Definition
An automated air traffic control safety function that compares the runway an aircraft is aligned with on final approach against the runway the controller has cleared the aircraft to land on. If the system detects a mismatch — for example, the aircraft is lined up with a taxiway or the wrong runway — it alerts the controller so corrective action can be taken before landing.
Plain English
A computer check inside the control tower that watches arriving aircraft and warns the controller if a plane is lining up with the wrong runway, a taxiway, or a closed runway.
Context Anchor
Encountered in AIM glossary and runway-safety discussions involving tower or approach control monitoring arriving aircraft.
Derivation
“Approach” means coming toward a place, “runway” is the landing surface, and “verification” comes from the idea of checking that something is true. Together, the phrase means checking that an aircraft on final approach is actually headed for the correct runway.
Why Pilots Care
Reduces the risk of landing on the wrong runway or at an unsuitable surface, directly supporting safe arrival operations.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as a pilot checklist item. In this term, “verification” means an automated ATC safety check that helps controllers confirm the aircraft is lined up with the intended runway.
Example Sentence 1
The Approach Runway Verification system alerted the tower controller that the inbound aircraft was lined up with the parallel taxiway instead of Runway 27.
Example Sentence 2
At night with multiple runways in view, approach runway verification prevented any confusion about which surface was assigned.