Western Sydney Airport has a one runway, oriented north-east/south-west. The runway is referred to as:

• Runway 05 when aircraft depart to the north-east/arrive from south-west, or
• Runway 23 when aircraft depart to the south-west/arrive from the north-east.  

There are 5 different modes that the runway can be used in. Generally, aircraft land and take-off into the wind. Therefore, the prevailing wind conditions influence which runway direction is being used at any time during the day and evening.

During the daytime period (5:30am-11pm), there are two runway modes available:

• Runway 23 (day)
• Runway 05 (day)

During the overnight period (11pm to 5:30am), there are three runway modes available:

• Reciprocal Runway Operations (RRO)
• Runway 23 (night)
• Runway 05 (night)

RRO is only available overnight and can only be used when very specific weather and traffic conditions are met. More information about RRO can be found in the factsheet here.

Runway modes at Western Sydney Airport

Watch the runway mode explainer video below for more information about how runway modes operate at Western Sydney Airport