The challenges single runway airports face

For the vast majority of global airports, a single runway does just fine. With a runway of adequate length, a facility can perform around 35-40 operations per hour, which includes both landings and takeoffs.

For most airports, this is honestly far more than enough, as the vast majority of airports do not have more than this number of flights departing and taking off per hour. The only facilities that do require multiple runways are those that are among the largest global hubs, those that require the additional capacity to support more flight operations each day.

Nonetheless, there are a handful of single-runway airports around the globe today that are approaching maximum capacity, and they are sorely in need of an additional runway.

While the principal reason for needing another runway is often cited as the need to add more daily flights across the board, there are a few significant challenges that single-runway airports face that hinder their growth and development beyond just the sheer number of flights they can operate.

Furthermore, several noteworthy single-runway airports are not operating at full capacity but are still struggling to grow, meaning that there are many other factors affecting their continued development.

In this article, we will take the opportunity to take a deeper look at these one-runway airports and attempt to determine what factors are currently their largest barriers to sustained growth. Furthermore, we will analyze their operational challenges and explore what struggles airlines at these facilities face daily.

For our analysis, it is important to note that not all airports that are single-runway airports from an operational perspective have just one runway on the premises.

While this may seem counterintuitive, we can look no further than London Gatwick Airport (LGW) to gain a deeper understanding of what this means. London's secondary airport has two relatively long runways, each of which could service commercial jets.

However, these two runways are located so close together that it is not possible under air traffic control guidelines to use both runways at once, meaning that the facility essentially operates as a single-runway airport.

There are other reasons why an airport with two runways might never be able to use both, but they are less common and for the most part less relevant to our discussion.

For example, an airport might have two separate runways but only one taxiway that can be used at any given time, limiting the number of flights per hour to the same as a single runway.

Furthermore, an airport may have multiple runways, only one of which is actually suitable for commercial flights either due to its length or the quality of the runway surface.

Lastly, it is important to note that there are many reasons why commercial airports with one runway may not have any interest in adding another, and, as a result, the issues associated with single-runway operations would not be the primary factors hindering airport growth.

At London City Airport (LCY), which is located in the heart of the UK capital's docklands, there is simply no additional room available for an additional runway.

It is important to note that the first and most obvious challenge posed by single-runway operations is the fact that flight capacity will effectively be limited. However, this likely does not work out exactly how one might expect.

The vast majority of single-runway airports do not operate at maximum capacity throughout the day, but the busiest facilities do tend to hit maximum capacity during peak hours, something which ultimately prevents airline network expansion.

For example, an airline will typically want to operate flights during the hours of the day when passengers most want to travel, which for business travelers tends to be early in the morning and the evenings.

Some of the busiest times during any given week are typically Monday morning and Friday evening, when business travelers fly out for the work week and fly home for the weekend. During these hours, airlines will be able to operate some of their most profitable services.

As a result, single-runway airports are overwhelmingly congested during peak travel times, something which leads to ground delays in different ways.

For example, single-runway airports typically have fewer gates and fewer taxiways, meaning that airline passengers are far more likely to have to wait on the ground in line for takeoff and while in line for gates after arrival.

Airports with just a single runway are overwhelmingly at risk of operational delays, far more so than their peer facilities which have multiple runways at their disposal.

If any kind of disruption occurs, whether it be an aircraft emergency, some kind of maintenance issue, or unfavorable wind conditions on the runway, the entire facility will likely come grinding to a halt.

Without an alternative runway, events that would be minor incidents at larger airports would result in significant delays and could even force diversions to other airports for jets already in the air.

The Airports Council International (ACI) pretty much says this exactly when discussing the difficulties associated with single-runway airport operations. The organization states as follows on its website:

"Business continuity at a single runway airport can be jeopardized when a major disruption to their only runway occurs, such as a disabled aircraft or when major maintenance work is required."

The ACI also notes that most single-runway airports do not have the space available to add a second runway. Furthermore, operational issues that may occur at a single-runway airport will become even more problematic if the facility is not part of an airport network and airlines do not have any other airports to divert to.

For some countries or islands with just a single international airport, this can be an even larger issue as a disruption to single-runway operations could completely halt long-haul air travel.

A good example of an airport where this could be a major challenge is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) on the island of Sint Maarten, which has just one runway capable of serving international widebody aircraft.

One solution that could address some of these challenges is the existence of a stand-by runway. This is a runway that can be used if the operational capabilities of the main one are compromised in some significant way.

Such a situation exists at Gatwick Airport, where a second runway can be used in the event something goes wrong on the other one, although the two are technically too close together to allow for simultaneous service.

Another major issue that exists with single-runway airports is maintenance. The single runway at any of these facilities ends up being used extensively by passenger aircraft, meaning that frequent maintenance is a must.

While small-scale upgrades will likely only involve the runway being shut down overnight, large-scale runway improvements will likely require runways to be shut down for multiple days at a time, bringing the airport's operations grinding to a halt.

San Diego International Airport (SAN), one of the US's most important single-runway airports, will have to face this issue as it has recently been granted over $26 million for runway improvements, according to San Diego-based local news outlet Fox 5.

When the airport does decide to perform these desperately needed repairs, it is quite likely that operations to and from the facility will be shut down, requiring passengers to plan to fly on a different day. Lastly, airports with just one runway will often have higher noise levels, due to the higher concentration of aircraft taking off in exactly the same place at any given time.