ETOPS (/iːˈtɒps/) is an aviation acronym for Extended Operations.

The term used to

signify Extended Range Operation with Two-Engine Airplanes but the meaning was changed by
the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when regulations were broadened to include
aircraft with more than two engines.[1] It refers to the standards and recommended
practices (SARPS) issued by ICAO for aircraft (such as the Airbus
A300, A310, A320, A330 and A350, the Boeing 737, 757, 767, 777, 787, the Embraer E-Jets,
and the ATR 72) to fly long-distance routes that had been off-limits to twin-engined aircraft, and
subsequently to extended range operations of four-engined aircraft (such as the Boeing 747-8
Intercontinental).
In aviation vernacular, the colloquial backronym is "Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim", referring
to the inevitable emergency water landing of a twin engine aircraft after a double engine
failure over water outside gliding range of land. But ETOPS operation has no direct correlation to
water or distance over water. It refers to flight times between diversion airports, regardless as to
whether such fields are separated by water or land.