What term describes precise taxi instructions given to a pilot unfamiliar with the airport or issued in stages that may include step-by-step directions?

• A. Taxi sequencing
• B. Slow taxi clearance
• C. Stepwise taxi
• D. Progressive Taxi

Answer: (D)

Progressive taxi is the idea of giving a taxi clearance in stages, with precise, step-by-step directions, especially useful when a pilot isn’t familiar with the airport. This approach helps the pilot follow a known route without getting lost, and it lets the controller add or change instructions as the aircraft progresses, keeping ground movement safe and organized.

For example, an ATC clearance might guide the aircraft incrementally: taxi to the end of the current taxiway, then proceed to a specified intersection, then hold short of a runway, or continue to a gate via a defined route. This staged method reduces confusion at complex airports or in busy traffic, and it lets the controller manage spacing and conflicts more effectively.

Taxi sequencing focuses on arranging multiple aircraft on the ground to avoid conflicts, not on providing staged, individual instructions. Slow taxi and stepwise taxi aren’t standard terms for this practice, whereas progressive taxi is the recognized term for issuing precise, phased directions.