Ahead of the start of essential maintenance on their main operating runway, which required it to be re-surfaced, a major regional airport asked Osprey to conduct an assessment of possible operations on their shorter secondary runway. The assessment of the potential effect on operations was required in terms of aircraft and loadings that may be impacted by cross runway use.
Business Need
The Airport needed to identify the best time of year to conduct infrastructure works to minimize disruption to operations and understand the risks to the business.
Our Role
Osprey obtained historical meteorological data to analyse the susceptibility of the secondary runway to cross winds, combined with wet and dry runway within any given month. This was compared to the aircraft operating limitations of those aircraft routinely operating from the Airport for both take-off and landing. Assessing this against the secondary runway characteristics provided data on the likelihood and frequency of impacts to airport operators. We were able to provide advice on the best time of year to conduct the infrastructure works on the main runway and identify the level of risk to each aircraft operator of the weather conditions being out of limits to use the secondary runway.
The Outcome
The Airport were able to use the data provided by Osprey to plan the main runway resurfacing with a full understanding of the associated risks of disruption to the number and nature of aircraft movements. They were able to engage with aircraft operators to assist with planning requirements in terms of payload limitations and/or the need for additional refueling stops. The main runway was successfully resurfaced, with minimal operational disruption.
