Definition
Airport lights installed flush within the surface of a runway or taxiway, rather than mounted on the side. They are used where edge-mounted lights would be obstructed, damaged by aircraft, or insufficient for guidance during low-visibility operations. Common examples include runway centerline lights, taxiway centerline lights, runway guard lights, and stop bar lights.
Plain English
Lights set into the paved surface itself so they sit level with the ground. Pilots see them as a line or pattern of lights running along or across the pavement, rather than off to the side.
Context Anchor
Seen during taxi, runway lineup, landing rollout, and Surface Movement Guidance and Control System procedures at airports operating in low visibility.
Why Pilots Care
They enable safe ground movement when surface markings and signs become invisible, reducing runway incursions and lost aircraft.
Intuition Check
Do not think of these as lights shining onto the pavement from above. In-pavement lights are physically built into the pavement surface and sit low enough for aircraft to roll over them.
Example Sentence 1
In dense fog, the captain followed the green taxiway centerline in-pavement lights all the way to the gate.
Example Sentence 2
During the low-visibility taxi, the blue in-pavement lights marked the taxiway edges clearly.