Learn what Microsoft Flight Simulator taxiway markings mean, including centreline, edge, hold-short, ILS, closed-area and runway warning markings.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator, yellow markings guide aircraft on taxiways and aprons, while white markings belong mainly to runways. Follow the yellow centreline, stop before runway holding-position lines when required, stay inside marked taxiway edges, and treat crosses or chevrons as areas unavailable for normal aircraft movement.
Taxiway markings and their meanings
Microsoft Flight Simulator uses the same basic visual language as real airports: taxiway markings are predominantly yellow, while runway pavement markings are white. The conventions apply in both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024, although individual airports may contain incomplete, outdated or inaccurate line work.
| Marking | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Single continuous yellow line | Taxiway centreline or an apron stand lead-in line | Keep the nose wheel close to it, but check that the route matches your clearance and destination. |
| Two continuous yellow lines | Taxiway edge beside a shoulder or pavement not intended for normal aircraft use | Keep the aircraft inside the marked boundary. |
| Two broken yellow lines | Taxiway edge adjoining usable pavement, commonly an apron | Cross only when the route, clearance and available space make it appropriate. |
| Two solid and two broken yellow lines across the taxiway | Runway holding-position or hold-short marking | Approaching the runway, stop before the solid lines unless cleared to cross or enter. |
| Centreline flanked by yellow dashes | Enhanced taxiway centreline warning that a runway holding position is ahead | Slow down and look for the actual four-line holding-position marking. |
| Single broken yellow line across the taxiway | Intermediate holding position, often at a taxiway intersection | Hold there when instructed; it is not a runway boundary. |
| Ladder-style yellow marking | ILS or precision-approach critical-area holding position | Stop when instructed, particularly during instrument or low-visibility operations. |
| Black panel with yellow characters | Surface-painted location marking showing the taxiway you are on | Use it to confirm your position. |
| Yellow panel with black characters or arrows | Surface-painted direction or destination information | Follow the indicated route only when it agrees with your taxi clearance. |
| Yellow X | Closed taxiway or closed section of pavement | Do not enter. |
| Yellow chevrons near a runway end | Blast pad or stopway unavailable for normal taxi, take-off or landing | Remain outside the chevroned area. |
Painted markings work together with upright signs rather than replacing them. Our full guide to airport sign colours and pavement symbols explains how red, black and yellow signs confirm what the lines mean.
Which side of a runway hold-short line do I stop on?
When approaching a runway, stop on the side with the two solid yellow lines and leave the entire aircraft behind the marking. Do not place the nose wheel on the lines or allow the wing, tail or propeller arc to extend across them.
When leaving a runway, you encounter the broken lines first. Continue until every part of the aircraft has crossed all four lines; only then is the aircraft clear of the runway. White centreline and threshold paint belongs to the runway itself, as covered in our guide to runway signs, thresholds and white pavement markings.
How should I follow taxiway markings in MSFS?
Use the painted centreline as one part of a taxi route, not as permission to follow any yellow line you see.
- Confirm the route: Note the taxiway letters, runway and hold-short point given by ATC. An airport diagram makes this much easier; the method pilots use at an unfamiliar airport applies directly in the simulator.
- Join the correct centreline: Aprons contain several yellow stand lead-in lines that may end at gates. Check the signs before committing to one.
- Look through turns: Keep the nose wheel near the centreline while watching wingtip and tail clearance. A painted centreline does not guarantee that a large aircraft will clear every object.
- Identify holding positions early: Enhanced centreline dashes warn that a runway boundary is approaching. Reduce speed before reaching the four-line hold marking.
- Cross only when cleared: A green taxi ribbon, centreline or open-looking runway is not a runway-crossing clearance.
For the complete sequence from parking stand to departure runway, use our practical gate-to-runway taxi procedure.
Why do the markings sometimes disagree with ATC or the map?
Taxi instructions, visual scenery and route guidance can represent different versions of an airport layout. This is especially noticeable after a real airport changes taxiway identifiers, opens a new apron or modifies a runway.
- Default scenery limitations: Automatically generated airports can have missing signs, disconnected centrelines or inaccurate holding points.
- Data and scenery mismatch: ATC may use a taxiway name that belongs to a newer or older airport layout than the visible scenery.
- Overlapping airport packages: Two versions of the same airport can produce duplicate lines, misplaced signs and conflicting buildings. Disable one of the overlapping packages through the simulator's content management.
- Taxi-ribbon routing: The ribbon follows the simulator's internal taxi network, which does not always align precisely with painted lines.
If a disagreement could take you across a runway, stop before the holding-position marking. Recheck the taxiway signs and route, then request different instructions or continue using a safe offline procedure if the built-in ATC cannot provide a workable route.
Does the taxi ribbon replace airport markings?
The taxi ribbon is a visual aid, not a substitute for signs, markings, charts or ATC clearance. It is useful at an unfamiliar or poorly marked airport, but it may cut corners, point towards the wrong stand or cross a runway without clearly representing the required hold.
The setting is available among the simulator's assistance options, although its exact label and menu location can vary by edition and platform. Use it to learn a route, then practise without it once you can identify centrelines, location signs and holding positions.
What taxiway marking mistakes should you avoid?
The most common errors come from treating every yellow line as a continuous route to the runway.
- Following an apron stand line that terminates at a gate instead of joining the assigned taxiway.
- Stopping after the solid hold-short lines rather than before them.
- Mistaking enhanced centreline dashes for the actual holding-position marking.
- Assuming the centreline guarantees wingtip clearance for an airliner.
- Crossing a runway because the taxi ribbon continues across it.
- Turning onto a white runway centreline and treating it as an ordinary taxiway.
- Entering yellow-chequered, crossed or shoulder-marked pavement because it appears physically wide enough.