Runway markings explained
What every runway and hold-short marking means, and what you can and can't do on each.
Runway and taxiway markings tell you where you can taxi, take off, land and stop. White markings are on runways. Yellow markings are on taxiways, plus the hold-short lines and blast pads.
Runway markings chart
| Marking | What it means |
|---|---|
| Runway number (designator) | The runway's magnetic heading, rounded to the nearest 10° with the last digit dropped. Runway 36 points about 360°. |
| Threshold stripes | The beginning of the runway available for landing. |
| Aiming point | Two wide white bars about 1,000 ft past the threshold, a visual aiming point for landing. |
| Touchdown zone markings | Pairs of bars in 500 ft steps that help you judge distance (on runways with precision approaches). |
| White arrows to a white bar: displaced threshold | You may taxi and take off here, and use it for rollout landing from the other direction, but do not land on it. |
| Yellow chevrons: blast pad or stopway | Not for taxi, takeoff or landing. |
| X on a runway or taxiway | Closed. Check NOTAMs; a temporary closure may not be marked. |
Hold short markings
Runway holding position markings are four yellow lines across the taxiway: two solid and two dashed. The solid lines are on the side where you hold. Coming from the taxiway, stop before the solid lines until you are cleared onto or across the runway. When you exit a runway, you are not clear until your whole airplane has crossed the marking.
Dashed yellow lines on both sides of the taxiway centerline (enhanced taxiway centerline) warn that a hold-short marking is coming up. A red sign with white letters marks the same holding position.
Get the 2-page checkride cheat sheetACS standards, VFR minimums, light gun signals and more, as a printable PDF.Source: FAA AIM 2-3, Airport Marking Aids and Signs.
Traffic pattern lab
Every leg and radio call
Open →Radio Trainer
Practice taxi and hold-short readbacks
Open →Common questions
Which side of the hold short line do I stop on?
Stop on the side with the solid lines. Coming from the taxiway, that is before the solid lines.
Can I land on a displaced threshold?
No. You may taxi and take off on it, and use it for rollout when landing from the other direction, but not touch down on it.
Can I taxi on a blast pad with yellow chevrons?
No. Blast pads and stopways are not for taxi, takeoff or landing.
Sources, review & change history
- Published
- Oct 26, 2026
- Review status
- Written from the FAA sources linked in the text. Not yet re-checked line by line or reviewed by a flight instructor.
- Changes
- Oct 26, 2026: first published.
Study aid only. Your instructor, current 14 CFR and the FAA's handbooks and ACS have the final word.