The stages into which a flight is divided, from leaving one gate to arriving at the next: taxi, take-off, climb, cruise, descent, approach and landing.
What it is
A commercial flight is described as a sequence of phases, each with its own procedures, aircraft configuration and air traffic service. On the ground come pushback, engine start and taxi; in the air, take-off, initial climb, climb, cruise, descent, approach and landing, followed by the taxi in to the gate.
The split is more than descriptive. Crew checklists are organised by phase, and many airlines apply the ‘sterile flight deck’ rule: during taxi, take-off and landing, and generally below 10,000 feet (about 3,000 metres), the pilots talk only about what the flight requires. Bodies such as ICAO also classify occurrences by the phase in which they happen, which helps target safety improvements.
The balance between phases depends on distance. On a short hop such as Madrid to Barcelona, the cruise takes up less than half of the time in the air; on an ocean crossing it accounts for most of it.
Related terms
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Phases of flight. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/phases-of-flight
MLA
“Phases of flight.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/phases-of-flight. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Phases of flight.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/phases-of-flight.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Phases of flight. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/phases-of-flight (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_phases_of_flight,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Phases of flight}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/phases-of-flight},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/phases-of-flight}},
urldate = {2026-10-17},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/phases-of-flight |title=Phases of flight |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}