Direct flight

A direct flight in the aviation industry is any flight between two points by an airline with no change in flight numbers, which may include one or more stops at an intermediate point(s). A stop may either be to get new passengers (or allow some to disembark) or a technical stop over (i.e., for refuelling). Direct flights are often confused with non-stop flights, which are a special case of direct flights involving no intermediate stops. When there is a change in flight number, the subsequent flight is referred to as a connecting flight. A direct flight in the aviation industry is any flight between two points by an airline with no change in flight numbers, which may include one or more stops at an intermediate point(s). A stop may either be to get new passengers (or allow some to disembark) or a technical stop over (i.e., for refuelling). Direct flights are often confused with non-stop flights, which are a special case of direct flights involving no intermediate stops. When there is a change in flight number, the subsequent flight is referred to as a connecting flight. The term 'direct flight' is not legally defined in the United States, but since the 1970s the Official Airline Guides have defined the term simply as a flight(s) with a single flight number. (In earlier years 'direct' in the OAG did mean 'no plane change'.) While so-called 'direct' flights may thus involve changes in aircraft (a 'change of gauge'), or even airline at the intermediate point, they are typically—but not always—differentiated from 'connecting flights' in that the airline will enforce a dependency between multiple legs of the flight, so that leg two cannot operate if leg one has failed to arrive at the departure airport. Direct flights involving aircraft changes typically change to planes at adjoining or nearby gates.