Definition
An air traffic control procedure in which a pilot, after landing, is instructed to stop the aircraft before reaching an intersecting runway, intersecting taxiway, or other designated point on the runway being used for landing. The available landing distance is published, and the pilot must accept or decline the clearance before crossing the runway threshold.
Plain English
It is an arrangement where the tower asks you to land and stop short of a specific point on the runway — usually before another runway or taxiway crosses it — so that other traffic can use the crossing area safely. You only have a portion of the full runway to land and stop in, and you must agree to the instruction before you land.
Context Anchor
You hear this in a landing clearance at a towered airport, especially where more than one runway or taxiway movement is being managed at the same time.
Derivation
“Hold short” comes from air traffic control phraseology meaning to stop before a named point and not pass it. That helps here because the landing is not complete until the aircraft has landed and stayed short of that point.
Why Pilots Care
Increases the number of takeoffs and landings possible per hour at airports with crossing runways while maintaining safety margins.
Intuition Check
Do not assume this is a normal landing clearance with extra wording. The “hold short” part is a required stopping limit, not a suggestion.
Example Sentence 1
Cessna 24X, cleared to land Runway 27, hold short of Runway 33, available landing distance 4,500 feet.
Example Sentence 2
During peak traffic, controllers use Land and Hold Short Operations to keep both runways active without delay.