Definition
An air traffic control instruction used by the controller to inform the pilot that they must conduct a circling approach to land on a runway that is not aligned with the instrument approach being flown. The specific runway number is stated to identify which runway the aircraft must circle to land on.
Plain English
ATC is telling you: the instrument approach you just flew lined you up with one runway, but you need to land on a different one. So fly a visual circling pattern around the airport and land on the runway they named.
Context Anchor
Heard on the radio during an instrument approach when the landing runway is different from the runway or direction used for the approach.
Why Pilots Care
Correctly identifying the runway prevents landing on the wrong surface and ensures compliance with the published circling radius and obstacle clearance.
Intuition Check
“Circle” does not mean you must fly a full circle around the airport. It means you must visually maneuver as needed to line up with the runway number the controller gives you.
Example Sentence 1
Tower instructed the pilot, "Circle to runway one-eight," so after completing the approach to runway nine, the pilot maneuvered visually to land on runway 18.
Example Sentence 2
The approach plate shows the minimums for circle to runway 9 when the wind favors that surface.