Colored runway numbers

I was planning my flight path to Sydney airport and I noticed that the runway numbers either have a green, red or amber color to them. Does anyone know what this means?

Green - Winds Favorable/Headwind

Both RWYs Orange/Red - Crosswinds, typically above 7 kts or something.

Red: Winds not favorable/Tailwind

Tip: They do not really indicate if a runway is closed/open but the green side is most likely to be active.

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That is the wind indication. Green means headwind, orange means crosswind, red means tailwind. However you should still read the METAR. Always takeoff and land into the wind when possible.

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oh ok. Thank you for telling me really appreciate it!

Remember that you should always follow the flow of traffic though, no matter the runway conditions.

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ok thank you for the help

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Anytime you need it. 👍🏻

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5 knots is the threshold.


In crosswind situations, make sure you can read a METAR. If you have a runway 18/36, and the METAR is 090@5knots, one end will be red, but it’s a direct, very slight crosswind. It doesn’t mean one side is “closed” which is a common misconception here. In fact, in that situation, one side is as good as the other, apart from non-wind factors such as terrain and other traffic.

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ok, thank you so much!