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LAHSO Explained: Land and Hold Short Operations, Clearances, and When to Say Unable

Updated: Apr 17

You're on final approach at a busy towered airport and the controller issues a clearance you may not have practiced much: "Cessna 12345, cleared to land runway 28L, hold short of runway 23."


That's a LAHSO clearance — Land and Hold Short Operations. It's ATC's way of landing two aircraft on intersecting runways at the same time, squeezing more operations per hour out of a busy airport. For the pilot, it's completely voluntary. But declining it without understanding it, or worse, accepting it without understanding it, are both problems.


This post breaks down exactly what LAHSO is, what you need to assess before accepting, how to communicate your decision, and what happens if you can't stop in time.



Study this full length lesson (video, podcast, flashcards, and quiz) here: Full Length Lesson >


What Is LAHSO?

Land and Hold Short Operations allow ATC to clear an aircraft to land on a runway and stop before reaching an intersecting runway, taxiway, or other designated hold-short point. While the landing aircraft rolls out and stops, ATC may simultaneously clear another aircraft to depart or land on the intersecting runway — which is why LAHSO increases airport capacity without adding physical infrastructure.


The key word is intersecting. LAHSO is only conducted at airports where runways cross or where there's a designated hold-short point short of another active surface. At airports where runways are parallel and don't intersect, LAHSO isn't a factor.


LAHSO is authorized under 14 CFR 91.129 and detailed in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM). The FAA publishes official LAHSO data — available landing distances (ALD) and hold-short point locations — for each runway at participating airports. These are published in the chart supplement U.S. and are the distances you use for your landing performance calculations.


The Available Landing Distance (ALD)

The ALD is the most important number in any LAHSO decision. It's the published distance from the runway threshold to the hold-short point — the amount of runway you have to land and stop.


This is not the full runway length. At a runway that's 7,000 feet long, the hold-short point for an intersecting runway might be at 3,800 feet. Your ALD is 3,800 feet, not 7,000 feet — regardless of what the full runway could offer you on a normal landing.


Before accepting any LAHSO clearance, you must confirm that your aircraft can stop within the ALD under the actual conditions you're dealing with. That calculation needs to account for:

  • Your aircraft's actual landing distance from the POH at current weight

  • Current wind — headwind helps, tailwind hurts significantly

  • Runway surface condition — dry, wet, or contaminated

  • Density altitude effects on performance

  • Your own technique — POH numbers are based on precise threshold crossing speeds and aggressive braking, not typical day-to-day landings


If there's any doubt, the answer is "Unable LAHSO" — not "I think I can probably make it."


Weather Minimums for LAHSO

The FAA requires specific weather minimums before LAHSO operations can be conducted:

  • Ceiling: At least 1,000 feet

  • Visibility: At least 3 statute miles


When conditions are below these minimums, ATC is not authorized to issue LAHSO clearances. If you're flying in marginal VFR with a 900-foot ceiling and 2-mile visibility, LAHSO is off the table regardless of other factors.


Night LAHSO operations require special attention — the hold-short markings must be clearly visible and the runway environment must be well-lit. If you can't clearly identify the hold-short point from your approach, that's a reason to decline.


Accepting or Declining: Your Decision, Your Responsibility

LAHSO is voluntary. ATC cannot require you to accept a LAHSO clearance. If you're not comfortable — for any reason — the correct response is clear and simple:

  • To accept: Read back the clearance including the hold-short point. "Cleared to land runway 28L, hold short of runway 23, [callsign]." Your readback of the hold-short point is the explicit acceptance. Without it, ATC should not assume you've accepted.

  • To decline: "Unable LAHSO, [callsign]." That's it. No explanation required, no apology needed. ATC will accommodate you — it may mean a slight delay or runway change, but that's a normal part of operations. Controllers expect some pilots to decline and plan for it.

  • Never partially accept or accept with conditions. You either accept the clearance as issued or you don't. Saying "We'll try" or "Should be fine" is not an acceptance — and it puts both you and the controller in an ambiguous position.


What you cannot do is accept the clearance and then cross the hold-short point anyway. Once you've accepted, you are committed to stopping before that line. If something changes on short final — a gust of wind, a bounce, a long float — and you realize you can't stop, execute a go-around immediately. Don't try to save a bad landing at the expense of the hold-short.


What to Assess on the Approach

Accepting a LAHSO clearance doesn't end your assessment — it starts a continuous evaluation all the way to the rollout. On final, be monitoring:

  • Airspeed stability. An unstabilized approach is a reason to go around regardless of LAHSO. Don't try to salvage a fast, high approach and still make the hold-short point.

  • Touchdown zone. You need to touch down at or before the normal touchdown zone. A long float that puts you down 1,000 feet past the threshold on a runway with an ALD of 3,500 feet leaves you 2,500 feet — instead of 3,500 — to stop. That margin may not be enough.

  • Landing rollout feel. As soon as you're on the ground, brake firmly and positively. LAHSO is not the time for a smooth, gentle rollout to save the brakes. If the ALD calculation was tight, use maximum braking from touchdown.

  • Hold-short point. Know visually where the hold-short point is before you land. The runway hold-short markings (two solid and two dashed yellow lines) should be clearly visible as you roll out. If you can't see them clearly, or if you're unsure where they are, that's a reason to have declined the clearance before landing.


Consequences of Not Stopping

If you cross the hold-short line after accepting a LAHSO clearance, you've committed a runway incursion — potentially one of the most serious kinds, because there may be an aircraft departing or landing on the intersecting runway simultaneously. The controller sequenced traffic based on your accepted commitment to stop.


This is why the performance calculation and honest self-assessment before accepting are so critical. The ALD published for your runway at this airport exists precisely to help you make this decision correctly on the ground, not during the rollout.


Student Pilots and LAHSO

Student pilots should decline all LAHSO clearances. Many student pilots first encounter LAHSO as an oral exam topic rather than in actual operations. Know the concept cold for the checkride — the AIM definition, the weather minimums, the ALD concept, and the pilot's right to decline.



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Author: Nathan Hodell

CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP, Creator and CEO

Nathan is an aviation enthusiast with thousands of hours of flying and dual instruction over the past 15+ years. Through his aviation career he has been able to earn his ATP, fly as an airline pilot, own/operate flight schools, and create and host wifiCFI.



 
 
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