Air navigation maps and computers contain thousands of routes and waypoints (or fixes) to help pilots and air traffic controllers keep track of where the airplanes are. To make navigation and communication a little easier, most of the fixes are given names. Read on for some fun fix naming nonsense!

What are Navigation Fixes?

Navigation fixes are intersections or points along airways (highways in the sky) and airport arrival/departure procedures. Fixes are given five letter names (like NOISE and WEEDY) to make them easy for pilots and air traffic controllers to reference.

Who names navigation fixes in the U.S.?

When airways or procedures are being designed or modified, local FAA facility employees often recommend fix names. The FAA’s Office of Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) checks the names to make sure they are unique, pronounceable, and not obscene or controversial. Air traffic controllers have a pretty vivid imagination and a great sense of humor. There are some really clever fix names out there. It’s a small part of what makes aviation interesting and fun.

Famous Figure Fixes

Celebrities are often honored by having fixes named after them. With only five letters to work with, the spellings are often creative! Here are a few notable examples.



The Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon has two fixes named in his honor, JIMEE and FALON. They are located on a low altitude airway (V312) between New York City and Atlantic City, New Jersey.



Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star, LeBron James has his own intersection east of Cleveland’s Hopkins International airport. LEBRN intersection is the final fix airplanes fly over on the CHARDON arrival before landing in Cleveland.

In 2010, during Donald Trump‘s popular TV show, The Apprentice, three fixes near Palm Beach, Florida were named after him: DONLD, TRMMP, and UFIRD (pronounced You-Fired). An arrival procedure, IVNKA ONE, was named after his daughter.

There’s no doubt The Donald stirred up controversy during his presidential campaign. It’s rumored that some pilots were refusing to fly the IVNKA procedure or use the Trump fixes. In July of 2015, the FAA determined that Trump was too controversial and renamed all Trump-related navigation names. Sorry, Donald… You’re Fired!

Leaky Boats?

Sometimes a series of fix names will be used creatively to make a sentence. The BLAKA arrival procedure to Brisbane, Qld, Australia’s runway 19 reminds pilots that “LEAKY BOATS SINNK.” Gives flight crews something to ponder while flying over the water.

Get your Disney fix.

For Disney fans, the Orlando, Florida area is filled with fun fix names. The PIGLT (Piglet) arrival to Orlando International can’t be beat!

The PIGLT arrival includes three references to Disney’s “The Lion King”: HKUNA, MTATA (Hakuna Matata) and RFIKI (Rafiki).

Disney’s Academy Award winning “Aladdin” is honored with the fixes JAZMN (Jasmine) and JAFAR.

Finally, the arrival procedure’s namesake, PIGLT (Piglet), and his friend TTIGR (Tigger) from “Winnie The Pooh” are featured.

The Orlando area has many other fixes named after Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros characters:

MICKX – Mix (almost Mickey)

MINEE – Minnie (Mouse)

POPYE – Popeye

TWETY & BURRD – Tweety Bird

GRNCH – Grinch DAFIE – Daffy (Duck)

BUGGZ & BUNIE – Bugs Bunny

TINKR – Tinker (Tinkerbell)

EARRS – Ears (reference to Mickey)

TRAMP (from Lady and the Tramp)

“I tawt I taw a puddy tat!”

One of the best tributes to Warner Bros. Cartoons can be found at the international airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The instrument approach to runway 16 includes the fixes: ITAWT, ITAWA, PUDYE, TTATT, and IDEED.

If you say the fix names out loud, you’ll recognize the famous line uttered by poor Tweety Bird as she’s pursued by Sylvester the Cat: “I tawt I taw a puddy tat! I did! I did taw a puddy tat!”

Louisville, Kentucky has plenty of fun fix names!

My home base in Louisville, KY is famous for bourbon, baseball bats, college sports, and the biggest horse race of them all, the Kentucky Derby. The airspace around Louisville International’s Standiford Field (KSDF) is full of references to Louisville events, legends, landmarks, and more.

The instrument approach to runway 35L is a fun one. It features several fixes that commemorate Louisville landmarks and legends:

CRDNL – Cardinal (the University of Louisville Cardinals)

RDBRD – Redbird (previous name of the Louisville Bats AAA baseball team was the Redbirds)

AWLEE: Louisville native and still The Greatest: Mohammad Ali

BRBON – Bourbon. Kentucky’s most famous export.

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