Runway lighting

Runway lighting is used at airports which allow night landings. Seen from the air, runway lights form an outline of the runway. A particular runway may have some or all of the following.

• Runway End Identification Lights (REIL) Unidirectional (facing approach direction) or omnidirectional pair of synchronized flashing lights installed at the runway threshold, one on each side.

• Runway end lights A pair of four lights on each side of the runway On precision instrument runways, these lights extend along the full width of the runway. These lights show green when viewed by approaching aircraft and red when seen from the runway.

• In-runway Lighting

• Runway Edge Lights White elevated run the length of the runway on either side. On precision instrument runways, the edge-lighting becomes yellow in the last 2,000 ft (610 m) of the runway. Taxiways are differentiated by being bordered by blue lights, or by having green centre lights, depending on the width of the taxiway, and the complexity of the taxi pattern.

• Approach Lighting System or ALS, is a lighting system installed on the approach end of an airport runway and consists of a series of lightbars, strobe lights, or a combination of the two that extends outward from the runway end.