Hey fellow Pilots,
I was noticing that ATC (specially on big Airports) tend to only use a small portion of Runways for active use. Often 10+ Aircraft are lined up at one single Take-off Runway while 4 or more are not being used. I know sometimes it has to do with the Wind but thats not always the case. This makes for incredible long waiting times for Takeoff and really long Taxi travel time.
Can some ATC controller explain why this is?
im not ATC so sorry im no help, but maybe some IFATC try use runways as used irl? thats my guess? i find it annoying too!
This helps decrease workload for controllers as they don’t have to focus on so many different runways and directions at the same time :) especially true when there is just one controller on tower ;)
Yeah thats what I was thinking but I checked Flightradar24 for the same Airport and could see that most runways were in use. Maybe its too much work for one ATC controller to oversee 5+ Runways?
If I’m not wrong, you just answered your own question ;))
Lets see what the ATC’s guys say. But I can imagine that this is the main reason.
Could this be fixed by allowing another Tower controller for Landing and one for Takeoffs? Just to split the workload
Most the time when this occurs it’s because the controllers would prefer to use a runway for departures and another for arrivals that way they don’t have to worry about spacing and in the long run it would be more efficient and cuts down the work load a ton and it’s easier to manage instead of having multiple runways being used for arrivals and departures at the same time.
Hey there! In which airports have you seen this happen? Perhaps KLAX or KATL?
Alright to answer your question I am in IFATC and I go off real life operations so if I’m controlling Amsterdam and they are only using 3/6 runways I’ll use those no matter the busyness.
And for airports with parallel runways most of the time IRL they only use one runway for takeoff and one for landing
Hope this helps :)
Occurs from time to time! But as ifatc controllers volunteer their spare time to control, this can’t always happen. Usually they’re separated North/south/east/west of the airport though.
And another reason is because with runway crossings and what not it’s hard to communicate constantly without stuffing up your controlling :)
Unless your on a VC that is
Hi, it would be much better if you could give an example of some airports so we can have a look at how they operate. Generically, controllers will use select runways for efficiency. It’s all good until you have all aircraft departing different runways and colliding after departure. Using fewer runways helps counteract this and keep focus.
This is what happens at EGLL as i live close to it, and i rarely see this in game :( some IFATC use 27l and 27r for landing and departures, but i prefer 27l landing and 27r for departures, or if winds are bad then 9r landing and 9l for take off
Take an airport like Chicago O’Hare. When they are departing and landing multiple runways, they have multiple controllers working across multiple towers to support that level of traffic. There are also different approach controllers handling north runway landings (e.g., 9L/27R) and south runway landings (e.g., 10C/28C). Not to mention the various ground controllers, departure controllers, metering, and the tower controllers ability to issue takeoff clearance with heading instructions.
All that to say you can’t really expect the same level of service from lightly trained amateur sim/game controller trying to manage all that with maybe one other person handling approach control.
At times I think pilots request the most used runway to take of, maybe they just like to be in line? Personally I always use the shorter runway if active when I fly the TBM. This is never a problem for ATC.
I agree with Kyle, if you can show us an example we can better explain.
as for this, that is very hard. What you can do is split the airport in north/south. For example at heathrow you can have one controller controlling 27L and one for 27R
Maybe better piloting would make opening additional runways as needed more likely. Things like using SID/STAR, sequencing and spacing yourself in relation to traffic flow.
This would help with having more runways by easing the ATC controller work load I would think.
This! ATC should also be able to rely on pilots to have their workload eased off, even the slightest bit helps them I believe…
Yes please!
When controlling EGLL yesterday people were refusing to put SIDS in their flightplan despite them being required. People kept taxiing to the wrong runway and it’s a mess. Better pilot behaviour will reduce workload by a lot.
It’s raining men! Uhhh no, it’s raining violations…