Information signs
Information signs are the wayfinding signs of the airfield. In yellow and black, they tell pilots which taxiway they are on, which way to turn, and how to reach an apron, cargo area or other destination.
![[UA ←U→] Direction assembly: location sign UA with direction signs for taxiway U to the left and right, in a gray sign box](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fdirection-array-ua-u.02n3jszv88nsz.png&w=3840&q=75)
![[E2 | APRON→] Location sign E2 beside destination sign APRON with arrow](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fdestination-e2-apron.2h9kzn57hyjab.png&w=3840&q=75)
![[F + runway vacated symbol] Location sign F beside the runway vacated symbol on yellow, in a yellow-framed sign box](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Frunway-vacated-f.0h-7hh89kikhf.png&w=3840&q=75)
What an information sign is
Information signs give a taxiing pilot the wayfinding half of the airfield's language: which way each taxiway lies and how to reach a named destination. Unlike the red mandatory instruction signs, they carry no instruction to stop — they are there purely to help you find your way.
Yellow means "there"
Information signs carry a black inscription on a yellow background, and they always point elsewhere — a yellow-background sign relates to a place you are heading towards, so it carries an arrow. Their counterpart is the location sign, which inverts the colours to yellow-on-black and names where you are right now. Reading the colours the right way round — yellow means "there", black means "here" — is the quickest way to interpret an assembly of signs at a taxiway intersection, and the convention is shared by ICAO Annex 14 Volume I, EASA CS-ADR-DSN and the FAA. (ICAO and EASA formally file the location sign under information signs; these pages give it its own category because it combines with mandatory and information signs alike.)
Types of information sign
The core wayfinding signs, covered in detail here, are:
- Direction signs — a taxiway designation with an arrow to the direction of travel.
- Destination signs — an arrow to a named destination such as an apron, cargo area or fuel.
The airfield also uses information signs tied directly to the runway:
- Runway exit signs — identify the taxiway leading off a runway, with the designation and an arrow.
- Runway vacated signs — mark where an aircraft has fully cleared the runway strip or ILS critical area.
- Intersection take-off signs — show the take-off run available (TORA) from a runway intersection.
- Runway boundary signs — an FAA sign telling a pilot leaving a runway when the aircraft is fully clear of it.
- ILS critical area boundary signs — an FAA sign marking where an aircraft is clear of the ILS critical area.
Draw them in Wingframe
Wingframe draws location, direction and destination signs to ICAO, EASA and FAA geometry, including the correct arrow shapes, character heights, borders and the black-line delineation used when several messages share one sign. See what Wingframe can do.