Runway exit sign
A runway exit sign carries a taxiway designation and an arrow that points a landing aircraft toward the taxiway leading off the runway — black on yellow, it helps the crew find and turn onto the correct exit.
![[B→] Runway exit sign with 400 mm legend: black arrow and exit taxiway designation B on yellow, in a gray sign box with bird deterrent spikes](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Frunway-exit-b-400.2zw1gf_heb7ur.png&w=3840&q=75)
What a runway exit sign is
A runway exit sign identifies the taxiway that leads off a runway. It carries the designation of that exit taxiway together with an arrow, and it is one of the information signs, so it shows a black inscription on a yellow background. The sign is positioned so that a landing aircraft can pick it out during the rollout: it lets the crew locate the correct exit and turn off the runway, which helps traffic vacate the runway promptly and keep it available for the next arrival or departure.
ICAO, EASA and FAA names
The runway exit sign is an explicitly named information-sign type in ICAO Annex 14 Volume I (5.4.3.2) and in EASA CS-ADR-DSN — not just a repurposed direction sign. Its inscription is the designation of the exit taxiway together with an arrow (5.4.3.27). The FAA likewise names it the runway exit sign in its advisory circulars (AC 150/5340-18). It is closely related to — and shares the yellow-and-black scheme of — the direction sign, but it is a distinct, named sign type in all three standards. In every case the face uses the standard information-sign scheme: black characters and a black arrow on yellow.
How it reads and where it stands
The inscription is the designation of the exit taxiway paired with a single arrow pointing the way onto it. The arrow always turns off the runway — an exit cannot lie straight ahead along the runway, and it cannot turn back at more than 90° — so the arrow points to the side, or diagonally forward for a high-speed exit. The sign is sited alongside the runway ahead of the exit, so that a landing aeroplane rolling out has time to read it, identify the taxiway and line up for the turn. Where several exits are available, each is signed for its own taxiway, and a runway exit sign is frequently mounted in the same array as a location sign so the crew can confirm which taxiway they are joining as they leave the runway.
The larger legend
Because it must be readable at landing speeds, the runway exit sign carries a larger legend than the rest of the yellow family: on code 3 and 4 runways the exit-sign legend is 400 mm, where direction and destination signs use 300 mm. The illustration above shows a 400 mm-legend exit sign from a real project.
Reading it against the rest of the family
A runway exit sign belongs to the information family that guides aircraft along the manoeuvring area, so it should not be confused with the red mandatory-instruction signs that mark where an aircraft must stop. The exit sign only advises the way off the runway; the decision about when the aircraft is finally clear of the runway is marked separately — under ICAO by the runway vacated sign and under the FAA by the runway boundary sign. Keeping those roles distinct is the reason the colours and shapes are held to the ICAO Annex 14 Volume I, EASA CS-ADR-DSN and FAA conventions.
Draw them in Wingframe
Wingframe draws runway exit signs to the ICAO, EASA and FAA information-sign scheme — black legend and arrow on yellow, correct arrow geometry, and clean co-mounting with a location sign in the same array. See what Wingframe can do.