More Advanced “Exit Runway” Commands for Better Traffic Management

Hello IFC,

I would like to suggest an improvement regarding the current runway exit command in Infinite Flight.

At the moment, when an aircraft lands, the controller can issue the standard command:
“Exit runway when able and contact ground.”

While this works well in general situations, I believe we could significantly improve realism and traffic organization by expanding this feature, especially in busy airports and high-traffic environments.

The Suggestion

Instead of only having the generic runway exit instruction, we could introduce more specific commands such as:

“When able, vacate runway via taxiway Alpha.”
“Exit runway via taxiway Bravo and contact ground.”
“Vacate runway left via taxiway Delta.”

This would allow controllers to assign a specific exit taxiway directly after landing.

Why This Would Be Beneficial?

1. Improved Traffic Flow

  • In busy hubs, aircraft sometimes choose different exits depending on their speed or position. Being able to assign a specific taxiway would help organize ground movement more efficiently and reduce potential congestion.

2. More Realism

  • In real-world ATC operations, pilots are often instructed to vacate via a specific taxiway. Adding this feature would make the simulator feel even closer to real-life procedures.

3. Better Ground Coordination

  • By directing aircraft to specific exits, ground controllers can anticipate taxi routes more effectively and manage traffic in a smoother, more structured way.

4. Enhanced ATC Experience

  • This would especially benefit Expert Server operations, where realism and traffic density are higher.

Example Scenario

Imagine a busy airport like KLAX or EGLL with multiple aircraft landing in sequence.

Instead of every aircraft choosing whichever exit they reach first, the tower controller could strategically assign:

• First aircraft: “Vacate via Alpha.”
• Second aircraft: “Vacate via Bravo.”
• Third aircraft: “Vacate via Charlie.”

This would create a more organized and controlled flow right from runway exit.

I prepared a photo for you to make it clearer (the taxiways are just examples).

Also, if a feature like this were to be implemented, Infinite Flight would assign a letter from the aviation alphabet to all taxiways (at least the ones that include a runway exit), just like in real life, which would also positively affect the DnT feature.

I believe this would be a relatively small addition to the command system but with a big impact on realism and traffic management.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

20 Likes

This idea is really great and necessary. We can click on the pilot and assign a taxi route. This way, a taxi route will appear on the pilot’s map, and we can control the aircraft until we get parking taxi clearance.

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Great suggestion, can definitely see how this will help Ground a ton!

Personally, I’d rather a system where controllers can tap on aircraft and it will bring up a “Select Exit” button (similar to how we auto-generate DnT with the green/red text)

Once pressed, perhaps all available runway exits are (somehow) highlighted and Tower can then select which runway exit they want the aircraft to vacate via.

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Yes, this idea is really great!

This idea is sooooooooo good

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This is a very well-thought-out suggestion. Assigning specific exit taxiways after landing would improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, and make operations feel much more realistic. It would allow controllers to better anticipate movements, coordinate taxi routes, and maintain a smoother, more structured flow, especially at busy airports. A small addition, but with a big impact on realism and organization

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Amazing idea

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A great idea that should not be massively challenging to implement - on that note however, if the exit assigned by ATC is for any reason less than the calculated landing distance needed for an aircraft, it may also be a good idea for pilots to be able to request the next exit taxiway (especially when operating in tailwind conditions.)

BTV where applicable (e.g. A350, A380) would also be incredibly helpful for ATC in this regard, and its addition would definitely complement these proposed exit runway commands.

3 Likes

That’s a good point. Nice one.

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ATC should not assign runway exit until 70 knts or below— that way we can see when and where pilots will turn. Although it’s still a nice point to let pilots choose a runway exit!

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I am aware that is the case now, yes. However, with this potential new feature, ATC could perhaps have the ability to assign an exit taxiway before landing, in order to better anticipate separation with aircraft behind/on the taxiway, as shown here:

(16:25)

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Yes, I totally agree with you! But at the same time ATCs will really need to understand the landing distance of each aircraft.
Anyways, it’s an excellent idea, as pilots operate better when they anticipate the next instruction.

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This would also require for the feature to be added for pilots to view the taxiway/airport layout while still in the air. Will be essential

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Indeed. However this can actually already be accomplished using tools outside of IF as of now; i.e. reviewing published charts that should ideally be part of every pre-descent briefing in order to familiarize oneself with the procedures and layout of the arrival airport before starting the descent (as I do so myself.)

On that note though, it may also be helpful for taxiway letters and numbers to be displayed on the map as well, yes.

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Great topic @Helluu

  1. we generally give exit command around 70 knots , so at that speed it would be late to give a exit taxiway right, imo it has to come with the clearance , or an automated message which will be tough to implement for the devs.

  2. also for that , taxiways have to me memorised by both ATC and pilots , and the taxiways have to be marked in the MAP like in irl airport charts.

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This is a pretty good idea to assist ground operations, and it would be pretty helpful if the taxiway markings were displayed on the map if this feature is included in the game. This way, tower controllers can easily identify which taxiway arriving traffic should use to vacate. :clap:

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I think this is an amazing idea overall! Would you love to assign the exit taxiways to the pilots to manage the traffic flow.

But, few concerns with this would be:

  • As we all know, there’s a certain number of pilots who either float during the landing, or land and slow down too quickly, now the assigned exit taxiways would mean they would either cross the exit or will slow down way too early before their exit (which could cause GA, since they would slow roll to their assigned taxiway)
  • Also as @alabnanhsirk mentioned, exit runway is given at 70kts, maybe the other way around it would be to assign the taxi way before they touch down but again the issue would come up as I mentioned in the previous point.

Although I am 100% in support of this feature, I can see this feature causing these issues.

Amazing idea again @Helluu :clap:

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Would have been super helpful at LFPK today, came here searching for this exactly. Got my vote!

1 Like