Description

An aircraft's flight planned route contains a succession of waypoints. The controller may clear the aircraft to fly in a way that skips some of them. This technique is called "direct routing". It often saves time and fuel and is therefore normally welcomed (and sometimes requested) by pilots. This is why ICAO Doc 4444 states "Subject to airspace constraints, ATC workload and traffic density, and provided coordination can be effected in a timely manner, an aircraft should whenever possible be offered the most direct routing.". While there are many benefits to the use of direct routing, controllers should always carefully examine the implications of this option, as it has the potential to cause issues as well.