Why was the "position and hold" phraseology changed to "line up and wait"?

"Position and Hold" seemed like a reasonable phrase to use. Does anyone know what the reason was for changing it? I find the new term to be a little silly. It is akin to "Get up and go!"

line_up_and_wait position_and_hold phraseology

asked Oct 13 '10 at 09:54

Tim
81●1●2●10

edited Oct 13 '10 at 09:55

2 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

I googled this and apparently it is an effort to "Standardize" with ICAO since the FAA felt that "position and hold" could be confusing.

IMO neither of the phrases is really very good.

answered Oct 13 '10 at 10:40

Tim
81●1●2●10

All the other ICAO countries, have been using "Line up and wait" for quite awhile now. The U.S. is the last to transition to the' standard. For a pilot whose first language is not english, "position and hold" has been interpretated as "Cleared for takeoff", "roll down the runway", "hold closer to the hold lines", and "enter the runway and stop". What language would you prefer to convey the correct meaning to every pilot of an ICAO country?

(Oct 13 '10 at 20:19) wbeard52