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What is the width of the yellow stripes that are painted on the ground of the taxiway?

Is it the same on the whole taxiway or does it vary from an area to another? Is it mentioned in the aerodrome design manual issued by the international organization of civil aviation?

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    $\begingroup$ Hello there, welcome to Aviation.SE. Nice and interesting question! $\endgroup$
    – kevin
    Nov 29, 2017 at 12:56
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    $\begingroup$ See 5.2.8.10 in ICAO Chicago Convention annex 14 ("A taxiway centre line marking shall be at least 15 cm in width") $\endgroup$
    – mins
    Nov 29, 2017 at 12:57
  • $\begingroup$ @kevin thanks mate :) $\endgroup$
    – S.E.K.
    Nov 29, 2017 at 13:34
  • $\begingroup$ @mins thank you, that's what I was looking for! is there a max value to the line marking width though? $\endgroup$
    – S.E.K.
    Nov 29, 2017 at 13:39
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    $\begingroup$ No maximum at the ICAO recommendations level, however any country may deviate from or complement ICAO, differences should be explained in AIP (GEN-1.7). To relate to Noah's answer for FAA, in USA AIP, this would be in GEN 1.7−86, but there is nothing. $\endgroup$
    – mins
    Nov 29, 2017 at 14:25

1 Answer 1

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In the FAA's document about standards for airport markings, it says:

e. Characteristics.

(1)

Width. The taxiway centerline marking width, which is either 6 inches (15 cm) or 12 inches (30 cm), is based on the type of taxiing operation as described below. Uniform width must be maintained for the entire length of the taxiway except under the following conditions.

(i)

The taxiway or part of the taxiway is designated as a SMGCS taxi route. Under this designation, the width of the taxiway centerline must be 12 inches (30 cm) wide and, on light-colored pavement, further outlined in black. The taxiway centerline width of any remaining section of the taxiway that is not part of the designated SMGCS taxi route may change abruptly at that point or at the intersection with other taxiway centerline markings, for example, reduced from 12 inches (30 cm) to 6 inches (15 cm).

Source, chapter Taxiway Center Lines, page 43

For the taxiway edge lines, following rules apply:

e. Characteristics.

(1) The outermost edge of both marking schemes must be painted along the edge of the usable pavement.

(2) The continuous taxiway edge marking consists of dual, continuous lines with each line being at least 6 inches (15 cm) in width and spaced 6 inches (15 cm) apart (edge to edge) [...]

Source, chapter Taxiway Edge Lines, page 48


This really is a great question, I have never thought about airport markings being such a complex thing.

complex runway markings...

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  • $\begingroup$ thanks @Noah Krasser, I guess the regulations of the international organization of civil aviation are applied in all airports of the world, is it the case for the federal aviation administration (since it is an american administration and not an international one)? $\endgroup$
    – S.E.K.
    Nov 29, 2017 at 14:21
  • $\begingroup$ @user2651062 ICAO isn't a regulatory body per se, and it doesn't issue regulations. There are ICAO standards and recommendations, but each sovereign nation implements those as it sees fit, publishing (somewhere) whatever they do differently so that pilots can know what to expect. Generally the FAA doesn't deviate too much from the ICAO stuff, although as the answers & comments above show, they may be somewhat different (i.e. ICAO is 15 cm or more, FAA is 15 cm (exactly) in this case, and 30 cm (exactly) in that case. Another nation might make all stripes 20 cm wide, etc). $\endgroup$
    – Ralph J
    Nov 30, 2017 at 17:17
  • $\begingroup$ Just because you have a standard, doesn't necessarily mean it is implemented consistently. ;-) $\endgroup$
    – ksea
    Dec 3, 2017 at 3:00

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