Runway

Runway
Arrival and departure runways.
Infomation
Procured?	No
Required?	Yes
Sizes
Small	75x5
Medium	105x5
Large	151x7

Runways are used by planes to take off and land at your airport. Runways must be connected to a Stand using Runway Entrances/Exits and Taxiways. They are placed as a single object and can be constructed with up to 25 contractors and require 20000 construction energy.

Runways come in three sizes: small, medium and large, and each aircraft type requires the same size runway or larger. The small runway comes in three materials (grass, asphalt, and concrete) and can be upgraded between the three types. At the beginning of the game it may be built in either the grass or asphalt variant. Medium and Large runways are unlocked by the Medium and Large Aircraft Permit R&D Projects respectively. Runways may be upgraded to concrete after completing the Structural Engineering R&D Project.

Takeoffs and Landings

Aircraft that land on the runway will proceed onto to the taxiway and into an available stand, following taxiway nodes. In order for aircraft to depart, a runway entrance is required, which is found in the aircraft infrastructure panel next to the runway icon. When departing, aircraft will wait at this entrance until the runway is clear for them to enter.

The direction in which aircraft takeoff and land is determined by the direction of the wind, which is visible to the player in the weather panel. Because of this, it may be advantageous to include multiple entrances, so that the aircraft will automatically take the shorter path, rather than taxiing across the entire runway to turn around and take off.

The Runway Panel

Runway panel in Alpha 32

Clicking on a runway opens the runway panel, which shows various information about the selected runway. The left side of the panel shows the runway information. It shows it’s open/close status, operational costs per day, length, and flights in pattern. The right side of the panel shows toggles to change its operations mode (departures, arrivals, or both), allowed aircraft types (small aircraft, medium aircraft, large aircraft, general aviation and commercial flights), and if the aircraft use the same or type specific positions. The top right of the panel has an input field for the runway’s name, open/close option, upgrades, repair, and demolish.

Upgrades

Currently, a runway must be demolished to upgrade to a larger size. The following upgrades are currently available as of Alpha 34:

Small Runways

Upgrade Name	Cost On Grass	Cost On Asphalt	Cost On Concrete	Requirements
Convert to Grass	-	$30,000	$40,000
Upgrade to Asphalt	$50,000	-	$40,000
Upgrade to Concrete	$100,000	$50,000	-	Structural Engineering
Add PAPI Lights	-	$500 each	$500 Each	Asphalt or Concrete Runway
Add Approach Lights	-	$10,000	$10,000	Advance Runway Lighting Asphalt or Concrete Runway
Remove Approach Lights	-	$1,000	$1,000	Approach Lights added

Medium Runways

Upgrade Name	Cost On Asphalt	Cost On Concrete	Requirements
Upgrade to Asphalt	-	$40,000
Upgrade to Concrete	$50,000	-	Structural Engineering
Add PAPI Lights	$500 each	$500 Each	Asphalt or Concrete Runway
Add Approach Lights	$10,000	$10,000	Advance Runway Lighting Asphalt or Concrete Runway
Remove Approach Lights	$1,000	$1,000	Approach Lights added

Large Runways
Upgrade Name	Cost On Asphalt	Cost On Concrete	Requirements
Upgrade to Asphalt	-	$200,000
Upgrade to Concrete	$250,000	-	Structural Engineering
Add PAPI Lights	$500 each	$500 Each	Asphalt or Concrete Runway
Add Approach Lights	$10,000	$10,000	Advance Runway Lighting Asphalt or Concrete Runway
Remove Approach Lights	$1,000	$1,000	Approach Lights added

Operations

Runway Entry/Exit

Runway entry and exits are attached to the the runway and are required at each end of the runway. They are required for aircraft to enter and exit the runway. They come in grass, asphalt, and concrete types, with the only asphalt and concrete having angled variants. For medium and large runways, it is recommended to place these at entry points along the runway for smaller aircraft to increase efficiency, as they don't use up as much runway.

Repairs

When an aircraft utilizes the runway through either landing or taking off, the runway is exposed to wear and tear. This lowers the runways operational condition and causes it to deteriorate over time to the point at which it will have to be repaired. Repairing a runway is done by opening the runway panel and clicking on the "Repair" button. Additionally, a COO can be hired, and will repair runways automatically.

Operational Costs

The cost to operate a runway decreases with each material upgrade, but increases with the size of the runway. Runways with a higher quality material have a better durability.

Hourly Operational Costs

	Small	Medium	Large
Grass	$300	n/a	n/a
Asphalt	$200	$667	$3,333
Concrete	$171	$571	$2,857

History

Before Alpha 33 small runways were constructed by default with a grass foundation but could later be upgraded to asphalt or concrete. While small-sized aircraft can land on a grass runway foundation, medium sized aircraft required an asphalt runway foundation. As of Alpha 33, runways cannot be extended. Instead, 3 differently sized runways are available: Small, Medium, and Large, which allow airplanes of corresponding size to land at them. Save files from previous versions had their runways converted to the new format based on their length.

Upgrades

Before Alpha 33 a runway could be extended or upgraded to a different material in the upgrade screen.

• Extending the runway length in either direction.
  • $10,000 on grass runway.
  • $20,000 on asphalt runway.
• Upgrading grass runway to asphalt or concrete for a base price of $60,000. If length is extended first, it increases the price by $4,000 for each extension.

Operational Costs

A grass runway has a base cost of $750 per day. Each extension increases it by $50 per day. An asphalt & concrete runways have a base cost of $1500 per day. Each extension increases it by $100 per hour. The following tables summarize the operation cost at each extension level. Hourly cost rounded by the nearest $.

Runway Hourly Operating Costs ($)

Runway Length (feet)	1969	2100	2231	2362	2493	2624	2755	2886	3017	3148	3279	3410	3541	3672	3803	3934	4065	4196	4327	4458
Runway Length (meters)	600	640	680	720	760	800	840	880	920	960	1000	1040	1080	1120	1160	1200	1240	1280	1320	1360
Grass	750	800	850	900	950	1000	1050	1100	1150	1200	1250	1300	1350	1400	1450	1500	1550	1600	1650	1700
Asphalt/Concrete	1500	1600	1700	1800	1900	2000	2100	2200	2300	2400	2500	2600	2700	2800	2900	3000	3100	3200	3300	3400

Runway Daily Operating Costs ($) - rounded

Runway Length (feet)	1969	2100	2231	2362	2493	2624	2755	2886	3017	3148	3279	3410	3541	3672	3803	3934	4065	4196	4327	4458
Runway Length (meters)	600	640	680	720	760	800	840	880	920	960	1000	1040	1080	1120	1160	1200	1240	1280	1320	1360
Grass	31	33	35	38	40	42	44	46	48	50	52	54	56	58	60	63	65	67	69	71
Asphalt/Concrete	63	67	71	75	79	83	88	92	96	100	104	108	113	117	121	125	129	133	138	142