JOCSON COLLEGE
AERODROME
ENGINEERING
Airport Lighting, Marking, and Signage
Visual aids assist the pilot on approach to an airport, as
well as navigating around an airfield and are essential
elements of airport infrastructure. As such, these facilities
require proper planning and precise design.
Airport signs, markings, and lights are used to provide
directions and assist pilots in airport operations. It is
important for pilots to know the meanings of the signs,
markings, and lights to help prevent runway incursions
and pilot deviations while operating on the airport
surface.
Runway Markings
Taxiway Markings
Airport Signs
Mandatory instruction signs have a red background with a white inscription. They
are used to denote an entrance to a runway or critical area, and areas where an
aircraft is prohibited from entering.
Location signs typically have a black background with a yellow inscription and
yellow border. They are used to identify where the aircraft is located.
Direction signs have a yellow background with a black inscription. Each designation
is accompanied by an arrow indicating the direction of the turn.
Airport Lighting
The majority of airports have some type of lighting for night
operations. The variety and type of lighting systems depends on
the volume and complexity of operations at a given airport.
Airport lighting is standardized so that airports use the same light
colors for runways and taxiways.
Airport Beacon
Airport beacons help a pilot identify an airport at night. The beacons are operated
from dusk till dawn. Airport and heliport beacons have a vertical light distribution
to make them most effective from 1° to 10° above the horizon. The beacon may be
an omni-directional capacitor-discharge device, or it may rotate at a constant
speed which produces the visual effect of flashes at regular intervals.
Beacon colors and combinations:
• Flashing white and green for civilian land airports;
• Flashing white and yellow for a water airport;
• Flashing white, yellow, and green for a heliport; and
• Two quick white flashes alternating with a green flash identifying a military
airport.
Runway Lighting
Taxiway Lights
Omnidirectional taxiway lights outline the edges of the
taxiway and are blue in color. At many airports, these edge
lights may have variable intensity settings that may be
adjusted by an air traffic controller when deemed necessary
or when requested by the pilot. Some airports also have
taxiway centerline lights that are green in color.
Obstructions are marked or lighted to warn pilots of their
presence during daytime and nighttime conditions.
Obstruction lighting can be found both on and off an airport
to identify obstructions.
Runway Configurations
1. Single – an airport having one runway
2. Parallel- two or more runways at an airport whose centerlines are parallel
Close parallel( centerlines are less than 2,500 feet apart )
Intermediate parallel ( centerlines are 2,500 –4,300 feet apart )
Far parallel ( centerlines are more than 4,300 feet apart )
3. Open V-are two intersecting runways whose extended centerlines intersection
beyond their respective thresholds
4. Intersecting- two ore more runways that cross or meet within their lengths
Airport Equipment & Services
• Air Traffic Control
• Air traffic control (ATC) is the task of managing aircraft movements and making sure
they are safe, orderly and expeditious.
• Aircraft Ground Handling
• Aircraft ground handling defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the ground
and (usually) parked at a terminal gate of an airport.
• Ground Support Equipment
• Ground support equipment (GSE) is the support equipment found at an airport,
usually on the apron, the servicing area by the terminal.
• Safety Management
• Aviation safety is an important concern in the operation of an airport, and almost
every airfield includes equipment and procedures for handling emergency situations.
• Airport Emergency Services
• Safety management is commonly understood as applying a set of principles,
framework, processes and measures to prevent accidents, injuries and other adverse
consequences that may be caused by using a service or a product.
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