Departures

Current departure routes

Glasgow Airport has one runway that can be operated in two directions.

Aircraft take off into the wind, which means Glasgow Airport’s runway direction depends on the wind direction. Across an average year, 74% of aircraft take off on Runway 23 which means they take off to the south west towards Johnstone, and 26% take off from Runway 05 to the north east northeast towards Clydebank.

As part of Glasgow Airport’s Noise Abatement Procedures, most departing aircraft are initially required to climb straight ahead, on the same heading as the runway, for at least 5 nautical miles (nm)(around 9.3km) before turning.

Beyond 5nm, these aircraft do not typically follow the published routes but instead are vectored by Air Traffic Control (ATC). ATC do this because there are lots of complex interactions within the airspace and arriving and departing aircraft need to be kept safely separated. It also sometimes means ATC can give departing aircraft a more direct route, which saves fuel and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. This vectoring creates dispersion across the airspace.

Currently, aircraft which weigh 23,000kg or below (such as the ATR), are turned before 5nm and do not follow the published departure routes. This is because these aircraft are often smaller and slower than other aircraft and the vectoring is needed to efficiently integrate them into the overall airspace and reduce delays.