Definition
A documented airport plan that specifies the routes, procedures, lighting, signage, and controls used to move aircraft and vehicles safely on the airport surface when visibility is reduced below normal operating levels. It is a required element of the Surface Movement Guidance Control System (SMGCS) at airports authorized for operations in low visibility conditions.
Plain English
A pre-published plan that tells pilots and ground vehicles exactly how to taxi around the airport when fog or other low visibility makes it hard to see. It lays out the approved routes, signs, lights, and rules to follow so nobody gets lost or strays onto an active runway.
Context Anchor
You encounter this at airports that use special ground-movement procedures during fog, heavy rain, snow, or other conditions that reduce what pilots and controllers can see.
Why Pilots Care
Reduces risk of runway incursions and surface navigation errors when visual references are limited.
Grounding Statement
Picture taxiing in thick fog at night: the low visibility taxi plan tells you which route and visual aids to follow so you do not have to guess.
Intuition Check
Do not read “plan” as a pilot’s personal idea for taxiing more carefully. Here it means the airport’s established procedure for ground movement when visibility is poor.
Example Sentence 1
Tower advised the field was operating under the low visibility taxi plan, so we pulled out the special chart before requesting taxi clearance.
Example Sentence 2
ATC instructed the aircraft to follow the low visibility taxi plan to the departure runway.