How to Ask for Progressive Taxi When You Are Lost

There is no shame in asking for turn-by-turn directions on the ground — here is the call, and why using it makes you the safer pilot. · 5 min read

A big, unfamiliar airport can be genuinely disorienting on the ground. The taxiway diagram looks like a plate of spaghetti, the signs come up fast, and a single wrong turn can put you onto an active runway — a runway incursion, which is one of the most serious mistakes in aviation and something the FAA takes very seriously. Here is the thing new pilots need to hear plainly: asking for help on the ground is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of good judgment. The tool is called progressive taxi, and any pilot can ask for it at any time.

The request

Just tell Ground you are unfamiliar and ask for progressive taxi. Saying "unfamiliar with the field" is the magic phrase — controllers immediately slow down, simplify, and guide you:

🎙 You say “Ground, Skyhawk Five-Two-Kilo, unfamiliar with the field, request progressive taxi to parking.”

Say you are unfamiliar — controllers slow down and help.

What you get

Instead of a single long taxi route to copy all at once, Ground walks you along one instruction at a time as you reach each turn: "Five-Two-Kilo, turn left on Alpha… Five-Two-Kilo, hold short of Runway two-five… cross Runway two-five, continue on Alpha to the ramp." You read back the hold-short and runway-crossing instructions exactly as you always would, and you never have to guess where the next turn is.

When to ask

Ask before you start moving if you already know the field is unfamiliar or complex. But it is equally fine to ask mid-taxi the moment you get disoriented — controllers far prefer a pilot who stops and asks over one who guesses and wanders toward a runway. It costs nothing and it is routine to them.

💡 If you are ever unsure where you are or whether you may cross a runway — STOP where you are and ask. "Five-Two-Kilo, say my position" or simply holding your position and requesting progressive taxi is always better than rolling forward on a hunch near a runway.

💡 The only way this becomes automatic is saying it out loud, dozens of times, before you key a live mic. That is exactly what ATCpal is for — practice asking for progressive taxi and reading back the crossings. Practice it free at atcpal.app.

Phraseology sourced from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Change 3, effective 9 July 2026) and the Pilot/Controller Glossary. Check the AIM · Last reviewed 13 August 2026.

Practice this call out loud — free

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