Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Aircraft Operations

This video provides an overview of aircraft operations at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. We will show how traffic operates at PHX and the procedures air traffic controllers use to keep airplanes safely separated. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has always been at the forefront of aviation, starting with its first flight with a Ford tri-motor off a dirt strip in 1928 and Scenic Airways Flight School in 1929. Purchased by the City of Phoenix from Acme Investment Company for $100,000, Sky Harbor soon grew with its first passenger terminal in 1952 and subsequent jet service in the 1960s. Sky Harbor became an international port of entry in the 1970s and began international flights in the 1990s. Soon, citizens and businesses in Phoenix had easy access to the world. Today, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is among the busiest airports in the United States, serving more than 143,000 passengers daily on more than 1,000 flights per day and has a total economic impact of more than 44.3 billion dollars per year. The primary responsibility of the FAA's air traffic control system is to provide the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic. This is done by teams of FAA air traffic controllers that ensure airplanes are safely separated while maintaining the most efficient flow of air traffic. When an airport is constructed, the runways are built to align with the most common wind directions in the area. This is because aircraft generally take off and land into the wind to maximize performance and ensure safety. Since each runway end is treated as a separate surface, this airport has six runway identifiers. Runway identification is based on the magnetic compass heading the aircraft is facing as it lands or takes off. For example, runway 257 is oriented with a magnetic compass heading of approximately 250 degrees in one direction and 70 degrees in the opposite direction. If you drop the zero at the end of the compass heading, you will get 25 and 7. Parallel runways are further designated with L for left and R for right as you approach or depart the runway. At Sky Harbor, aircraft arrive and depart to the east and west on three parallel runways. In general, there are more easterly winds in the morning and westerly winds in the afternoon and evening. FAA air traffic controllers balance these arrivals and departures for the three parallel runways at PHX. PHX air traffic controllers and pilots operate within constraints including terrain, military airspace, and weather events such as heat and monsoons. The Phoenix area mountain ranges mean air traffic controllers guide traffic around these areas of high terrain. Military airspace restrictions in the region also provide a challenge that limits the availability of airspace for commercial and general aviation traffic. Extreme weather like heat also impacts aircraft performance and monsoons and dust storms can cause delays. Let's go through a series of animations that will show arrivals and departures from both the east and west and how FAA air traffic controllers work these challenges and maintain the safety of the Phoenix area airspace. First, let's look at aircraft departing and arriving in east flow. For noise abatement, aircraft depart straight for at least six miles, generally along the Salt River, before turning to the north or south which is referred to as the Tempe 4 DME. As you can see here, aircraft fly to a waypoint along the procedure and then turn left or right. When aircraft land to the east, they are guided to the final approach by air traffic control, first on a standard terminal arrival or STAR, then guided to an approach procedure to land. Now let's look at Phoenix departures to the west. As part of the noise abatement program, aircraft fly straight until reaching 43rd Avenue, then turn towards their destination and join the enroute airspace. When aircraft land to the west, they are guided to the final approach by air traffic control, first on a standard terminal arrival or STAR, then guided to an approach procedure to land. Aircraft departures are monitored by the FAA and City of Phoenix in compliance with the settlement between the Cities of Phoenix and Tempe signed in 1994. The settlement includes three measures that are monitored by the City of Phoenix. The first is equalizing aircraft arriving and departing to the east and west. This policy ensures that aircraft operations are equalized to the east and west over a calendar year. In general, there are more easterly winds in the morning and westerly winds in the afternoon and evening. Each month, the City of Phoenix publishes the east-west equalization as well as for the previous 12-month period. The second is monitoring aircraft flying to the east, referred to as the Tempe 4 DME. And third, the operation of a noise and operations monitoring system that is also reported on each month. Monitoring by the City of Phoenix shows that as of early 2025, compliance is over 99% for equalization, the Tempe 4 DME, and the 43rd Avenue gate. In addition to Sky Harbor, there are seven other airports with air traffic control towers and a military base in the Phoenix area. These collectively rank among the busiest airports in the nation. Let's look at how Phoenix and Scottsdale share the airspace. This animation shows a typical operational flow of aircraft departing to the east from Phoenix and Scottsdale. Scottsdale Airport is located east of Phoenix. While these two areas are about 30 minutes apart on the ground, in the air it takes only a few minutes. This close proximity means air traffic control must closely monitor and ensure aircraft are properly separated, both laterally and vertically. In this example, an aircraft departs PHX, flying to the northeast. An aircraft also departs from Scottsdale, going in the same direction. The aircraft must climb and then level off to maintain separation from arriving aircraft, then climb again to ensure they're at least 10,000 feet north of the McDowell Mountains. This is one video in a series that discusses aircraft operations in the Phoenix region. To see more, visit the FAA's YouTube channel.