Tag:aeroway=runway

aeroway =

Description

A strip of land on which aircraft can take off and land.

Rendering in OSM Carto

Group: aeroways

Used on these elements

Useful combination

ref=*
surface=*
length=* (often given in ft)
ele=*
width=*
centerline=*

How to map

Draw a way along the centre line of the runway, from one edge to the other, and add the aeroway= to it. Information on the width of a runway should be added using the width=* tag (see below).

aeroway= is mapped from runway edge to runway edge: this includes parts of the runway marked as displaced thresholds, but excludes blastpads and stopways.

Additionally, the whole area of the runway may be mapped as well, tagged with area:aeroway=runway. (Previous common practice was to tag such with aeroway= + area=yes; this can be safely retagged. As of February 2022, taginfo reports that aeroway= is combined with area=yes 2,754 times, while area:aeroway=runway has 2,038 uses, a significant increase from January 2020.)

Tags to use in combination

ref=* – the runway designator (for example "02/20" or "09L/27R"). List the smallest designator first (i.e. "04/22", not "22/04"). The two designators of a runway will always differ by 18 (180 degrees) and can have one letter appended (L, C, R or T). Only use other values in special cases. Be aware that the US do not adhere to the ICAO standard, and do not publish leading zeroes; i.e., their fields will have a 2/20 rather than a 02/20. There is a tendency for heliports to also have (shortish) runways, so that helicopters can operate to procedures similar to fixed wing. Such runways can then have an H in the ref; see https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/585516454 for one example.
length=* – length in metres. The length is measured including the displaced_threshold.
width=* – refers to the width of the actual runway surface. These are usually standardized, typical values are 60 m, 45 m, 30 m, 23 m or 18 m. Only use other values in special cases.
ele=* – should be used for the average elevation of the runway
surface=* – to be used to identify the physical makeup of the surface of the runway. Example: "paved" or "grass".
centerline=* – yes/no indicates whether there is a centerline on the runway or not.
name=* – If the runway has a distinct name. Should not be a copy of ref. Examples: "Polderbaan" and "Aalsmeerbaan" at Amsterdam airport.

Additional information

Additional information can be specified using these keys:

Tag	Description
`source:date=*`	If imported/updated from the FAA 56-day NASR database, this tag will contain the date the database became valid.
`incline=[±]d.d%`	The incline (as a ratio) of the runway. The direction of the way is from approach to departure. It is the gradient between the departure threshold and the approach threshold; i.e., the elevation of the former minus that of the latter, divided by their distance.
`incline:spec=[±]d.d%` `reverse_incline:spec=[±]d.d%`	The incline (as a ratio) of the runway, as specified in the FAA airport diagram. According to the legend diagram, this is specified if the absolute value is ≥ 0.3%, and is measured to the midpoint of the runway (instead of the far threshold) if the runway is ≥ 8000 ft. The first (undecorated) tag is the incline in the direction of the way, and the reverse_incline tag in the opposing.
`FAA:LFSN=*`	The FAA Landing Facility Site Number for the airport with which the associated runways should be tagged. There is generally no reason to edit this value; it is used to refer back to the associated `aeroway=aerodrome` node or way and the FAA database for synchronization of imports. Example: "01818.*A" is the LFSN for LAX.
`source=*`	Sources of information present in tags, semi-colon-delimited. "FAA" indicates at least some information from one or more FAA databases or imports. Often combined with an imagery tag to indicate the imagery with which the boundary was drawn.
`source_ref=*`	Key to source documents. Example: when source=FAA, you may see source_ref=nnnnnAD, which indicates the document number of the FAA Airport Diagram, which are at http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/vvvv/''nnnnn''AD.PDF where vvvv is the version number (incremented every 56 days).
`lit=` `lit:centre=`	To indicate whether the runway is lit. If `lit=yes` is used, edge-lights are assumed to be present. Add `lit:centre=yes` to indicate the presence of centreline lights.

Features that occur in this context

Punkt aeroway=threshold + ref=*

aeroway= + runway=displaced_threshold

aeroway=stopway

Lifecycle

Main article: Lifecycle prefix

Stage	Tagging	Notes
Construction	`aeroway=construction` `construction=runway`	A runway under construction.
Operation	`aeroway=`	An operational runway
Disused	`disused:aeroway=runway`	A runway not in use, which could be brought back into operation.
Abandoned	`abandoned:aeroway=runway`	Where the runway fallen into serious disrepair and which could only be put back into operation with expensive effort.
No longer present on the ground	Remove from OSM or tag `no:aeroway=runway`	Where the runway is not evident on the ground it should be removed from OSM. If there is a danger of it being re-entered from old information then `no:aeroway=runway` signifies that it is no longer there.