Land and Hold Short Operations

Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO) is a procedure used at airports with intersecting runways or runway/taxiway intersections, where a pilot accepts a clearance to land on a runway and stop before reaching a designated point — typically an intersecting runway, taxiway, or other hold-short point.

LAHSO allows simultaneous operations on intersecting runways, increasing airport capacity. However, acceptance of a LAHSO clearance is entirely voluntary — the pilot-in-command may decline if conditions (wet runway, tailwind, aircraft weight, braking performance) make it unsafe to guarantee stopping before the hold-short point.

Requirements for LAHSO include:

• Published Available Landing Distance (ALD) for the hold-short point
• The ALD must exceed the aircraft's required landing distance
• Visibility must be at least 3 statute miles with a ceiling of 1,000 feet or higher
• Pilot must have the LAHSO data available before accepting the clearance