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.
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.
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.
ok thank you for the help
Anytime you need it. 👍🏻
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.
ok, thank you so much!