Wed, Nov 15, 2006
A Tale Of Two Airports, And Strong Crosswinds
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 11.15.06 1600 EST:
Flights have been delayed left and right throughout the
day at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, as stiff crosswinds
have forced the bulk of the airport's traffic onto two
crosswind runways.
Local news reports say winds out of the northwest in excess of
46 mph have forced airport officials to route much of the airport's
departing and arriving flights onto the airport's two crosswind
runways.
The good news is, Runways 31-Left and 31-Right are oriented
directly into the prevailing winds; the bad news is, those
runways are located at opposite ends of the airport... meaning
long taxi and holding times both coming, and going.
Some flights have been cancelled outright because to the
situation. The majority of departing flights have been delayed
an hour, according to the DFW website, with inbound planes
scheduled to arrive an average of about 90 minutes behind
schedule.
A spokesman for DFW tells ANN that all seven of the airport's
runways remain open, with four runways being used for arrivals. The
DFW arrival ATIS (information Kilo) at 1555 EST gives a
recommended ILS approach to Runway 31-Right, based on winds from
330 at 26 knots, gusting to 35.
A cold front that arrived overnight in the DFW metroplex is to
blame for the airport woes.
The winds aren't much calmer at Dallas Love Field, located 12
miles east of DFW... but both of that airport's main runways are
oriented into the winds. A spokesman for Southwest Airlines tells
KDFW-4 the airport hasn't seen any significant delays due to the
weather.
Fortunately, things are expected to settle down overnight... and
by Thursday, relatively light 15 mph winds will return to the
area.
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