Definition
An air traffic control procedure at certain towered airports in which a pilot accepts a clearance to land on a runway and stop before reaching an intersecting runway, intersecting taxiway, or other designated point on the same runway. The available landing distance to the hold-short point is published and must be accepted by the pilot before the clearance is issued. Acceptance is at the pilot in command's discretion, and a LAHSO clearance must be read back in full.
Plain English
Air traffic control asks you to land and stop before a specific point on the runway, usually so another aircraft can use a crossing runway or taxiway. You only accept if you are sure you can stop in the distance available.
Context Anchor
You may hear LAHSO from the control tower at a busy airport when another aircraft or vehicle needs to use an intersecting runway or nearby surface.
Derivation
“Hold short” comes from standard air traffic control wording. In this context, “hold” means stop and wait, and “short” means before reaching the named point. That helps make the key idea clear: land, then stop before the point you were told not to cross.
Why Pilots Care
The pilot must verify adequate landing distance and training before accepting the clearance; accepting it allows more efficient traffic flow but reduces the runway length available.
Analogy
It is like being allowed to drive into a long driveway, but being told to stop before a painted line because someone else needs the space beyond it.
Intuition Check
Do not assume “hold short” means simply slow down or be careful near the point. In LAHSO, it means stop before the assigned point and do not cross it unless air traffic control gives you a new clearance.
Example Sentence 1
Tower issued a LAHSO clearance to land on Runway 27 and hold short of Runway 33, and the pilot read it back after confirming the published landing distance was adequate for the conditions.
Example Sentence 2
Before accepting a land-and-hold-short instruction the pilot confirmed the landing distance available exceeded the published requirement.