What Do Runway Numbers Mean?

Airfield numerals key to helping passengers reach destinations

By Gina Mastrangelo & Julie Bercik

Published January 12, 2024

Read Time: 4 mins

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As your plane taxis down the runway, you may notice the white numbers at the end of the runway. Although seemingly random, those numbers are a critical part of helping your flight take off and land on the right runway.

The runway numbering system is quite precise. Each runway number helps pilots know the runway they should use.

“The runways are aligned magnetically with the earth’s magnetic field, and the runway designations are based on that,” said Jim Polachek, Operations Compliance Manager, at PIT.

Since each runway is aligned magnetically, in order to find a runway n