Expert: Ned Dolan - 7/24/2010

Question
I always believed planes land and take off by the direction of the wind, But it seems that they seem to have the same flight path on Saturday into JFK  from the East. and on Wednesday  from the North into JFK. I thought  maybe  this is done to avoid flying over the sme residental areas every time.

Answer
Hi John, when wind speed is high it dictates the runway used for landing and takeoff. However at light wind speeds the runway/s used are dictated by the most efficient way to handle the traffic.

However, in the case of very noise sensitive areas sometimes spreading the noise around is an option that could be used.

Sorry this isn't more specific.

Ned