noun

• The flight path maintained by an aircraft awaiting permission to land.

  ‘He planned to stack up all the heavies in a holding pattern to await further approach clearance when visibility increased.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Outgoing flights were cancelled and incoming flights put on a holding pattern.’
  • ‘We had to go into a holding pattern and await a fighter escort.’
  • ‘Kept in a wide holding pattern after flying in from Honolulu, and while hoping for the storm to abate somewhat, it was later believed that the M - 130's captain thought he was somewhere over the Pacific.’
  • ‘Then after three and a half hours, near the tip of Greenland, radio orders put us in a holding pattern.’
  • ‘The crew returned to home station and entered a holding pattern to assess their options and compute landing data.’
  • ‘We spent a long time going around in a circle holding pattern waiting for our turn to land.’
  • ‘After quick trouble shooting, the crew decided to execute a go-around and then enter the holding pattern in order to further analyze the situation.’
  • ‘But it was flying at 34,000 feet and turned south into a holding pattern over the island after passing over the airport.’
  • ‘At that point, thunderstorms forced the plane into a holding pattern.’
  • ‘The crew waited 18 seconds, the approximate gear transit time given by the Dash - 1, before entering a holding pattern at 2,000 feet.’
  • ‘I'm going to miss out on the next Melbourne meetup too - if all goes well, when the gang gathers at the Gin Palace I'll be hovering somewhere over Tokyo in a holding pattern.’