With Frankfurt Airport expecting over 140 arrivals in the course of the next few hours, I would like to summarize the most important information on traffic flow operations to acquaint you with the airport’s procedures.
Frankfurt Airport
Runway Usage
Most of the time Frankfurt Airport operates in a west flow provided that the tailwind component does not exceed 5kts, which means Runways 25R/25L are preferably used for landings and Runways 18/25C for take-offs.
During east flow conditions Frankfurt operates in the same style, just the other way round, which means Runways 07L/0R for landings and Runways 07C/18 for take-offs.
Runway 18 can only be used for take-offs as long as the tailwind component does not exceed 10kts.
Runway 36 must remain inoperative at all times.
All IFR Charts and procedures for Frankfurt Airport can be found at Jeppesen or VATSIM Germany.
Arrivals
Unlike most airports in the Americas, Asia or Australia, Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs) are not commonly used at German airports. With more and more aircraft being GPS- or FMS-equipped, the German Air Navigation Service Provider (DFS) introduced GPS/FMS RNAV Transitions to Final Approach (short RNAV Transitions) at their airports in 1998.
What is an RNAV Transition?
STARs are usually based on navigational aids, such as VOR/DMEs (VHF omnidirectional range beacon with distance measuring equipment), NDBs (non-directional radio beacons) or DME fixes, whereas RNAV Transitions solely rely on GPS fixes or waypoints which can be used by RNAV-equipped aircraft.
As most STARs at EDDF terminate at VORs that do not allow for a seamless transition to final approach and will cause delays, RNAV Transitions will come in handy here.
These Transitions were designed to directly transition you from the en-route phase to the desired Instrument Approach procedure as an RNAV-Overlay Procedure to support Radar Vectoring Patterns, which basically substitutes the STAR by GPS waypoints that form a Radar Pattern and at the same time allows for better sequencing when experiencing large traffic amounts.
Radar Vectoring patterns are pretty much those arrival patterns or lines you saw before IFR procedures were introduced to Infinite Flight in 20.1.
This picture shows several transitions into EDDF’s Runway 25R.
Example: The KERAX 25N Transition (for arrivals from the North-East) features an upwind, downwind and base leg. All waypoints into EDDF on RNAV Transitions are called DFx where x is a three-digit number.
Source: https://forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?/topic/126821-eddf-prov2-runways/
How do I file an RNAV Transition?
In order to file a RNAV transition, refrain from choosing a STAR in the arrival section in the airport’s procedures tab and head directly to the approach section. Choose an approach in compliance with the runways being used as published in the ATIS.
Now, to come back to the example above, to file the KER25 Transition, choose waypoint KERAX in the transitions tab and press Add to Flight Plan. That’s it, you’re all set for your approach!
Which RNAV Transition should I file?
Depending on the direction you’re flying inbound, you can choose between several RNAV Transitions listed in the table below:
RNAV Transitions
| Runway 25s | Runway 07s | Arrival direction | Chart Index Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| KERAX 25N and KERAX 25S | KERAX 07N and KERAX 07S | North East | 10–2F, 10–2G and 10–2D, 10–2E |
| PSA 25N and PSA 25S | PSA 07N and PSA 07S | South East | 10–2F, 10–2G and 10–2D, 10–2E |
| ROLIS 25N and ROLIS 25S | ROLIS 07N and ROLIS 07S | North West | 10–2K, 10–2L and 10–2H, 10–2I |
| UKONO 25N and UKONO 25S | UKONO 07N and UKONO 07S | North West | 10–2K, 10–2L and 10–2H, 10–2I |
Remarks: All Transitions with suffix 07/25N are designated for the northern runway (07L/25R), whereas all Transitions with suffix 07/25S lead to the southern runways (07R/25L and 07C/25C).
Departures
Departure Runways are usually based on your departure direction and the Standard Instrument Departure you have filed.
West Flow
– For departures to the northwest (OBOKA), north (MARUN) and northeast (TOBAK), Runway 25C with the relevant standard departure route is preferred.
– For departures to the southwest (SOBRA, ULKIG), south (ANEKI) and southeast (CINDY incl. DEST area EDDN) and east (SULUS), Runway 18 with the relevant standard departure route is preferred, provided the tailwind component for Runway 18 is not greater than 10 kts.
East Flow
– For departures to the northwest (OBOKA), north (MARUN), northeast (TOBAK) and east (SULUS) incl. area EDDN (KOMIB), Runway 07C with the relevant standard departure route is preferred.
– For departures to the southwest (SOBRA), south (ANEKI) and southeast (CINDY), Runway 18 with the relevant standard departure route is preferred, provided the tailwind component for Runway 18 is not greater than 10 kts.
Preferred RNAV Departure Procedures
| Runway 25s | Runway 07s | Runway 18 | Departure direction | Chart Index Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MARU5F | MARU9D | MARU6S | North | 10–3G, 10–3G and 10–3G6 |
| OBOK1G | OBOK1E | OBOK2S | North West | 10–3E, 10–3D and 10–3E4 |
| TOBA6F | TOBA9D | TOBA8S | North East | 10–3L7, 10–3L6 and 10–3N1 |
| ANEK9F | ANEK2D | ANEK2A | South | 10–3C8, 10–3C7 and 10–3A3 |
| CIND1F | CIND1D | CIND1S | South East | 10–3E8, 10–3E7 and 10–3E1 |
| SULU1F | SULU1D | SULU2A | East | 10–3L2, 10–3L1 and 10–3C6 |
| SOBR6N | SOBR6D | SOBR1L | South West | 10–3L, 10–3J2 and 10–3C5 |
Ground Procedures
Taxi Routes for Departures
| Runway 25C | Runway 07C | Runway 18 | Terminal/Concourse |
|---|---|---|---|
| N3, L, L5/L4/L3 or L1 | N3, N, N14/N15 or N16 | N3, N | Terminal 1/Concourses B (B43–B46) and C (C1–C13) |
| N, N4, L, L5/L4/L3 or L1 | N, N14/N15 or N16, L17/L19/L20 or L21 | N | Terminal 1/Concourse B (B27–B47) |
| N5, L, L5/L4/L3 or L1 | N5, N14/N15 or N16, L17/L19/L20 or L21 | N5, N | Terminal 1/Concourses B (B10–B25) and A (A13–A25) |
| N7, N8, L, L5/L4/L3 or L1 | N5, N14/N15/N16, L17/L19/L20 or L21 | N7, N8, N | Terminal 1/Concourse A (A14–A40, A50–A69) |
| N, N3, L, L5/L4/L3 or L1 | N, N14/N15/N16, L17/L19/L20 or L21 | N | Terminal 1/Concourse C (C14–C17) and Terminal 2/Concourses D and E |
| N13,N, N14, L, L5/L4/L3/L1 or N14, L, L5/L4/L3/L1 or N15, N, N14, N, L, L5/L4/L3 or L1 | N13/N14, N or N15, L20/L, L21 | N15, N | Cargo Apron |
| S16, S23 or S14, R, T, L, L1 | S16, S23 or S14, R, S, Y, L, L21 or L20 | S16, S23 or S14, R, S, Y, L or N | General Aviation Terminal/Hangars |
Taxi Routes for Arrivals
| Runway 25L/07R | Runway 25R/07L | Terminal/Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| M, T or U, N, N3 | P, N11, L, N5, N, N3 | Terminal 1/Concourses B (B43–B46) and C (C1–C13) |
| M, T or U, N, N5 | P, N11, L, N5 | Terminal 1/Concourses B (B10–B25) and A (A13–A25) and Z (Z11–Z25) |
| M, T or U, N, N7 | P, N11, L, N8, N7 | Terminal 1/Concourse A (A14–A40, A50–A69) |
| M, T or U, N | P, N11, L, N5, N | Terminal 1/Concourse B (B27–B47) |
| M, T or U, N | P, N11, L, N5, N | Terminal 1/Concourse C (C14–C17) and Terminal 2/Concourses D and E |
| M, T or U, N, N13/N14/N15 or N12 | P, N11, N, N13/N14/N15 or N12 | Cargo Apron |
| R, S23/S16 or S14 | P, N11, N, Y, S, R, S23/S16 or S14 | General Aviation Terminal/Hangars |