All over the world runways bear a number from 01 to 36, depending on their direction with respect to the compass: the number 09 stands for the east (90°), 18 for the south (180°), 27 for the west (270°) and 36 for the north (360°). As runways can be used in two directions, which are 180° apart, they have two numbers that indicate both, with a difference that is always 18. That’s why runway 02 is also runway 20 in the opposite direction, and runway 07 is also runway 25. (*)
Years ago, when this denomination began to be used, a small detail was overlooked. The compass aligns itself with the magnetic north, the location of which is not completely stable. The magnetic north of our planet shifts a bit each year, so that at a certain moment 11 degrees becomes 10 degrees, and a few years later even 9 degrees. So eventually some airports find themselves with a runway whose name no longer matches the reality of the compass.We’ve seen these storm clouds gathering for a few years already, but there’s no getting away from it now: our runway 02/20 needs to renamed 01/19 in September 2013. Although this is not the first time a runway needs to be renamed for the same reason at a large airport, it is rather rare and such changes are not much documented. The two parallel runways at Brussels Airport adopted new names in the early 1970s. They used to be 08L/26R and 08R/26L. And now it already looks like they will need to be changed to 06/24 in a few years’ time.
Putting a runway name change into force requires more than just painting the new number on both sides of the runway. The fact is that the name of a runway appears in hundreds if not thousands of official documents and on plans, and they all have to be updated. Since any misunderstanding about the number of the runway could have serious operational consequences, this kind of name change must be carried out safely and flawlessly, in close consultation with all parties concerned. A project team maps out all the possible ramifications of the change.
A dedicated project team is making a complete and thorough assessment of the impact of the name change on operations at the airport. It is listing the effects on the activities of the respective companies and departments at Brussels Airport. At the moment there are few documented cases that can serve as references. Our experiences with the name change will therefore be thoroughly documented so that they can be useful in the event of subsequent name changes.
During the night of 18 to 19 September the name will be changed in all the databases used for aeronautical navigation all over the world. At the same time all the signs at the airport will be changed too, and the lettering on the runway itself will be repainted.To avoid any misunderstanding: tomorrow’s 01/19 will be the exact same runway as today’s 02/20: it will only wear a new number painted at both ends.
(*) Bonus: To avoid confusion, parallel runways also get a letter in their name: L (Left) or R (Right). That’s why we have 07L/25R and 07R/25L at Brussels Airport. At airports with three parallel runways the middle one gets the letter C (Centre). Even bigger airports, with four or five parallel runways, like Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Orlando, etc., avoid misunderstandings – and therefore accidents – by adding ten compass degrees to their names each time. Atlanta, for example, has 26L, 26R, 27L, 27R and 28, although the five runways all point in exactly the same direction.
Brussels Airport 8.05.2013
