Feedback on Runway Assignment and Traffic Flow During High-Traffic Operations

ATC
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During a session on the Expert Server at WSSS, I experienced a situation that I wanted to share as feedback, not as a complaint. Traffic levels were very high, Ground and Tower were active, and it looked like an event was taking place. I appreciate the amount of work that controllers put in during these periods, because keeping the flow moving at a major hub under that kind of load is not easy.

What stood out to me was the runway usage. Runway 02C was being used for both arrivals and departures, which created a long departure queue. At the same time, 02L was open and suitable for departures, but only a small number of aircraft were being sent there. The majority continued waiting on 02C, which made the queue even longer.

Before requesting taxi, I checked the ATIS and airport information to confirm runway availability. The ATIS did not list any restrictions that would prevent departures from 02L, and the weather supported its use. From a pilot’s perspective, this usually indicates that both runways are available unless ATC has a specific operational plan in place. Based on that information, I requested taxi to 02L to help reduce congestion.

My request was denied, and I was instructed to join the flow for 02C. I fully understand that ATC has complete authority over runway assignments and that controllers may be working with operational considerations that are not visible from the cockpit. Their decisions have to account for the entire airfield, spacing, workload, and the sequencing of both arrivals and departures.

The intention behind sharing this is simply to understand ATC reasoning better and to offer a suggestion that might help in similar high-traffic situations. When there is a significant imbalance in runway usage and one runway is becoming overloaded while another remains underused, a bit more flexibility in assigning departures could help reduce delays and keep the overall operation moving smoothly.

A small improvement that might help both pilots and controllers is clearer communication of the operational plan. If ATC intends to keep all departures on a single runway for flow management or sequencing, having that reflected in the ATIS would set expectations early and prevent confusion. Likewise, when a runway is technically available but not being used for operational reasons, a brief note in the ATIS can help pilots understand the controller’s plan before requesting taxi.

I want to emphasize that this feedback is shared with full respect for the work ATC does on the Expert Server. The goal is simply to offer perspective from the pilot side and to learn more about how these decisions are made so we can all operate more smoothly during busy periods.

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I believe the reason why most aircrafts were being sent to 02C was to reflect the real life operations + avoid clogging the taxiways near the 02L. 02C is able to accommodate long lines of planes as its quite far from the busy terminals (T2 and T3), with very minimal traffic from T4 (the closest terminal to 02C).

If ATC spread the use of departures to both 02L and 02C, while maintaining both runways for arrival, it would certainly clog the taxiways near T3 (most notably near the A16-A20 gates) fast. I think that was the rationale of why most departures were being sent to 02C (and that’s what they also do in real life). If ATC accommodates request for 02L, it would make other aircrafts follow suit and start to request 02L as well (especially considering their proximity to the busy T3).

That being said, it would be highly appreciated if they kept arriving traffic only to 02L and departures to 02C for more efficient flow. However with the traffic that we had yesterday, it was certainly impossible to do that (unless the use of holds are being used). But I agree that if only single runway ops are being used (seperate TO/Landing runways) it should be better communicated through ATIS.

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I cannot speak for Singapore, but here in the US, they will usually send you to the side of the complex for your departure direction. Most airports will have a parallel runway setup on either side of the terminal, so you can handle departures and arrivals on each side in completely isolated operations (DFW and ATL are the best examples of this).

But when the airport only has two parallel runways (for example, LHR and WSSS), it is usually best to limit one runway for departures and one runway for arrivals, unless traffic volume is constantly at peak.

In the real world, most airports have ‘rushes’, where large droves of arrivals and departures take place at once. But here on Infinite Flight, the ‘rushes’ are usually constant unless it’s a group flight. That’s why I try to stay away from the featured airports on any given day, or fly in the opposite direction of most traffic (for example, heading to DEN from ATL instead of JFK) if I do depart from the primary airport.

My advice here is to either stay away from the feature airports or go with the flow and wait your turn. They may give you a quicker slot out if you are patient, or even if you’re just a wide-body headed a far ways away.

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Thanks for the explanation, I appreciate you taking the time to break down how two-runway operations usually work. Your points about departure direction and runway pairing at airports like ATL, DFW, and LHR make sense.

In my situation at WSSS, though, things played out a little differently. Both 02C and 02L were active for arrivals and departures at the time. Neither runway was restricted in the ATIS, and weather conditions supported use of both. However, almost the entire traffic flow both landing and departing aircraft was being assigned to 02C. Only a very limited number of aircraft were being sent to 02L, even though 02L was open and clearly suitable for departures.

Because of that imbalance, 02C developed a long departure queue, while 02L remained mostly underused. That’s what led me to request taxi there. From the pilot’s point of view, it looked like the more efficient option and a way to help relieve some of the load on 02C.

I understand your advice about “going with the flow,” and in general that is the safest approach. I’m not disagreeing with that. I’m only trying to explain that in this specific case, the flow itself seemed unclear, because both runways were active but almost everyone was directed to one of them.

My goal here isn’t to challenge ATC decisions, but to understand the reasoning better so I can follow the expected pattern more accurately in the future.

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Where were you headed? Is there a possibility that those few aircraft were headed the other direction of most traffic? (Like flying west instead of east

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Another possibility would be that the ATIS was being handled not by the Ground controller, but Tower or Radar controllers instead (as it’s common for IFATC to split during busy hours).

Therefore there’s a possibility that while Tower/Radar controller may allow both runways to be used for takeoff, the Ground controller had a different thinking and would prefer to use one runway for takeoff (02C) and the other for landing (02L), due to the reasons I mentioned above (02L is more prone to cause taxiway clogging as it’s much closer to where most aircraft spawn in the simulator, and long taxiway queue over there would make the ground traffic complicated).

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Ground/Tower/Approach are in constant communication when split and discuss/agree on what goes in the ATIS. Additionally, busy hubs are usually monitored by supervisors who will usually point out if something is inefficient and needs improving.

ATIS is only a guide so controllers can deviate slightly where necessary - the controller wasn’t doing anything wrong as both runways were noted as in use for departures. @BlackMark_YT - if you want to understand more, it’s worth reaching out to the ground controller in a private message as to why you sent to 02C instead of 02L - it may well have been for the reasons above.

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