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Aviation vocabulary · Airports & Ground Operations

Runway

Meaning in aviation, with examples

/ˈrʌnweɪ/nounCore term

In aviation, runway means: A 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.

In Turkish: pist

How it is used

Heard in almost every radio call. Runway 05 points roughly 050 degrees, and the same strip used the other way is runway 23. Parallel runways get L, C or R (left, centre, right). You enter, cross, vacate or hold short of a runway.

Example sentences

  1. Fastair 345, vacate the runway via taxiway Charlie.

  2. The runway in use is 23 left, with a light crosswind from the north.

Common collocations

  • runway in use
  • vacate the runway
  • cross the runway
  • runway incursion
  • wet runway
  • taxiwayA paved path at an airport that connects the runways with the aprons, stands and hangars. Aircraft use taxiways to move around on the ground.
  • takeoffThe moment or phase in which an aircraft speeds up along the runway and leaves the ground to begin a flight.
  • landingThe final phase of a flight, in which the aircraft comes down onto the runway, touches the ground and slows to taxi speed.
  • hold shortAn ATC instruction to stop before a runway or another point and not go past it until you receive a clearance.
  • crosswindA wind that blows across the runway from the side instead of along it, which makes takeoff and landing more difficult.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Airports & Ground Operations

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