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HK PPL Radiotelephony study materials
HK PPL Radiotelephony study resources

HK PPL Radiotelephony: Aerodrome and Ground Movement Communications

HK PPL Radiotelephony · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Aerodrome and Ground Movement Communications

This domain covers everything on and around the aerodrome: ATIS and clearance delivery, pushback, taxi, runway holding points, line-up and take-off, landing and vacating, and circuit phraseology. At Hong Kong International the three-runway layout (07L/25R, 07C/25C, 07R/25L) makes crossing clearances and hold-short instructions routine, so the examiner expects a precise readback of every runway instruction.

Before you move

Copy the ATIS and quote its identifying letter on your first call. Delivery issues the route and initial level; Ground owns taxi. A taxi clearance normally contains the route, any runway crossing and the holding point: 'B-HKA, taxi to holding point runway 07R via A and B, hold short of runway 07C.'

Holding and crossing

  • HOLD SHORT OF RUNWAY 07C: stop at the holding position markings and read back in full with callsign.
  • CROSS RUNWAY 07L: read back, cross only on this clearance, and report 'VACATED' once the whole aircraft is clear.
  • Never assume a taxi clearance includes a runway crossing - it does not.

Take-off and landing

  • LINE UP AND WAIT is not a take-off clearance. Only CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF authorises take-off.
  • Conditional: 'BEHIND THE LANDING A320, LINE UP AND WAIT RUNWAY 07R' - read back the condition and the runway.
  • Landing clearances: CLEARED TO LAND, CLEARED TOUCH AND GO, CLEARED FOR THE OPTION. If you cannot land, transmit 'GOING AROUND' and follow instructions.
  • Vacate promptly: 'VACATE LEFT', then 'RUNWAY VACATED'. 'EXPEDITE' means act without delay; 'IMMEDIATELY' means priority over every other task.

Circuit phraseology

Report DOWNWIND, BASE, FINAL or LONG FINAL as instructed. NUMBER ONE, EXTEND DOWNWIND, ORBIT (make one circuit) and CONTINUE APPROACH each have one meaning only; do not substitute plain English.

Worked example

'Hong Kong Ground, B-HKA, Cessna 172 at the club apron with information Bravo, request taxi.' - 'B-HKA, taxi to holding point runway 07R via A and B, hold short of runway 07C.' Read back: 'Taxi to holding point runway 07R via A and B, hold short of runway 07C, B-HKA.' Then stop at the holding position and report: 'B-HKA, holding short runway 07C.'

Traps

Treating LINE UP AND WAIT as a take-off clearance; partial readback of a taxi clearance; crossing a runway on a taxi clearance; omitting the condition in a 'BEHIND...' clearance; forgetting to report vacated, which delays the next movement.