YSCB Air Traffic Operations

Canberra Airport consists of a two intersecting runways in the direction

17/35 and 12/30 magnetic.

Figure 1: Canberra Airport Aerodrome Chart (Source: Airservices Australia)

Noise Abatement i) Jet aircraft above 7000ft AMSL

Canberra Airport is not required to ii) Propeller aircraft above 5000ft
implement a curfew; however a noise AMSL
abatement area applies to most areas of In addition, the preferred runway for
Canberra and Queanbeyan. Where it is landing between 2000 and 0700 is:
not practical for aircraft to remain clear of 1. RWY17
this area minimum restricted overflight 2. RWY35/RWY30
heights apply to: 3. RWY 12

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 30 297 309
35 348 360

*Please note that you refer to a runway

direction as it is being travelled on. Using
RWY17 means landing and departing
towards the S. This is the opposite of
reported wind direction but in general
results in the runway in use being aligned
to the wind direction.

Nomination Of Runways
The nomination of runway is determined
by Air Traffic Control (ATC) using a
preferred runway or take-off direction.
Figure 2: Canberra Noise ATC shall not nominate a particular
Abatement Area Map runway for use if an alternative runway is
(Source: Airservices Australia) available, when:

Terminal Area (TMA) Table 2: Runway Wind Thresholds

This term is used to describe the Dry Wet
designated area of controlled airspace Crosswind >20kts >20kts
surrounding a major airport where there is Downwind >5kts 0kt
a high volume of traffic. The Terminal Area (*Please note that thresholds relate to
(TMA) is a 30nm radial area around sustained wind gusts as well as mean
Canberra. wind speeds.)
Within the TMA there are a number of
corridors for arriving and departing aircraft. If possible, aircraft will take off and land
The high terrain close to the airport and with a head wind. A tail wind on landing is
the approach paths has considerable acceptable up to 5 knots on a dry runway.
impact on the processing of traffic by ATC. Tail winds are unacceptable on wet
ATC for the Canberra TMA is provided runways. When departing with a tail wind,
from the Melbourne Traffic Centre, until the take-off distance increases so the
handover to the Canberra Tower for the runway length is important.
very last (or first) part of the flight. As there is no alternative runway
available, when crosswind exceeds 20
knots, the runway selection is determined
by downwind.
Departures and arrivals do not have to
occur on the same runway. The
unsuitability of instrument approaches to
the duty runway may also require
departures and arrivals to operate in
opposite direction to each other. This is a
rare occurrence and places a high toll on
aircraft movement rates.
Landing and take-off distances differ with
aircraft-type, weight, atmospheric pressure
and temperature. The active runway will
have to be able to accommodate the
Figure 2: Canberra Terminal Airspace majority of traffic.
(Source: Airservices Australia)
Forecasting for Canberra Airport
Runway Direction Forecasters for Canberra airport can
It is important to remember that although contact NOCMET for information on the
runway direction is annotated in magnetic operational effect caused by a TAF
co-ordinates, wind direction is reported in amendment. Alternatively, forecasters may
degrees true. The conversion for Canberra contact Canberra Tower directly if the
airport is as follows: need arises.
It is expected that forecasters can provide
meaningful information to Air Traffic
Table 1: Canberra Runway Direction Controllers regarding Canberra Airport
Conversion Table when requested.
Runway Magnetic True
12 117 129 Peak Times
17 168 180
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Generally peak demand for traffic
movements at Canberra airport occurs Thunderstorms in the TMA (30nm)
between 7-9am, 12-2pm and 5-8pm Thunderstorms within the Terminal Area
Monday to Friday. (TMA - 30nm) also affect operations
The forecasting of holding near or during however aircraft are usually able to
these hours must be considered. The manoeuvre around cells. Organised
removal or movement of holding that convective activity can present major
affects these periods may prompt a call to traffic handling issues for ATC.
NOCMET prior to the TAF amendment.
Fog
Wind Forecasts There are approximately 43 fogs per year
The TAF can be used by forecasters to at Canberra Airport, 21 of these occur
routinely provide information about during the winter months. When
significant wind changes that affect ATC temperatures drop below zero there is a
runway decisions. significant change of freezing fog at
Canberra is generally subject to the Canberra airport. The different
north-westerly winds throughout the year. meteorological circumstances resulting in
It is very rare to see a south-westerly wind freezing fog versus frost is not well
at Canberra Airport. During summer a NE understood at Canberra Airport.
sea breezes can propagate inland to Mist is also common at Canberra Airport.
Canberra during the early evening. Mist can occur at temperatures below zero
It is less common to see winds from the resulting in aircraft icing.
southerly quadrant however an east to
south-easterly wind can develop with the Cloud/Visibility
passage of a southerly change along the Low cloud and/or reduced visibility on
NSW coast. Accurately forecasting a approach will necessitate the use of an
southerly wind is critical to planning a instrument approach when a visual
runway change from Runway 35 to reference with the runway is not available.
Runway 17. Any instrument approach has a specified
An unplanned/unexpected change of decision height (landing minima) at which
runway causes the re-direction of aircraft a 'missed approach' must be initiated if the
leading to an additional 10-20 mins delay required visual reference to continue the
in arrivals during peak periods. approach has not been established.
Mechanical turbulence commonly occurs This decision height (DH) can vary and
over the aerodrome in strong west and will depend on the available equipment for
north-westerly wind regimes. Turbulence is the runway. The DH is approximately
created by airport infrastructure to the 250ft AGL for an Instrument Landing
immediate west and northwest of the System (ILS) category 1, the most
runways. common instrument approach on runways
at Australian major airports. Visibility and
Thunderstorms at YSCB cloud are less critical during take-off, with
Thunderstorm cells identified on most commercial jet aircraft allowed to
ATSAS/ATIFS within 10nm of Canberra depart with visibility over 550m.
airport affect the ability of aircraft to land Cloud and visibility has a large effect on
and the provision of services to aircraft an aircraft’s arrival into Canberra. Low
once on the ground. The movements of cloud is common in north-westerly winds
aircraft into and out of bays are affected ahead of a cold front or change in air mass
due to ramp closures and the removal of during winter. This scenario usually results
ground staff from the tarmac. in TEMPO or alternate conditions at the
Airline WHS regulations require the aerodrome.
removal of ground staff from the tarmac Canberra Airport has a Category 1 ILS on
when a thunderstorm is within 5nm, with Runway 35, however the decision height is
an 'on-alert' status for a thunderstorm only 240ft AGL and/or 1200m visibility.
within 10nm. This decision is an important Runway 17 is serviced by a localizer
part of the duties of the Virgin and Qantas approach with a decision height of just
meteorologists. under 1500ft AGL. For licensed operators
In prolonged thunderstorm events this a RNP approach into RWY17 will reduce
can lead to an accumulation of aircraft decision height to just over 500ft AGL.
waiting on the ground to be handled.

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 Table 3: Summary of Decision Point Triggers
Phenomena Criteria Potential Effect
Cloud <2200ft Instrument approach
(>3octas)
<2000ft Reduced rate of traffic

<200ft Low visibility operations

Visibility ≤6000m Instrument approach

≤4400m Reduced rate of traffic
≤800m Low visibility operations
≤350m Low visibility operations, take offs cease.
Downwind >5kts/0kts Change of runway
(dry/wet)

This is a reference card intended to educate users on the phenomena that affect Air Traffic Flow
Management (ATFM) and is based on information obtained from Airservices Australia. The card
was accurate on 23/10/2015 – Version 0.1, but may be subject to short term changes that are not
reflected in this document. There may also be other factors beyond the meteorological conditions
affecting ATFM on any particular day. Airservices Australia, NOC should be contacted for all day of
operations information related to arrival/departure rates and runway configurations. Please email
any feedback, corrections or comments to SRAT@bom.gov.au.

www.bom.gov.au

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