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Aviation glossary

Runway

Also: landing strip, airstrip

Airports

Rectangular surface at an aerodrome prepared for aircraft to take off and land, identified by its magnetic orientation.

What it is

Wherever the terrain allows, a runway is aligned with the prevailing wind, because aircraft prefer to take off and land into wind. At major international airports runways are typically 3,000 to 4,000 metres long and around 45 metres wide, enough for fully loaded wide-body aircraft. Many airports have several, parallel or crossing, to increase capacity or provide options for different wind conditions.

A runway is more than a strip of paving: it carries painted markings, edge and threshold lights, often centreline lights too, and is surrounded by a cleared strip with safety areas beyond each end. Its length, surface and strength determine which aircraft can use it and at what weight. Madrid-Barajas, for instance, has four runways arranged in two parallel pairs.

On Vuelopedia

An airport page lists its runways with their designation, length and surface.

Airports

Related terms

Runway designationTwo-digit number painted at each end of a runway giving its magnetic heading in tens of degrees, with L, C or R added where runways are parallel. Runway thresholdBeginning of the part of a runway usable for landing, marked with white longitudinal stripes and green lights visible to aircraft on approach. Runway surfaceMaterial a runway is built from, such as asphalt, concrete, gravel or grass, which determines the aircraft and weights it can accept. TaxiwayPaved route linking the runways with the apron and other parts of an airport, along which aircraft move on the ground under their own power. Take-off distanceDistance an aircraft needs from the start of its take-off run until it reaches a reference height above the runway, normally 35 feet for transport aircraft.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Runway. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/runway

MLA

“Runway.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/runway. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Runway.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/runway.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Runway. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/runway (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_runway,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Runway}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/runway},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/runway}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/runway |title=Runway |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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