Reading the AIP aerodrome chart: runways, taxiways, stands and holding points

Satellite images show you what an airport looks like. The AIP aerodrome chart shows you how it works: which runway has which name, which taxiways aircraft use to get there, where they stop before takeoff and at which intersections even experienced crews have to look very carefully. For pilots it is required reading, for spotters an underrated treasure. This guide explains where to find the chart, how to read its symbols and how to derive locations and time windows for your next session from it.

What is the AIP – and where is the aerodrome chart?

The AIP (Aeronautical Information Publication) is a state’s official collection of all permanently valid aeronautical information. The basis is ICAO Annex 15 on aeronautical information services, which is why the structure is almost identical worldwide. Every AIP consists of three main parts:

• GEN (General): general rules, abbreviations, charges, units of measurement.
• ENR (En-route): airspace structure, routes, navigation aids, restricted areas.
• AD (Aerodromes): all aerodromes with description and charts.

In part AD, every airport gets its own section AD 2. It contains text pages with runway data, operating hours, ground handling and local rules – and at the end the associated charts. At the very front there is usually the aerodrome chart, called Aerodrome Chart – ICAO internationally.

In Germany, the DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, Germany’s air navigation service provider, publishes the AIP and makes it available online, bilingual and split into an AIP IFR for instrument flight and an AIP VFR for visual flight. You find the major commercial airports in the IFR edition. For Austria and Switzerland, Austro Control and Skyguide are responsible; what the two organizations do is explained in the article on air traffic control in Austria and Switzerland.

The chart family in section AD 2

The aerodrome chart is not the only ground chart. Depending on the size of the airport, you find several chart types in the AD 2 section that differ in scale and purpose:

Chart	Purpose	What you see on it	Use for spotters
Aerodrome Chart	Overview of the whole airport	Runways, taxiways, aprons, tower, frequencies, hot spots	Big picture, runway layout, taxiways to your spot
Aerodrome Ground Movement Chart	Detailed view of taxiways at large airports	Taxiway network, holding points, taxi directions, intersections	Where aircraft wait and turn
Aircraft Parking/Docking Chart	Detailed view of the aprons	Parking stands with numbers, docking aids, taxiways on the apron	Which stands you can see from a deck
Approach and departure charts	Procedures in the air	Approach paths, departure routes, altitudes	Where aircraft turn and descend

At smaller airports everything is often on a single aerodrome chart. At large hubs like Frankfurt or Munich, the ground charts are spread over several sheets because the taxiway network would otherwise become unreadable. The airside of the procedures – how aircraft approach and leave the airport – is covered in the guide to SID and STAR.

The chart frame: header and margin information

Before you dive into the drawing, a look at the frame is worthwhile. It contains information you will need later:

• Location indicator and name: the airport’s four-letter ICAO code, such as EDDM for Munich. What these codes mean is explained in the article on IATA and ICAO codes.
• Aerodrome reference point and elevation: coordinates of the reference point and the aerodrome’s height above sea level.
• Magnetic variation: the difference between true and magnetic north. It explains why the runway number does not correspond exactly to the direction on the chart.
• Radio frequencies: tower, ground control, sometimes apron control and the automatic broadcast ATIS. If you want to understand aviation radio frequencies, the aerodrome chart is the first source.
• Effective date and amendment note: With these you check whether you have the current version in front of you.

Reading runways: number, length, thresholds

Runways are the thickest, usually dark-filled bars on the chart. At both ends is their designation: the magnetic heading rounded to ten degrees, divided by ten. A runway 26 therefore points roughly west, and its opposite end is called 08. Parallel runways get suffixes: L (left), R (right) and, for three parallel runways, C (center). Munich, for example, has the two parallel runways 08L/26R and 08R/26L. You will find the details of this system in the article on runway designations.

Besides the designation, the chart typically shows:

• Length and width of the runway in meters, often noted right on the bar.
• Threshold coordinates and threshold elevations – the points from which a runway may be used for landing.
• Displaced thresholds: If the landing threshold is not at the physical runway end, the area before it is marked differently. Aircraft do not touch down there, but can use it for takeoff. For spotters this means: landing aircraft at that end are higher when crossing the fence than you would expect from the bare runway end.
• Instrument landing system: Notes on ILS antennas and glide path transmitters. How such an approach works is described in the article on the ILS approach.

Which runway end is currently in use is not on the chart – the wind decides that. How to find out the current direction is shown in the guide to runway direction in use at airports.

Reading taxiways: letters, numbers, directions

Taxiways are the narrower connections between runways and aprons. They carry letters, often supplemented by numbers for branches: a main taxiway is called “N”, for example, and the connections leading off it to the runway “N1”, “N2”, “N3”. On the radio these names are spoken with the ICAO alphabet, so “N3” becomes “November Three”. If that is still unfamiliar, the article on the ICAO spelling alphabet helps.

On the chart you look for four things:

• Parallel taxiways: Long taxiways next to the runway are the main traffic arteries. Here departing aircraft taxi in queues to the runway – ideal for taxiing shots.
• Rapid exit taxiways: Connections branching off the runway at an angle, used by landing aircraft to leave the runway at higher speed. Where they join, you see landed aircraft braking and turning shortly after touchdown.
• One-way rules: Arrows or text notes show that a taxiway is used in one direction only. That tells you which direction aircraft come from.
• Size restrictions: Notes such as maximum wingspan. Large types like the A380 or Boeing 747 may not use certain taxiways – anyone who wants to photograph a widebody checks which routes remain for it.

What the yellow and black signs at the edge of taxiways mean is explained in the article on taxiways, holding points and signs. The night lights along the taxiways are described in the piece on runway and taxiway lighting.

Holding points: where aircraft wait before the runway

The most important line on any aerodrome chart is barely visible: the holding point, officially runway-holding position. It marks the spot where a taxiing aircraft stops before a runway until the tower lets it onto the runway or clears the crossing. On the radio it then goes something like “taxi to holding point runway 26”. Operationally the rule is: anyone who crosses the hold line is, from air traffic control’s point of view, already on the runway. Crossing without clearance is a runway incursion.

Here is how you recognize holding points on the chart and in reality:

• On the chart: as a cross line over the taxiway, often with its own identifier like “A3” or “CAT II/III”. At large airports they are drawn in detail on the ground movement chart.
• On the taxiway – pattern A: two solid and two dashed yellow lines across the taxiway. The solid ones are on the side where the aircraft waits, the dashed ones face the runway.
• On the taxiway – pattern B: a ladder-like marking farther back. In poor visibility it protects the sensitive area of the instrument landing system and applies in all-weather operations to CAT II or CAT III.
• Sign: white lettering on a red background with the runway designation, for example “08L-26R”. Red signs always mean: proceed here only with clearance.
• Lights: At many airports there are stop bars, a row of red inground lights across the taxiway that the tower switches. Flashing yellow runway guard lights additionally raise attention.

For spotters, holding points are worth their weight in gold. Here aircraft stand still, sometimes for minutes, while others land or take off in front of them. If a public location is within sight of a holding point, you get calm side views with sharp registrations – no panning needed. If you then want to see the takeoff, you check on the chart how far it is from the holding point to your liftoff point.

Hot spots: the tricky places

Some intersections on the airfield are notorious: confusing multiple branches, taxiways that cross a runway, or places where two runway ends lie close together. ICAO calls such places hot spots – locations on an airport’s movement area where collisions or runway incidents have already occurred or where there is an elevated risk of them, so that pilots and drivers have to be especially alert there.

On the aerodrome chart, hot spots are usually marked with a circle or an ellipse and numbered, such as “HS 1”, “HS 2”. At the edge of the chart or on a text page it says what the problem is there: confusable branches, a short distance to the runway or unclear taxi guidance.

For you as a spotter this has two sides. On the one hand, aircraft often taxi slowly and with pauses at hot spots – good subjects. On the other hand, these are places where the crew needs full concentration. Laser pointers, flash or flashlights pointed toward the airfield are off-limits there, as everywhere at an airport. More on how spotters support airport safety is in the article on spotters as safety partners.

Apron and parking stands

The aprons are the large areas in front of the terminals and hangars. On the aerodrome chart they usually appear only as an area with a name; the details are on the Aircraft Parking/Docking Chart. There, all parking stands are numbered and distinguished by type:

• Stands with a passenger boarding bridge directly at the terminal.
• Remote stands on the apron, where passengers reach the aircraft by bus or on foot.
• Cargo and maintenance stands in front of cargo centers and hangars.
• De-icing areas at airports with winter operations.

It often also says for which aircraft size a stand is approved. With that you can tell where long-haul jets typically park and where regional aircraft stand. How gates and remote stands work in everyday operations is described in the article on apron stands and gates. Who controls traffic on the apron you learn in the piece on apron control.

For choosing a spot, the stand chart is especially useful at observation decks: you put it next to a floor plan of the terminal and see which stands you overlook from the deck. At the Düsseldorf observation deck or the Munich Airport visitors’ hill you can estimate in advance which parts of the apron are in view.

The legend: symbols you should know

Every AIP has its own graphic details, but the basic symbols follow ICAO Annex 4 on aeronautical charts. The following overview shows what you typically encounter:

Element	Typical depiction	Meaning
Runway	wide, dark-filled bar with numbers at the ends	Takeoff and landing strip
Taxiway	narrower area with letter-number identifier	Connection between runway and apron
Holding point	cross line over the taxiway, sometimes with “CAT II/III”	Stop before the runway
Hot spot	circle or ellipse with “HS” and number	Location with elevated collision or incident risk
Apron	larger area with a name	Parking and handling area
Tower and buildings	outlines with labels	Orientation, sight obstructions
Frequency box	table at the edge	Radio stations such as tower, ground, ATIS

If a symbol is unclear, you find the explanation in part GEN of the respective AIP, where legends and abbreviations are collected.

Currency: AIRAC, NOTAMs and construction sites

Airports are constantly being rebuilt: taxiways are extended, renamed or closed, new stands are added. The AIP follows a fixed rhythm for this. Operationally important changes take effect on AIRAC effective dates, which follow one another in a 28-day rhythm. Short-notice changes – a closed taxiway, a construction site, a defective light – appear instead in NOTAMs. How to read them is shown in the guide Reading and understanding NOTAMs.

For you that means: do not download the chart once and use it for years. Check the current edition before every planned session. Runway closures in particular can be exciting, because traffic then shifts to unfamiliar taxiways – more on that in the article on runway closures and spotting chances.

From chart to spot in five steps

For step 4, satellite maps work especially well; how to work with them is covered in the guide Exploring airports with Google Maps and Google Earth. A free alternative with many taxiways drawn in is OpenStreetMap for spotters. For step 5, the article on the sun position at the photo spot helps.

What to keep in mind

• The chart is not a permit to enter. It shows the entire security area. As a spotter you stay on public paths, decks and designated areas. What is allowed is summarized in Is plane spotting legal?.
• Observe the terms of use. The AIP portals are public, but not every reuse is free. When in doubt, share a link instead of a copy of the chart.
• Not for navigation. For you the chart is orientation. Pilots work with checked, current editions in the cockpit – that is a different league.
• Combine radio and chart. If you listen in on taxi traffic, with the chart in hand you immediately understand where an aircraft is being sent. What applies legally here is explained in Listening to aviation radio: the legal situation.
• Don’t forget small fields. Regional airfields and smaller aerodromes have charts too, often in the AIP VFR. Where to find them is described in the article on small airfields on maps.

Conclusion

The AIP aerodrome chart is the most precise public description of an airport. Anyone who knows its basic elements – runways with designation and thresholds, taxiways with letters and numbers, holding points with hold lines, hot spots and parking stands – understands why aircraft taxi where they taxi. With that you find spots where aircraft stop or turn slowly, and can follow the radio traffic. Stay consistently on public areas and check before every trip that the chart is still current.