If an aircraft is put in a holding pattern, it is instructed to continue flying while waiting for permission to land. ... If something or someone is in a holding pattern, they remain in the same state or continue to do the same thing while waiting for something to happen.

What is another word for holding pattern?

In this page you can discover 3 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for holding-pattern, like: waiting path, limbo and stack up.

What happens when a plane is in a holding pattern?

A holding pattern for instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft is usually a racetrack pattern based on a holding fix. ... Aircraft will fly towards the fix, and once there will enter a predefined racetrack pattern.