Why can the real runway direction differ?

Air traffic control can decide differently for operational reasons, including traffic, weather cells, runway closures, noise abatement procedures or local arrival and departure routes.

Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport

Q: From which direction do aircraft land today at Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport?

The current card shows the most likely landing direction based on wind and runway heading. With weak or variable wind, confidence can be lower.

Q: In which direction do aircraft take off today at Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport?

The forecast shows the likely departure direction. It is based on the runway direction that offers the best headwind component under current wind conditions.

Current runway direction forecast: landing, takeoff and runway use.

The forecast for Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport in Natal shows the likely direction aircraft land from and take off towards. Actual runway use can differ because of air traffic control, traffic, weather and local procedures.

Airport data

NAT Large airport

Airport website Wikipedia article

City Natal

Country Brazil

Codes SBSG · NAT

Runways 1 runway

Elevation 83 m

Scheduled service yes

Lighted runway yes

Region BR-RN

Landing Takeoff Wind Airport

The map shows a simplified view of where aircraft are likely to land from and where they take off towards. Actual use can differ.

Runway direction at Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport

What the forecast means and how it is calculated.

What does runway direction mean?

Runway direction describes which runway direction an airport is likely to use. At Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport, this means aircraft land from a certain compass direction and take off towards the matching runway direction.

How is the forecast calculated?

The calculation compares current wind direction with known runway headings. The runway with as much headwind and as little crosswind as possible is preferred.

Airport facts

Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport is located near Natal in Brazil. The airport has 1 runway, the longest is about 3.000 m. Field elevation is about 83 m.

Important to know

The actual decision is made by air traffic control. Closed runways, traffic, storm cells, noise abatement procedures or operational rules can make real runway use differ from the forecast.