Definition
Standardized hand and light signals used between ground personnel (such as marshallers or ramp crew) and pilots to direct an aircraft safely during ground movement, including starting, stopping, turning, slowing, and parking. Hand signals are typically given by a marshaller using arms, wands, or illuminated batons; light signals are given by the control tower using a directed light gun when radio communication is unavailable.
Plain English
Visual signals — usually arm movements, lighted wands, or coloured lights from the tower — that tell a pilot what to do while moving on the ground. They take the place of, or back up, voice instructions over the radio.
Context Anchor
A pilot may see taxi signals when leaving or entering a parking area, following a ground worker, or operating where spoken instructions are not available or not enough.
Derivation
Taxi comes from the early 1900s, when aircraft moving slowly on the ground were compared to taxicabs creeping along a street. A signal is a visible sign that conveys an instruction. Together: visible instructions for an aircraft moving on the ground.
Why Pilots Care
Correct interpretation prevents collisions with other aircraft, vehicles, or obstacles during ground movement.
Intuition Check
“Taxi” here does not mean a car for hire. It means moving an aircraft on the ground; taxi signals are movement instructions, not casual gestures.
Example Sentence 1
After landing, the pilot followed the marshaller's taxi signals into the parking spot, stopping when the marshaller crossed the wands overhead.
Example Sentence 2
Pilots watch for taxi signals before starting engines in congested ramp areas to avoid wingtip strikes.