A departure path is a space in the air leading away from an airport runway, where pilots are directed or permitted to fly on the way out of an airport at the outset of any flight. The actual space of a departure path generally gets wider and higher the farther it gets from the runway.

The corridor follows aircraft moving away from the runway. Its usual widening and rising extent corresponds to increasing distance from the airport.

An approach path concerns aircraft descending toward a runway. The departure and approach distinctions concern the direction and phase of the flight.