What’s the Difference Between Line Up and Wait vs. Position and Hold?
They are technically the same thing, but the latter is no longer approved phrasing.
A ZeroAvia test airplane waits to taxi to the runway at Cranfield Airport in the U.K. [Courtesy: ZeroAvia]
Question: Are line up and wait and taxi into position and hold the same thing? Can you give yourself a "line up and wait" clearance at a nontowered airport?
Answer: “Line up and wait” and “Taxi into position and hold” are technically the same instruction, but the latter is no longer approved language. Before 2010 at towered airports ATC sometimes gave pilots a clearance to "taxi into position and hold" on the active runway. In 2010 the phraseology was changed to "line up and wait" to meet ICAO standards. It is stressed that "line up and wait" doesn't mean cleared for takeoff. You stay put until ATC gives you a takeoff clearance.
Per the FAA: “Line up and wait is a process at towered airports to maintain safety while increasing efficiency. Not only can ATC handle more aircraft if one is ready to depart as soon as the other one (usually an arriving aircraft) is clear, but they are also an extra set of eyes watching final to ensure no one is landing while the other aircraft is holding."
As far as "giving yourself a line up and wait" clearance at a nontowered airport, you don't need a clearance, per se, to taxi onto the runway (and waiting for another aircraft to clear it) before takeoff. But it seems foolish to sit with your back to approaching traffic, robbing you of that avenue of situational awareness.
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