Aerodrome

Markings and
Lighting
 Aerodrome Markings
Introduction

'Markings' generally mean paint, in the form of characters and

numbers painted onto the pave surfaces. Markings may be found on
any paved surface and are used to indicate directions, locations,
holding points and the boundaries of the surfaces themselves.
Signs serve a similar function. Their purpose is to give instructions and
information and to identify specific areas or features.
Runways and Taxiways
RUNWAY MARKINGS MUST BE WHITE.
TAXIWAY MARKINGS AND AIRCRAFT
STAND MARKINGS MUST BE YELLOW.
Pre-Threshold Area
THE PAVED AREA PRECEDING AN
INSET THRESHOLD WILL BE MARKED
WITH WHITE ARROWS.
ICAO RECOMMENDS THAT WHEN A
PAVED PRE-THRESHOLD SURFACE IS
LONGER THAN 60M BUT ISN'T SUITABLE
FOR NORMAL USE THE ENTIRE LENGTH
SHOULD BE MARKED BY YELLOW
CHEVRONS. THE DISTINCTION IS THAT
THE CHEVRONED AREA MUST NOT BE
USED EVEN FOR LINE-UP. BUT IT CAN
BE USED IN EMERGENCY AS A
STOPWAY.
Runway Designation and
Threshold Markings
A RUNWAY DESIGNATION MARKING
SHALL BE PROVIDED AT THE THRESHOLDS
OF PAVED RUNWAYS SHOWING THE
MAGNETIC ALIGNMENT OF THE RUNWAY
IN TWO DIGITS TO THE NEAREST ONE
TENTH OF MAGNETIC AZIMUTH.
IN THE CASE OF PARALLEL RUNWAYS THE
TWO DIGIT DESIGNATION IS FOLLOWED
BY A LETTER:
Runway Aiming
Point Marking
An aiming point marking must
be provided at the approach
end of a paved instrument
runway.
Touchdown Zone
Marking
A TOUCHDOWN ZONE MARKING
MUST BE PROVIDED FOR PAVED
PRECISION APPROACH RUNWAY.
FIXED DISTANCE MARKERS ARE
PLACED 300M BEYOND THE RUNWAY
THRESHOLD.
Runway Vacated Signs
A PAIR OF RUNWAY VACATED SIGNS ARE LOCATED ON EITHER SIDE OF THE
TAXIWAY AT THE BOUNDARY OF THE ILS/MLS SENSITIVE AREA.
DURING LOW VISIBILITY OPERATIONS ONLY WHEN ALL PARTS OF YOUR AIRCRAFT
ARE BEYOND THE SIGNS MAY YOU CALL "RUNWAY VACATED
Mandatory Signs
MANDATORY SIGNS ARE USED TO CONVEY MANDATORY INSTRUCTIONS AND
INFORMATION.
MANDATORY INSTRUCTIONS ARE SHOWN AS WHITE TEXT ON A RED BACKGROUND. THEY
ARE USED TO IDENTIFY A LOCATION BEYOND WHICH AN AIRCRAFT TAXIING OR VEHICLE
MUST NOT PROCEED WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION.
MANDATORY INSTRUCTION SIGNS INCLUDE RUNWAY DESIGNATION SIGNS, CAT I, II OR III
HOLDING POSITION SIGNS,
TAXI HOLDING POSITIONS SIGNS, ROAD HOLDING POSITION SIGNS AND NO ENTRY
SIGNS.
Information Signs
INFORMATION SIGNS INCLUDE DIRECTIONS SIGNS, LOCATION SIGNS,
DESTINATION SIGNS, RUNWAY EXIT SIGNS AND RUNWAY VACATED
SIGNS.
LOCATION SIGNS WHICH IDENTIFY A RUNWAY OR TAXIWAY HAVE
YELLOW CHARACTERS ON A BLACK BACKGROUND SURROUNDED BY A
YELLOW BORDER.
DIRECTION OR DESTINATION SIGNS WHICH INDICATE A ROUTE TO
FOLLOW HAVE BLACK CHARACTERS ON A YELLOW BACKGROUND.
 Aerodrome Lighting
Lightening of Objects
LOW, MEDIUM OR HIGH INTENSITY OBSTACLE LIGHTS,
OR A COMBINATION OF THEM SHOULD BE USED TO
LIGHT OBSTACLES. THE LIGHTS MUST BE ARRANGED SO
THAT THE OBSTACLE IS INDICATED FROM ALL AZIMUTH
ANGLES.
THE THREE TYPES OF LIGHT ARE COLOURED AS FOLLOWS:
• LOW INTENSITY - RED. OBSTACLES <45M ABOVE
GROUND LEVEL (AGL).
• MEDIUM INTENSITY - FLASH RED OR WHITE. OBSTACLES
45-150M AGL.
• HIGH INTENSITY - FLASHING WHITE. OBSTACLES >150M
AGL.
LOW INTENSITY LIGHTS ON MOBILE OBJECTS SHOULD BE
RED OR, PREFERABLY, YELLOW.
Runway Edge Lights
RUNWAY EDGE LIGHTS MUST BE FIXED LIGHTS SHOWING VARIABLE WHITE, EXCEPT
THAT: FOR DISPLACED THRESHOLD, THE LIGHTS BETWEEN THE BEGINNING OF THE
RUNWAY AND THE DISPLACED THRESHOLD ARE RED.
EDGE LIGHTS ARE OMNIDIRECTIONAL WHERE THEY ARE INTENDED TO PROVIDE
GUIDANCE FOR CIRCLING APPROACHES.
 Runway Threshold Lights

RUNWAY THRESHOLD LIGHTS

ARE FIXED UNIDIRECTIONAL
LIGHTS SHOWING GREEN IN
THE DIRECTION OF THE
APPROACH.
Runway Touchdown Zone Lights
TOUCHDOWN ZONE IS THE PORTION OF A RUNWAY, BEYOND THE THRESHOLD, WHERE IT IS
INTENDED LANDING AEROPLANE'S FIRST CONTACT THE RUNWAY.
TOUCHDOWN ZONE LIGHTS MUST BE PROVIDED IN THE TOUCHDOWN ZONE OF A CAT II OR CAT III
RUNWAY.
TOUCHDOWN ZONE LIGHTS EXTEND FROM THE THRESHOLD FOR 900M.
Runway Centreline Lighting.
Runway End Lighting.
RUNWAY CENTRELINE LIGHTING IS
COLOUR CODED.
• WHITE: FROM THE THRESHOLD TO 900 M
OF THE END OF THE RUNWAY
• ALTERNATING RED AND WHITE: FROM
900 M TO 300 M
• RED: FOR THE LAST 300 M OF THE
RUNWAY.
RUNWAY END LIGHTS ARE FIXED
UNIDIRECTIONAL RED LIGHTS SHOWING IN
THE DIRECTION OF LANDING.
Precision Approach Path Indicator
(PAPI) System
THE PAPI SYSTEM COMPRISES A BAR OF
4 EQUALLY SPACED LIGHTS NORMALLY
LOCATED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE
RUNWAY.
THE LIGHTS ARE ARRANGED TO
DISPLAY (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT):
• ABOVE THE APPROACH SLOPE:
WHITE-WHITE-WHITE-WHITE.
• SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE APPROACH
SLOPE: WHITE-WHITE-WHITE-RED.
• ON OR CLOSE TO THE APPROACH
SLOPE: WHITE-WHITE-RED-RED.
• SLIGHTLY BELOW THE APPROACH
SLOPE: WHITE-RED-RED-RED
• BELOW THE APPROACH SLOPE: RED-
RED-RED-RED.
The Abbreviated Precision
Approach Path Indicator System
THE APAPI SYSTEM COMPRISES 2 LIGHTS
NORMALLY LOCATED ON THE LEFT SIDE
OF THE RUNWAY.
THE LIGHTS ARE ARRANGED TO DISPLAY
(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT):
• ABOVE THE APPROACH SLOPE:
WHITE-WHITE
• ON THE APPROACH SLOPE: WHITE-
RED.
• BELOW THE APPROACH SLOPE: RED-
RED.
Taxiway Lighting

AT AERODROMES EQUIPPED FOR LOW VISIBILITY

OPERATIONS (RVR <400M), TAXIWAYS ARE FITTED
WITH GREEN CENTRELINE LIGHTING, OTHERWISE
BLUE EDGE LIGHTING IS PROVIDED.
 Questions

1) WHAT COLOUR ARE RUNWAY END LIGHTS?

A. UNIDIRECTIONAL RED
B. UNIDIRECTIONAL WHITE
C. OMNI-DIRECTIONAL RED
D. OMNI-DIRECTIONAL WHITE
2) WHAT IS THE COLOUR OF THRESHOLD LIGHTING?

A. OMNI-DIRECTIONAL GREEN
B. UNIDIRECTIONAL GREEN, SHOWING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE
APPROACH
C. UNIDIRECTIONAL WHITE, SHOWING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE
APPROACH
D. RED UNIDIRECTIONAL
3) TAXIWAY EDGE LIGHTS ARE:

A. FIXED SHOWING BLUE

B. FIXED SHOWING GREEN
C. FIXED SHOWING YELLOW
D. FLASHING SHOWING BLUE
4) ON THE PAPI SYSTEM THE PILOT CAN SEE, DURING THE
APPROACH, TWO WHITE LIGHTS FURTHEST FROM THE
RUNWAY AND TWO RED LIGHTS CLOSEST TO THE RUNWAY.
THE AIRCRAFT IS:

A. UNDER THE APPROACH GLIDE PATH

B. ABOVE THE APPROACH GLIDE PATH
C. PRECISELY ON THE GLIDE PATH
D. ON OR CLOSE TO THE APPROACH GLIDE PATH
5) THE ABBREVIATION “PAPI” STANDS FOR:

A. PRECISION APPROACH PATH INDEX

B. PRECISION APPROACH POWER INDICATOR
C. PRECISION APPROACH PATH INDICATOR
D. PRECISION APPROACH POWER INDEX
6) THE STANDARD COLOR USED FOR RUNWAY MARKINGS
SHALL BE:

A. WHITE OR YELLOW.
B. WHITE.
C. CONTRASTING THE RUNWAY SURFACE AND ACCEPTABLE TO THE
AUTHORITY.
D. YELLOW.
7) TAXIWAY EDGE LIGHTS SHALL BE:

A) FIXED SHOWING GREEN.

B) FLASHING SHOWING BLUE.
C) FIXED SHOWING YELLOW.
D) FIXED SHOWING BLUE.
8) TAXIWAY MARKINGS AND AIRCRAFT STAND MARKINGS
ARE:

A) WHITE
B) GREY
C) PINK
D) YELLOW
9) A PILOT MAKING AN APPROACH SEES 3 RED LIGHTS AND
1 WHITE LIGHT ON THE WINGBAR OF A PAPI. THIS MEANS
THAT:

A) HE IS ABOVE THE APPROACH SLOPE.

B) HE IS ON THE CENTRE LINE AXIS.
C) HE IS ON THE PRESCRIBED GLIDE SLOPE.
D) HE IS BELOW THE APPROACH SLOPE.
10) IF RUNWAY CENTRELINE LIGHTS ARE INSTALLED ON A
RUNWAY WITH A LENGTH OF 1 800 M OR MORE, THEY SHALL
HAVE THE FOLLOWING COLORS IN THE LAST 900 M
SEGMENT FROM THE RUNWAY END:

A) ALTERNATE RED AND WHITE FROM 900 M TO 300 M AND RED FROM
300 M TO THE RUNWAY END.
B) WHITE FROM 900 M TO 300 M AND RED FROM 300 M TO THE
RUNWAY END.
C) WHITE FROM 900 M TO 300 M AND ALTERNATE RED AND WHITE
FROM 300 M TO THE RUNWAY END.
D) ALTERNATE RED AND WHITE FROM 900 M TO 300 M AND WHITE
FROM 300 M TO THE RUNWAY END.
 Quiz answers
1) A
2) B
3) A
4) D
5) C
6) B
7) D
8) D
9) D
10) A
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION