Airport surface markings
Closed runway markings: the yellow X
In FAA practice, a closed runway is marked with a large yellow X at each end, and at many airports that painted X is backed up by a lighted X runway closure marker that can be seen at night and in poor visibility. This page explains what these closed runway markings mean, when a temporary runway closed marker is used instead of paint, how they differ between temporary and permanent closures, how closed taxiways are marked, and how the paint on the ground relates to the NOTAM that announced the closure.
Awareness and training aid only. Always verify with official NOTAM briefings, current charts, approved EFBs, ATC, dispatch, and company procedures before any real operation.
What does a yellow X on a runway mean?
A yellow X placed on a runway means the runway is closed and may not be used for landing or take-off. In United States practice the marking is described in the Aeronautical Information Manual and the FAA airport marking advisory circulars, and an X is placed at each end of the closed runway so it is visible on approach from either direction. On a permanently closed runway, further Xs are painted at 1,000-foot (305 m) intervals along its length (AIM 2-3-6d; AC 150/5340-1M, paragraph 5.6.2).
Outside the United States the colour can differ. Under EASA rules, CS ADR-DSN.R.855 says the closed marking should be white when displayed on a runway and yellow on a taxiway, and AMC1 ADR.OPS.B.071 places a closed marking at each end of a closed runway, or closed part of one, with no more than 300 m between markings. A pilot flying outside the US may therefore see a white X, not a yellow one, on a closed runway.
The X is deliberately large, high-contrast and unlike any other airport marking. Nothing else on a runway looks like it, which is the point: a pilot on short final should be able to identify a closure without reading anything or asking anyone.
A closed runway is also announced in the NOTAM package, typically as a short coded line such as RWY 09L CLSD with an effective period. The paint and the notice describe the same closure — the difference is that you meet the NOTAM during flight preparation and the X only when you can already see the runway.
Temporary runway closure markers and permanent closures
Not every X means the same thing:
- Temporarily closed — in FAA practice a yellow X is placed only at each end of the runway, with no intermediate Xs (AIM 2-3-6e). The existing runway markings, including the designation numbers and threshold bars, normally stay in place because the runway is expected to reopen.
- Permanently closed — the key runway markings are obliterated rather than left in place. Under AC 150/5340-1M, paragraph 5.6.1, the threshold, designation, touchdown aiming point and touchdown zone markings are obliterated (removing the centerline, edge and other markings is recommended but not required), and the lighting circuits are disconnected. Paragraph 5.6.2 then calls for solid yellow X markings, never striated ones, at each end of the runway and at 1,000-foot (305 m) intervals along it; the AIM describes the same layout in 2-3-6d. A permanently closed runway should not look like a runway any more.
- Closed to some operations only — a runway may be closed to landings but usable for taxiing, or restricted by aircraft category. This condition lives in the NOTAM text, not in the paint, which is one reason the markings alone are never the whole picture.
Where a closure is short-notice, the X may be a temporary marker laid on the surface rather than paint — a fabric or panel marker, or a lighted unit — and removed when the runway reopens.
Lighted X runway closure markers
A painted X works in daylight and good visibility. At night, in rain, or under snow it can be invisible, which is why airports use a lighted X runway closure marker. FAA guidance calls the device a lighted X. AC 150/5340-1M, paragraph 5.7.1.1, gives the preferred visual indication for a temporarily closed runway as a raised-lighted X on each runway end, and AC 150/5370-2G places it at each end of the runway on or near the runway designation numbers, facing the approach. The equipment itself is specified as the L-893 lighted visual aid in AC 150/5345-55A: a portable unit carrying at least nine aviation white lights arranged in an X, on arms painted aviation yellow, flashing 2.5 seconds on and 2.5 seconds off. The AIM calls the same device a raised lighted yellow cross (AIM 2-3-6 e.1); the yellow is the painted arms, and the lamps themselves are aviation white.
Lighted markers are typically used when a runway closes outside daylight hours, when a painted X cannot be applied or seen, or as a supplement to paint at busy fields where the consequences of a missed closure are highest. AC 150/5370-2G requires a lighted X where night work means the runway lighting has to be on, and requires it to be illuminated at all times that it is on a runway. The L-893 unit is towed into place and runs for at least 24 hours on its own power supply, which suits closures that last hours rather than months.
The practical point for a pilot is simple: the absence of a visible painted X does not mean a runway is open. Closures are published in NOTAMs, and the ground marking — painted or lighted — is a last-line confirmation, not the primary source.
How this differs from a closed taxiway
Closed taxiways are marked more variably than closed runways. In short — and there is a full guide on our taxiway closure markers page:
- An X may be placed at the entrance to the closed section, so a pilot turning in from an adjacent taxiway sees it.
- Raised barricades — often orange or orange-and-white, sometimes lighted or reflective — are commonly used to physically block a closed taxiway or a closed section of one.
- At many airports a taxiway closure is signalled only by barricades and the NOTAM, with no painted marking at all, particularly for short works.
This is exactly why taxiway closures are harder to manage than runway closures. A closed runway announces itself on approach; a closed taxiway may be a line of barricades you meet while already moving, in an unfamiliar layout, at night. The notice in the package is often the only advance warning you get, and it is one line among dozens. Our page on runway and taxiway closure awareness covers the risk side of this in more detail.
Matching the marking to the NOTAM
Here is a runway closure as it appears in the NOTAM package for Los Angeles International (KLAX):
!LAX 08/017 LAX RWY 07L/25R CLSD 2608041400-2608082200
Decoded: Runway 07L/25R at LAX is closed from 4 August 2026 at 14:00 UTC until 8 August 2026 at 22:00 UTC. On the field during that window you would expect a yellow X at each end of 07L/25R, and a lighted X if the closure runs into darkness.
TaxiwayClosed AI reads that same line out of the package and draws a cross on Runway 07L/25R on the LAX airport diagram, so the closure is a shape on the map during planning rather than a line of text you might skim past. It is the same X, arriving several hours earlier. See the NOTAM map page for how the crosses are placed, and what is a NOTAM for the format itself.
Frequently asked questions about closed runway markings
What does a yellow X on a runway mean?
A yellow X marks a closed runway. It is placed at each end of the runway so it is visible on approach from either direction (in US practice a permanently closed runway also carries one every 1,000 feet along its length), and it means the runway may not be used for landing or take-off.
What is a lighted X runway closure marker?
A lighted X runway closure marker is a portable illuminated unit that displays a flashing X and marks a temporarily closed runway at night or in poor visibility, when a painted X would not be visible. FAA guidance calls it a lighted X, or a raised-lighted X, and places it on each runway end, on or near the runway designation numbers. The equipment is specified as an L-893 lighted visual aid in AC 150/5345-55A.
How is a closed taxiway marked?
A closed taxiway may be marked with an X at the entrance to the closed section, but it is more commonly blocked with raised barricades, which are often orange and may be lighted or reflective. Some taxiway closures are announced only by NOTAM with no painted marking.
What is the difference between a temporarily and permanently closed runway?
In FAA practice, a temporarily closed runway keeps its existing markings and has a yellow X placed only at each end. A permanently closed runway has its designation numbers, threshold, touchdown aiming point and touchdown zone markings obliterated and its lighting disconnected, so that it no longer reads as a runway. Under FAA guidance it also carries solid yellow X markings at each end and at 1,000-foot (305 m) intervals along its length.
Does a closed runway always have an X on it?
No. Markings can be missing, obscured by snow or water, or not yet placed for a short-notice closure. The NOTAM package is the primary source for closures and should never be replaced by what is or is not visible on the surface.
Always verify with official sources
TaxiwayClosed AI is an awareness and training aid — it is not an official briefing and is never a substitute for one. Before any real flight, pull the current package from official sources such as FAA NOTAM Search, review the procedures in the FAA JO 7930.2 NOTAM order and in SKYbrary, use your approved EFB briefing, and confirm anything unclear with ATC, dispatch, or your CFI.
How this page is written and reviewed
Last reviewed . Written and maintained by the ETWINTECH LTD team that builds TaxiwayClosed AI. Definitions and procedures on this page are checked against FAA publications, EASA aerodrome rules and SKYbrary; where they differ from anything here, the official source governs. ETWINTECH LTD is not an aviation authority and this page is not official guidance — see our data sources and limitations and safety advice. Spotted an error? Email contact@etwintech.com.
See the closure before you see the X
Download TaxiwayClosed AI, load your airport's NOTAM package, and watch the AI mark each closed runway and taxiway with a cross on the diagram during planning.
Awareness and training aid only. Always verify with official NOTAM briefings, current charts, approved EFBs, ATC, dispatch, and company procedures before any real operation.