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Aviation glossary

Runway designation

Also: runway number, runway numbering, runway heading

Airports

Two-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.

What it is

The designation is found by rounding the runway's magnetic heading to the nearest ten degrees and dropping the final zero: a runway aligned at 87 degrees becomes 09, and its opposite end, at 267 degrees, becomes 27. The two numbers of the same runway therefore always differ by 18. Where there are parallel runways, the letters L, C and R (left, centre and right, as seen on approach) are added.

Because the magnetic pole wanders, magnetic variation changes over the years and some runways have to be renumbered, with new signs, charts and procedures to match. In some areas near the pole, where a compass is unreliable, runways are numbered relative to true north instead. Controllers tell each flight which runway is in use, for example runway 27L.

On Vuelopedia

Every airport page on Vuelopedia gives the designation of each runway, together with its length and surface.

Related terms

RunwayRectangular surface at an aerodrome prepared for aircraft to take off and land, identified by its magnetic orientation. Runway thresholdBeginning of the part of a runway usable for landing, marked with white longitudinal stripes and green lights visible to aircraft on approach. ApproachThe phase of flight in which the aircraft lines up with the runway and descends along a defined path to the point where the crew decides to land or go around. Control towerAir traffic control unit based at an airport that clears take-offs, landings and ground movements and handles traffic in the immediate vicinity.
Whole glossary

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Harvard

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

BibTeX

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

Wikipedia

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

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