Runway markings are white, and they show where the runway starts, which way it points and how far down it you are. Yellow markings on or beside a runway show pavement you may not use or a place you must stop. The runway’s type sets its white markings: a visual runway needs only a number and centerline, a nonprecision instrument runway adds threshold stripes and aiming point markings, and a precision instrument runway adds touchdown zone markings and side stripes.
Part of our Airport Operations guide. Read it with airport signs, because every runway holding position marking on a taxiway has a red holding position sign beside it.
White for runways, yellow for everything else
The FAA’s Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) sets the color rule: runway markings are white, while markings for taxiways, holding positions and areas not intended for aircraft (closed and hazardous areas) are yellow, even when a holding position is painted on a runway.
| Marking | Color | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Runway number | White | Magnetic direction, plus L, C or R on parallel runways |
| Centerline | White | Alignment for takeoff and landing |
| Threshold stripes | White | Beginning of the runway available for landing |
| Threshold bar | White | Start of landing pavement at a displaced or relocated threshold |
| Arrows and arrowheads | White | Displaced area: takeoff yes, landing toward it no |
| Aiming point | White | Visual aiming point about 1,000 feet in |
| Touchdown zone bars | White | Distance in 500-foot steps |
| Side stripes | White | Edges of the usable runway |
| Shoulder stripes | Yellow | Paved shoulder not for aircraft |
| Demarcation bar | Yellow | End of a blast pad, stopway or taxiway before a displaced threshold |
| Chevrons | Yellow | Unusable for landing, takeoff and taxiing |
| Holding position markings | Yellow | Stop short of a runway, ILS critical area or taxiway |
| Large X | Yellow | Closed runway or taxiway |
Which markings a runway gets
The AIM lists the minimum markings for each runway type. The detailed standard, FAA Advisory Circular 150/5340-1M, lets an airport add more, such as side stripes or aiming point markings on a visual runway.
| Marking | Visual | Nonprecision | Precision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Centerline | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Threshold | Some (1) | Yes | Yes |
| Aiming point | Some (2) | Yes | Yes |
| Touchdown zone | No | No | Yes |
| Side stripes | No | No | Yes |
(1) Visual runways used by international commercial transports. (2) Visual runways 4,000 feet or longer used by jets. Source: AIM TBL 2-3-1.
Runway numbers and letters
Runway numbers are determined from the approach direction. The number is the whole number nearest one-tenth of the centerline’s magnetic direction, so 183 degrees magnetic is Runway 18 and 87 degrees is Runway 9 (a single-digit number is never painted with a leading zero). A runway aligned with 090 and 270 degrees magnetic is Runway 9 at one end and Runway 27 at the other. Parallel runways add L and R, or L, C and R for three.
Before you add takeoff power, check that your heading indicator agrees with the runway number. The PHAK recommends this final scan to avoid a wrong-runway departure, especially where runway ends sit close together.
Centerline
The centerline is a line of evenly spaced white stripes and gaps that gives you alignment guidance for takeoff and landing. Under AC 150/5340-1M each stripe is 120 feet long with an 80-foot gap, at least 12 inches wide on a visual runway, 18 on a nonprecision runway and 36 on a precision runway.
Threshold stripes and what the count tells you
Threshold markings identify the beginning of the runway available for landing. The AIM describes two patterns: eight uniform stripes, or a number of stripes tied to the runway’s width.
| Runway width | Threshold stripes |
|---|---|
| 60 feet | 4 |
| 75 feet | 6 |
| 100 feet | 8 |
| 150 feet | 12 |
| 200 feet | 16 |
Twelve stripes points to a 150-foot runway, but eight could be either pattern, so treat the count as a cue and get the width from the Chart Supplement, which lists each runway’s length and width.
Aiming point and touchdown zone markings
The aiming point marking is a pair of broad white rectangles, one on each side of the centerline, about 1,000 feet from the threshold. On runways with a PAPI or VASI, the FAA marking standard describes those lights as co-located with it.
Touchdown zone markings, found on precision instrument runways, code distance in 500-foot steps with pairs of bars: three bars at 500 feet, the aiming point at 1,000, two bars at 1,500 and 2,000, and one bar at 2,500 and 3,000. On a runway marked from both ends, pairs within 900 feet of the midpoint are left off.
The bars make a handy yardstick. The Airplane Flying Handbook says your selected landing point is normally beyond the threshold but within the first third of the runway, a habit worth building for normal landings and short-field landings.
Side stripes and shoulder markings
Side stripes are continuous white lines along both runway edges that contrast the runway with the ground or shoulders beside it. They are standard on precision runways and also used where the full paved width is not usable runway. Yellow shoulder stripes, slanted at 45 degrees, are optional and mark a paved shoulder that pilots might mistake for runway.
Displaced and relocated thresholds
A displaced threshold sits somewhere other than the beginning of the runway, for reasons such as keeping the approach clear of obstacles (AC 150/5300-13B, Airport Design). The pavement behind it carries white arrows along the centerline and white arrowheads across the runway, ending at a 10-foot white threshold bar.
- You may use that pavement for takeoff in either direction, and an airplane landing from the opposite direction may use it.
- You may not touch down on it when landing toward the threshold bar.
The Chart Supplement’s runway length runs end to end and includes displaced thresholds, while each runway end’s data lists its displacement and any declared distances, so your landing distance may be shorter than the headline length. Factor that into takeoff and landing performance.
A relocated threshold is different. When construction or maintenance closes part of a runway, the threshold moves toward the far end, and the closed part is not available for takeoff or landing, though the PHAK notes it may stay open for taxi. It also shortens the runway for the opposite direction. A 10-foot white threshold bar is a common marking, the runway lights in the closed area are not lit, and a NOTAM should describe the closure, such as the AIM’s example “10/28 W 900 CLSD.”
Demarcation bars, blast pads and stopways
A demarcation bar is a 3-foot yellow bar that separates a runway with a displaced threshold from a blast pad, stopway or taxiway before it; it is yellow because it is not on the runway. Yellow chevrons mark pavement lined up with the runway that is unusable for landing, takeoff and taxiing, such as a blast pad. Chevrons also mark an EMAS (arresting system) bed beyond some runways, which the AIM says aircraft should never taxi across.
Holding position markings
The runway holding position marking is four yellow lines across the taxiway, two solid and two dashed, with the solid lines always on the side where you hold. Told to “hold short of Runway 18,” you stop with no part of the airplane past the marking.
- Towered airport: never cross without an ATC clearance (by light gun signal if your radio fails), and read back every hold-short instruction, as covered in towered airport communications.
- Non-towered airport: the AIM requires adequate separation from other aircraft, vehicles and pedestrians before you cross, so check both directions and final approach.
- Exiting the runway: you meet the dashed lines first and are clear only when the whole airplane has crossed the marking. No clearance is needed to cross it on the way off, but at a towered airport you then hold unless ATC has given further instructions.
Some airports add an enhanced taxiway centerline, yellow dashes on both sides of the centerline for up to 150 feet, to warn that a hold line is coming. Hold markings also appear on runways used for land and hold short operations (LAHSO); accept “cleared to land Runway 9, hold short of Runway 36” and you must exit or stop before them, while a plain landing clearance lets you disregard them. The AIM says student pilots should not participate in LAHSO.
The ILS critical area holding position marking is a yellow ladder, and you stop there only when ATC tells you to hold short of the ILS critical area; the same ladder can protect a runway’s approach or departure area. A single dashed yellow line marks a hold short of an intersecting taxiway.
Closed runways and taxiways
A yellow X means closed. A permanently closed runway has its lights disconnected, its threshold, number and touchdown markings removed, and yellow crosses at each end and every 1,000 feet. A temporarily closed runway gets a cross at each end only, or a raised, lighted yellow cross. Temporarily closed taxiways are usually barricaded or marked with a yellow cross at each entrance. There may be no visual indication at all, so check NOTAMs and the ATIS.
Check the runway before you fly
Markings are fair game on the checkride: the Private Pilot ACS covers airport markings, signs and lights and expects you to position the airplane properly relative to hold lines (see the checkride guide). At night, runway edge lights outline the runway, as explained in airport lighting.
What you'll need
The Chart Supplement for runway data, the FAR/AIM for the marking rules, the Airplane Flying Handbook for landing technique and a kneeboard to keep them in reach, all from PilotMall.com.
Frequently asked questions
What do the numbers on a runway mean?
The number is the runway’s magnetic direction to the nearest 10 degrees with the last digit dropped, read from the approach direction. A runway pointing 090 degrees magnetic is Runway 9, and its other end is Runway 27. Parallel runways add L, C or R.
Can you land on a displaced threshold?
Not when landing toward it. The pavement behind a displaced threshold is available for takeoff in either direction and for airplanes landing from the opposite direction, but you may not touch down on it when landing in the direction of the displacement.
What is the difference between a displaced and a relocated threshold?
Pavement behind a displaced threshold stays usable for takeoff and for landings from the other direction. A relocated threshold closes that part of the runway to takeoffs and landings, for construction or maintenance, shortens the runway in both directions and should be described in a NOTAM.
Which side of the hold short line do you stop on?
Stop on the side with the two solid lines, with no part of the airplane past the marking. When leaving a runway you meet the dashed lines first, and you are clear only after the whole airplane has crossed all four lines.
What do yellow chevrons at the end of a runway mean?
They mark pavement lined up with the runway that is unusable for landing, takeoff and taxiing, such as a blast pad or stopway. Chevrons also mark an EMAS bed beyond some runways, which aircraft should never taxi across.