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Aviation vocabulary · Air Traffic Control & Radiotelephony

Line up

Meaning in aviation, with examples

phrasal verbCore term

In aviation, line up means: To taxi onto the runway and stop on the centreline in the takeoff position, ready to go but not yet cleared for takeoff.

In Turkish: piste girip hizalanmak, pozisyon almak

How it is used

ATC says 'line up and wait' (ICAO and US) or simply 'line up runway 05'. It saves time when the runway is busy. Pilots complete the last items of the before takeoff checklist while they line up.

Example sentences

  1. Fastair 345, runway 05, line up and wait.

  2. We lined up and waited almost three minutes for the landing traffic to vacate.

Common collocations

  • line up and wait
  • line up runway 05
  • line up behind
  • lined up on the runway
  • cleared for takeoffThe ATC phrase that gives an aircraft permission to start its takeoff run on a specific runway. It is normally given by the tower controller.
  • hold shortAn ATC instruction to stop before a runway or another point and not go past it until you receive a clearance.
  • runwayA long, specially prepared strip at an airport that aircraft use to take off and land. Each runway is named by a number based on its magnetic direction.
  • takeoffThe moment or phase in which an aircraft speeds up along the runway and leaves the ground to begin a flight.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Air Traffic Control & Radiotelephony

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