point on a published departure or arrival procedure that links the part of the route flown only from a specific runway to the part of the route everyone uses, regardless of which runway they used.
Context Anchor
Seen on published instrument departure and arrival charts, and in the route loaded into an aircraft navigation system, when the procedure has different paths for different runways.
Derivation
Transition comes from a Latin idea meaning “to go across” or “pass from one place to another.” In this term, it helps show that the waypoint is part of the passage between a runway-specific path and the rest of the route.
Why Pilots Care
It keeps the aircraft on a predictable path that safely intercepts the final approach course without requiring last-minute maneuvering.
Intuition Check
Do not read “transition” as just a general change. Here it means a specific, published connection between a runway path and the main procedure route.
Example Sentence 1
After takeoff from runway 27, the SID took them to the runway transition waypoint, where they joined the common route flown by all departing traffic.
Example Sentence 2
The departure procedure required flying to the runway transition waypoint before beginning the climb on the assigned heading.