Airport lighting follows one standard color code, so you can read any lighted airport at night: a rotating beacon flashing white and green marks a lighted land airport, white lights outline the runway edges, green lights mark the threshold, red lights mark the runway end and blue lights outline the taxiways. At selected airports, often where no control tower is operating, you turn the lights on yourself by keying your microphone 7, 5 or 3 times within 5 seconds on the frequency listed in the Chart Supplement.
Part of our Airport Operations guide. The approach slope lights beside the runway have their own page: PAPI and VASI lights.
Airport beacons
The rotating beacon is usually the first part of an airport you see at night. The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK) notes that beacons normally operate from dusk until dawn, and the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM 2-1-9) says they are most effective from 1 to 10 degrees above the horizon. An airport beacon flashes 24 to 30 times per minute, a heliport beacon 30 to 45 times. The colors tell you what it marks:
| Beacon colors | What it marks |
|---|---|
| White and green | Lighted land airport |
| White and yellow | Lighted water airport |
| Green, yellow and white | Lighted heliport |
| White and green, with two quick white flashes between the green flashes | Military airport |
The Airplane Flying Handbook’s night advice is simple: fly toward the rotating beacon until you can pick out the lights outlining the runway.
A beacon on in daylight
In the surface areas of Class B, C, D and E airspace, a beacon operating in daylight often indicates ground visibility of less than 3 miles or a ceiling below 1,000 feet, the basic VFR limits for those surface areas under 14 CFR 91.155. Do not rely on it: many beacons are switched by a photocell or timer that controllers cannot control, nothing requires daytime operation, and checking the weather is your job under 14 CFR 91.103. Use METARs and TAFs and the VFR weather minimums instead.
Approach light systems
Approach lights help instrument pilots transition from instrument flight to visual flight for landing, and the PHAK notes they also help VFR pilots at night. Per the AIM, they start at the landing threshold and extend into the approach area 2,400 to 3,000 feet for precision instrument runways and 1,400 to 1,500 feet for nonprecision instrument runways. Some include sequenced flashing lights that look like a ball of light traveling toward the runway at high speed, twice a second.
The Chart Supplement names each system with an abbreviation, such as MALSR (medium intensity approach lighting system with runway alignment indicator lights) or ODALS (omnidirectional approach lighting system). The Airplane Flying Handbook warns that where a double row of approach lights joins the runway edge lights, it can be hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, and that approach lights can make the airplane seem higher in a turn to final than when its wings are level.
Runway lights
- Runway edge lights come in high, medium and low intensity (HIRL, MIRL and LIRL); HIRL and MIRL have variable intensity. They are white, except that on instrument runways yellow replaces white on the last 2,000 feet or half the runway length, whichever is less, to form a caution zone for landings. The PHAK calls these lights amber.
- Threshold and runway end lights work in two directions: green outward from the runway end, marking the threshold for landing aircraft, and red toward the runway, marking the end for departing aircraft. On final you see green across the near end and red across the far end.
- Runway end identifier lights (REIL) are a pair of synchronized flashing lights, one on each side of the threshold. They help you find a runway surrounded by other lighting, one that lacks contrast with the terrain, or one in reduced visibility.
In-runway lighting
- Runway centerline lights: every 50 feet, white until the last 3,000 feet, then alternating red and white for 2,000 feet, then all red for the last 1,000 feet.
- Touchdown zone lights: two rows of steady white light bars from 100 feet past the threshold to 3,000 feet or the runway midpoint, whichever is less.
- Lead-off and lead-on lights: alternating green and yellow taxiway centerline lights showing that you are within the runway environment or ILS critical area.
- Land and hold short lights: a row of pulsing white lights across the runway at the hold-short point, on whenever land and hold short operations are in effect.
Taxiway lights
| Light | Color | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Taxiway edge lights | Blue | Outline the edges of the taxiway. |
| Taxiway centerline lights | Steady green | Mark the centerline, mainly for low visibility. |
| Clearance bar lights | Three steady yellow in-pavement lights | Mark a holding position in low visibility, or an intersecting taxiway at night. |
| Runway guard lights | A pair of elevated flashing yellow lights, or a row of yellow in-pavement lights | Mark a taxiway and runway intersection at the runway holding position. |
| Stop bar lights | A steady red row across the taxiway | Confirm a clearance to enter or cross a runway below 1,200 feet RVR. Never cross an illuminated red stop bar, even if cleared. |
These holding positions also have pavement markings and signs; see runway markings and airport signs.
Runway status lights
At some busy airports, runway status lights (RWSL) warn automatically that a runway is unsafe. Red runway entrance lights along a taxiway mean traffic is on the runway at high speed or on final, so stop at the hold line. Red takeoff hold lights along the runway mean it is occupied, so do not take off. Never cross illuminated red lights, and never treat lights going out as a clearance: RWSL confirms an ATC clearance but does not replace one. Runway status lighting is a knowledge element (PA.III.A.K9) in the private pilot Airman Certification Standards.
Pilot-controlled lighting
At a towered airport the tower controls the lights, and you can ask for them on, off, brighter or dimmer; see towered airport communications. At selected airports without a tower or flight service station, or when they are closed, you turn the lights on from the air by keying your microphone. All radio-controlled lighting at one airport uses the same frequency.
| Key the microphone | Result |
|---|---|
| 7 times within 5 seconds | Highest intensity available |
| 5 times within 5 seconds | Medium or lower intensity (lower REIL or REIL off) |
| 3 times within 5 seconds | Lowest intensity available (lower REIL or REIL off) |
- Start with 7 clicks so every controlled light comes on at its highest available intensity, then adjust down with 5 or 3 where the system allows it.
- The lights stay on for 15 minutes from the most recent activation.
- Click again before final. Receivers may be set to low sensitivity because nearby airports share frequencies, so key the microphone when you overfly the airport or just before final, even if the lights are on. That confirms you are close enough and restarts the 15 minutes.
- Find the frequency in the Chart Supplement or on the instrument approach chart. It is often the CTAF, but not always, and it is not shown on sectional charts. Look in the SERVICE section for an entry such as LGT ACTVT MIRL Rwy 01-19 followed by the frequency.
Read the lighting entries during preflight, not on downwind: the Chart Supplement notes where lighting is available only by prior arrangement or for part of the night, and where pilot-controlled lighting has specific hours. Our guide to non-towered airports and the CTAF covers the radio calls.
Obstruction lights
Under AIM 2-2-3, obstructions on and off airports are marked with aviation red lights (flashing red beacons at 20 to 40 flashes per minute plus steady red lights at night, with orange and white paint by day), with medium or high intensity flashing white lights that dim at night, or with dual lighting, red at night and high intensity white by day. High intensity white lights also mark tall chimneys and towers and some power line structures across rivers, chasms and gorges. Obstructions are depicted on your sectional chart, so study them before a night flight.
Night preflight: check the lights with a flashlight
The Airplane Flying Handbook’s night operations chapter recommends:
- At least one reliable flashlight on every night flight, ideally dimmable with both white and red light, plus spare batteries.
- White light for the preflight inspection, red light in the cockpit. Red does not impair night vision, but it distorts colors other than red on charts, so read charts with a dim white light.
- Turn the airplane’s lights on briefly during preflight and tap the position light fixtures; if a light blinks, find the cause before flight.
- Walk the parking ramp with the flashlight to spot stepladders, chocks and potholes before you taxi.
The airplane must also carry the night equipment in 14 CFR 91.205(c), including approved position lights and an anticollision light system; see ATOMATOFLAMES and FLAPS. Airport lighting, pilot-controlled lighting and personal night equipment are all knowledge elements of the private pilot Night Operations task (PA.XI.A.K2 and K4). If your radio fails at a towered field, the tower can still talk to you with light gun signals; see lost communications. For the approach itself, see how to land an airplane.
- Beacon: white and green = lighted land airport (military adds two quick white flashes)
- Runway edge: white; yellow on the last 2,000 ft or half the runway, whichever is less (instrument runways)
- Threshold: green toward landing aircraft. Runway end: red
- Taxiway: blue edges, green centerline
- Holding positions: yellow guard and clearance bar lights; never cross a lit red stop bar
- Pilot-controlled lighting: 7, 5 or 3 clicks within 5 seconds; on for 15 minutes
Gear for night flying
What you'll need
A white and red flashlight for the night preflight, plus the references that list each airport's lights, all from PilotMall.com.
Frequently asked questions
What color are runway lights?
Runway edge lights are white, except on instrument runways, where the last 2,000 feet or half the runway length, whichever is less, shows yellow as a caution zone. Threshold lights show green to landing aircraft, and runway end lights show red.
What color are taxiway lights?
Taxiway edge lights are blue and taxiway centerline lights are steady green. Yellow lights mark holding positions and taxiway and runway intersections, and you must never cross an illuminated red stop bar.
What does a white and green airport beacon mean?
A beacon flashing white and green marks a lighted land airport. White and yellow marks a lighted water airport, and a military airport shows two quick white flashes between the green flashes.
How do you turn on pilot-controlled lighting?
Tune the frequency listed in the Chart Supplement and key your microphone 7 times within 5 seconds for the highest intensity, then 5 or 3 times to lower it where that is available. The lights stay on for 15 minutes from the most recent activation.
Why is the airport beacon on during the day?
In the surface areas of Class B, C, D and E airspace, a beacon operating in daylight often means the ground visibility is less than 3 miles or the ceiling is less than 1,000 feet. Nothing requires it to work that way, so always check the actual weather.
What are REIL lights?
Runway end identifier lights are a pair of synchronized flashing lights, one on each side of the runway threshold. They help you identify the approach end of a runway that is surrounded by other lights, lacks contrast with the terrain, or is in reduced visibility.