Airport Markings
Airfield marking work for runways, taxiways, and ramps — installed to FAA standards by crews trained for the specialized environment.
Airport markings, done right.
Airport markings are governed by FAA standards, and every line, symbol, and threshold has to meet exact specifications for dimensions, retroreflectivity, and color. We've been doing airfield work for nearly two decades and know the standards inside and out.
This page covers our general airport marking work. For high-performance AirMark® specialty installations (a separate certified product), see our AirMark® page.
THE STANDARD
Understanding FAA AC 150/5340-1
Airfield markings are governed by FAA Advisory Circular 150/5340-1, the federal standard that dictates the dimensions, colors, patterns, placement, and reflectivity of every marking on a runway, taxiway, and apron. It is a fundamentally different discipline than commercial or roadway striping. On a parking lot, a line that’s a half-inch off or a shade of white that’s slightly dim is a cosmetic issue. On a runway, those same tolerances are safety-critical — pilots rely on marking geometry and retroreflectivity to orient at speed, in the dark, and in poor visibility.
Falcon installs to AC 150/5340-1 standards across every airfield project we take on. Our crews know the marking types, the required dimensions, the color standards, and the glass-bead application rates that keep an airfield compliant and safe. That fluency is what separates a certified airfield marking contractor from a striping company taking on airport work it isn’t equipped for.
Just as importantly, we can build to whatever specification a project requires. Many airfield projects follow AC 150/5340-1 directly; others use airport-specific, military, or engineer-provided specifications that modify or replace the federal standard. Whichever applies to your project, Falcon executes to the spec provided.
SCOPE
Runway, taxiway, and apron markings
Every surface of an airfield carries its own marking language, and Falcon installs across all of them.
Runway markings are the most safety-critical work on the airfield. They include centerlines, threshold markings, touchdown zone markings, aiming points, runway designation numbers, edge lines, and displaced threshold arrows. These markings guide aircraft through the highest-speed, highest-consequence phases of flight, and they carry the tightest tolerances for dimension and retroreflectivity. We install them in glass-bead embedded paint and, where the project calls for a high-performance system, in AirMark®.
Taxiway markings guide aircraft safely between the runway and the ramp. They include taxiway centerlines, edge lines, holding position markings, geographic position markings, and ILS critical area boundaries. Holding position markings in particular are among the most important markings on any airfield — they define where an aircraft must stop before entering an active runway, and their accuracy is directly tied to runway-incursion prevention.
Apron and ramp markings organize the busiest and most congested areas of an airfield, where aircraft, fuel trucks, baggage equipment, and ground crews all share space. This work includes lead-in and lead-out lines, aircraft parking pads, vehicle service roads, equipment staging areas, and FBO ramp markings. Clear, accurate ramp markings keep ground operations orderly and safe.
Across all three surfaces, Falcon handles new markings on new pavement, remarking after rehabilitation, and layout changes — installed to the geometry and reflectivity the specification requires.
What we stripe.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Retroreflectivity testing & FOD control
Installing the marking is only part of the job. Proving it meets spec — and leaving the airfield clean — is what closes it out properly.
Falcon performs retroreflectivity testing on both roadway and airfield paint markings. Retroreflectivity is the measure of how well a marking returns light back to its source — the property that makes markings visible in a vehicle’s headlights or under an aircraft’s lighting at night. We take multiple readings in each direction as the specification requires, and we deliver a documented report, including a location image, so the airport, engineer, or general contractor has verified proof that the markings meet the required reflectivity thresholds. For airfield owners and GCs, that report is documentation that the work passed, not just a claim that it did.
We also perform FOD cleanup as part of our airfield work. FOD — Foreign Object Debris — is any loose material on an airfield that could be ingested by an engine or damage an aircraft, and excess glass beads from marking application are a common source. Falcon cleans up excess beads and marking debris so the airfield is returned to service clean and FOD-free. It’s a detail that general striping outfits routinely overlook, and one that airfield operators specifically watch for.
OPERATIONS
Night work on active airfields
Airfields rarely shut down for marking work. Most airfield marking happens in short overnight windows, phased closures, or between operations, and coordinating that safely takes experience most contractors don’t have.
Falcon’s crews are badged and have extensive experience working during active airfield operations. We understand the escort requirements, radio and coordination protocols, and movement-area restrictions that govern work on a live airfield, and we plan our sequencing to clear the work area and return it to operational status on schedule. When a project calls for temporary markings — displaced thresholds, work-zone markings, or interim configurations during construction — we install those too, then complete the permanent markings once the layout is set.
This is the part of airfield work that separates a qualified contractor from an unqualified one. The marking itself is a skill; doing it safely inside an operating airport, on the airport’s schedule and under its security requirements, is a different capability entirely — and it’s one Falcon has built over years of airfield projects.
FLEXIBILITY
Built to your specification
Falcon meets FAA AC 150/5340-1, but our capability isn’t limited to it. We build any project to the specification provided — whether that’s the federal standard, an airport-specific spec, a military installation’s requirements, or an engineer’s project documents. Airfield requirements vary between civil, commercial, and military installations, and the contractor’s job is to execute precisely to whatever governs the project in front of them. Hand us the spec, and we build to it.
Right material for the job.
Airport marking projects.
Why we get the call.
EXPERIENCE
Airfield work across Arizona and beyond
Falcon has performed extensive airfield marking work at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, including projects on Taxiway U and T3N2, and a series of hold bar projects across the North, South, and Center areas of the airfield — the Center project currently in progress. Hold bars are among the most safety-critical markings on any airfield, and being trusted with multiple hold bar projects at an airport the size of Sky Harbor reflects the level of confidence airport operations places in our crews.
Beyond Sky Harbor, we’ve completed runway work at Chandler Municipal Airport, including Runway 4R-22L, and multiple projects at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. We’ve also performed airfield work at military installations, including Air Force base and Marine Corps air station projects — work that requires the security clearances, coordination, and precision that military airfields demand.
This depth of airfield experience is Falcon’s strongest credential, and it’s the kind of proof no general striping contractor can offer. When an airport or general contractor needs airfield marking done right, on schedule, and to spec, this track record is why they call us.