Abstract: An aircraft ground guidance and parking system consisting of a lighting display unit adapted to be mounted at a parking station pointing directly down the on-course center line to be followed by the incoming taxying aircraft and at an elevation for viewing from the cockpit of the aircraft, the lighting display unit including an array of traffic lights, a scanning system for reading successive indicia on the side of the aircraft as it passes by a location at the parking station and thereby generating successive signals, and a control unit responsive to the signals to illuminate the traffic lights in successively different modes of operation to signal the pilot of the aircraft when to slow and to halt the aircraft, the lighting display unit further including an optical system for emitting narrow beams of light visible to the pilot of the aircraft through predetermined sectors at angles on both sides of the on-course center line and which selectively appear to extinguish or illuminate to indicate to the pilot hi