Signs

[W41 24 CAT Ⅱ/Ⅲ] Three-board holding position assembly in gray sign boxes with bird deterrent spikes

[NO ENTRY] White ring and bar on red in a cream-framed sign box

[UA ←U→] Direction assembly for taxiway U in a gray sign box

[E2 | APRON→] Location and destination sign panels

[4] Runway distance remaining sign, white 4 on black

Airfield signs are how a pilot navigates the ground: where they are, where to hold, and which way to taxi. This is a plain-language reference to the signs and the standards behind them.

Every airport is a web of runways, taxiways and aprons, and the signs alongside them are a safety-critical language of colour, symbol and abbreviation. Getting a sign right — the correct colours, proportions and inscription for the standard in force — is exactly what Wingframe is built for. These pages explain what each sign means; the application draws them to standard.

Airport signs

Airport signs split into the airside signs pilots use to move aircraft around the movement area, and the landside wayfinding signs travellers follow inside the terminal. The reference here focuses on the airside signs — the regulated ones Wingframe draws.

Airfield guidance signs

Airfield guidance signs are the taxiway signs that guide aircraft on the ground. They divide into two families by colour:

Mandatory instruction signs — white on red — mark where you must stop and hold, above all the runway-holding position.
Information signs — yellow and black — tell you where you are and which way to go: location, direction and destination signs.

Alongside these sit specialised signs such as the FAA runway distance remaining boards. More sign types are being added to this reference.

The standards behind the signs

Airfield signs are regulated. The global baseline is ICAO Annex 14, with regional and national standards — EASA CS-ADR-DSN in Europe, the FAA advisory circulars in the United States, and others — refining it. The sign regulations section explains who regulates what and how the standards relate: ICAO, EASA and the FAA. Wingframe draws signs to the standard you choose, so the sign matches the rulebook it will be built and inspected against.

See what Wingframe does