Taxiway lights, every unit on every route

Frequently Asked Questions

Which taxiway lights are covered?

The lights fitted on the taxiways in scope. That means the blue edge lights, the green centreline lights, the red stop bars across the holding points and the runway guard lights beside or across them. Each is counted as its own system and reported per taxiway. Apron floodlighting and stand guidance are different equipment and are not part of this service.

Why fly it rather than drive it?

Because of how many lights there are and where they sit. A taxiway network often carries more units than the runway it serves, along routes that branch and cross. A night drive sees the lit units from a moving vehicle and relies on someone noting the dark ones. The fly-over records every unit from above against the surveyed layout, so a dark or missing unit is listed at its position rather than remembered.

Are the stop bars and guard lights checked?

Unit by unit. A stop bar is a row of red units across the taxiway at a holding point, and the runway guard lights warn a crew that the runway is ahead. Each unit in them is counted and its colour read, and a bar with a dark unit is reported with the position of that unit. Where your control room can switch the bars, the inspection checks them in the state you command.

Do taxiways have to be closed?

Not as a rule. The routes are flown in segments between aircraft movements, in coordination with the tower and ground control, and the drone clears a taxiway when asked. Taxiways that cross or lead onto the runway are flown in the same windows as the runway itself. The lights have to be on, which is a request to your lighting control room.

How is serviceability judged for taxiway lights?

Against the objective your authority sets for each taxiway system and the operations it supports. The protocol gives the count of units, the dark and missing units with their positions and the share of each system that is lit, per taxiway. The limit it is set against is agreed at scoping, so the verdict follows your authority's rule rather than one printed on this page.

Can it be combined with the runway lights?

That is the usual way to buy it. The taxiways are flown in the same visit as the passes over the runway edge rows, the centre line and the bars at each end, and the approach lights and the PAPI are measured from the approach. Buying them together costs less than buying each separately, because the travel, the setup and the tower coordination are paid once.