Definition
Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs) are pre-published IFR arrival procedures that connect en route airways to a terminal area or airport. A STAR specifies a sequence of fixes, courses, altitudes, and sometimes speeds that an arriving aircraft is expected to follow, allowing ATC to issue a single clearance covering the transition from the en route phase to the approach environment.
Plain English
A STAR is a published flight path that guides an arriving aircraft from the en route portion of the flight down into the area near the destination airport. Instead of ATC giving a long string of headings and altitudes, the pilot flies the named arrival, which already contains all the turns and altitudes.
Context Anchor
You see Standard Terminal Arrival Routes on IFR flight plans, arrival charts, and ATC clearances when flying into larger or busier airports.
Derivation
"Terminal" here means the airspace and procedures around the destination airport (the end, or terminus, of the flight), not a passenger building. A STAR is the standardised route that takes you through that terminal area on arrival.
Why Pilots Care
Following the published route keeps the aircraft in protected airspace, reduces radio workload, and ensures orderly sequencing into busy terminal areas.
Intuition Check
“Standard” does not mean optional or informal here. It means the route is published and expected to be flown as cleared. “Terminal” does not mean an airport building here. It means the airspace around the airport.
Example Sentence 1
Approaching Denver, the crew was cleared to descend via the FLATI ONE arrival, a STAR that brought them from the en route structure down toward the airport.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot loaded the standard terminal arrival route into the navigation system before top of descent.