Runway vacated sign

What a runway vacated sign is

A runway vacated sign is installed on a taxiway leaving a runway to show the point at which an aircraft has fully passed clear of the runway. It marks where the aeroplane has moved beyond the runway strip or obstacle-free zone and, where instrument approaches are protected, beyond the ILS/MLS critical and sensitive area — in other words, the position at which the runway is considered vacated and can be released to other traffic. It is one of the information signs and carries the yellow-and-black information scheme.

Runway vacated sign (ICAO) and the FAA boundary-sign counterparts

The runway vacated sign is defined in ICAO Annex 14 Volume I and carried through into EASA CS-ADR-DSN. It is the ICAO/EASA counterpart to the FAA's pair of boundary signs: the runway boundary sign, which tells a pilot when the aircraft is clear of the runway itself, and the ILS critical area boundary sign, which tells a pilot when the aircraft is clear of the ILS critical area. Where the FAA splits the "you are now clear" message across two signs that reproduce holding-position marking patterns, ICAO expresses the same idea with the single named runway vacated sign.

Where it stands and what "vacated" means

The sign is placed on the taxiway a short distance beyond the runway, at the point that corresponds to the protected area it guards, so a pilot who has exited sees it once the whole aircraft is past that boundary. It is frequently co-located with a location sign — the yellow legend on black that confirms which taxiway the aircraft is now on — so that "you are clear of the runway" and "you are on taxiway X" are read together. Because "vacated" is defined by the strip, obstacle-free zone or ILS/MLS critical and sensitive area rather than by the runway edge alone, the sign sits further back than the runway pavement itself.

Why the boundary matters

The runway is only truly available to other traffic once the previous aircraft is clear of the protected area, not merely off the paved surface, and a stray aircraft inside the ILS critical area can disturb the guidance signal for an aircraft on approach. The runway vacated sign gives the crew an unambiguous "you are now clear" cue for exactly that boundary, which is why ICAO Annex 14 Volume I and EASA CS-ADR-DSN keep it distinct from the direction and location signs that only guide taxi routeing.

Draw them in Wingframe

Wingframe draws runway vacated signs to the ICAO and EASA information-sign scheme, and co-mounts them cleanly with a location sign so the "clear of the runway" and "you are here" messages line up in one array. See what Wingframe can do.