Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW, KDFW) serves Dallas-Fort Worth, USA and has 7 runways. Below you can see the latest wind and weather report, how that wind lines up with every runway end, and what the layout means for how the airport works.
The runways fall into two groups, running north-south and north-west to south-east. With two directions to choose from, one group usually points reasonably close to the wind. Headings are true (not magnetic), so they differ from the runway number by the local magnetic variation.
| Runway | Length | Width | True headings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18L / 36R | 4,085 m (13,402 ft) | 61 m | 180° / 000° |
| 17C / 35C | 4,084 m (13,399 ft) | 46 m | 180° / 000° |
| 17R / 35L | 4,084 m (13,399 ft) | 61 m | 180° / 000° |
| 18R / 36L | 4,084 m (13,399 ft) | 46 m | 180° / 000° |
| 13R / 31L | 2,835 m (9,301 ft) | 46 m | 139° / 319° |
| 13L / 31R | 2,743 m (8,999 ft) | 61 m | 135° / 315° |
| 17L / 35R | 2,591 m (8,501 ft) | 46 m | 180° / 000° |
Aircraft take off and land into the wind whenever they can. A headwind slows the ground speed at touchdown, shortens the runway needed and gives better control. A tailwind does the opposite, so airports normally limit it to a few knots. A crosswind (wind across the runway) is harder on the pilots, and large jets have a limit on how much they can accept.
Each runway has two ends, numbered by compass heading divided by ten, so 27 points west and 09 points east. The same strip of tarmac is used in either direction depending on the wind, and parallel runways add L, C and R (left, centre, right) to tell them apart.
DFW has seven runways: five long north-south runways and two diagonal ones running north-west to south-east. The airport covers about 27 square miles, more than the island of Manhattan, and runs like a small city with its own ZIP code (75261) and its own public safety department. Winds from the south are the most common in Texas, so arrivals more often head north onto runways 35 and 36 than south onto 17 and 18. Thunderstorms, rather than steady wind, are usually the bigger operational problem here.
AeroGaze can't see air traffic control's runway plan. It shows the latest wind from the KDFW METAR set against each of the 7 runways: aircraft take off and land into the wind where they can, so the runway ends with the strongest headwind are the likely candidates. Noise rules, traffic and the forecast also play a part, so treat it as a guide, not a fact.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has 7 runways: 18L/36R, 17C/35C, 17R/35L, 18R/36L, 13R/31L, 13L/31R, 17L/35R. The runways fall into two groups, running north-south and north-west to south-east. With two directions to choose from, one group usually points reasonably close to the wind.
Runway 18L/36R, at 4,085 m (13,402 ft) long and 61 m wide.
There is no single limit. Each aircraft type has a demonstrated crosswind figure, commonly in the range of 30 to 40 knots for large jets, airlines set their own limits (often lower on wet or contaminated runways), and the pilots decide on the day. When a strong wind blows across the runways at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, you see more go-arounds and diversions.
From the METAR reports that NOAA's Aviation Weather Center publishes for KDFW, refreshed about every ten minutes. A METAR is usually issued once an hour, and sooner if conditions change, so the observation time on the page shows how fresh the report is.
They are flight categories based on cloud height and visibility. VFR: cloud base above 3,000 ft and visibility over 5 miles. MVFR (marginal): 1,000 to 3,000 ft or 3 to 5 miles. IFR: 500 to 1,000 ft or 1 to 3 miles. LIFR: below 500 ft or under 1 mile. The lower the category, the more spacing between aircraft and the more delays.
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Sources: wind and weather from the NOAA Aviation Weather Center (METAR). Runway coordinates from OurAirports (public domain); runway notes are editorial. AeroGaze is an independent site, not affiliated with any airport or air traffic service.