Definition
The system of standardized signs installed at an airport to give pilots location, direction, runway, and instructional information while taxiing. Airport signs use specific colors and shapes to convey meaning: red signs with white lettering indicate mandatory instructions (such as runway holding positions), yellow signs with black lettering provide direction or location information about taxiways, and black signs with yellow lettering identify the taxiway the aircraft is currently on.
Plain English
The set of signs around an airport that tell pilots where they are, where they can go, and where they must stop. The colors and shapes of the signs each have a fixed meaning.
Context Anchor
You encounter signage while taxiing before takeoff, after landing, or any time you are moving the airplane on the airport surface.
Derivation
From 'sign' plus the suffix '-age', meaning a collective set of something. So 'signage' simply means 'the collection of signs' — in this case, the full set of signs at an airport considered as a system rather than individually.
Why Pilots Care
Correct reading of signage prevents runway incursions and keeps the aircraft on the assigned taxi route.
Intuition Check
Signage does not mean advertising or general decoration here. In this context, it means official airport signs that give pilots operational information.
Example Sentence 1
While taxiing to the runway, the pilot followed the yellow direction signage to reach taxiway Bravo.
Example Sentence 2
At night the pilot used the illuminated signage to confirm the correct turn onto the assigned taxiway.