Ask the Captain: Which airports have end-around taxiways? Can pilots be afraid of heights?
Do any other airports have wraparound taxiways like Victor in Atlanta? It seems like a brilliant design solution.
Wraparound, or end-around taxiways (EATs), as they're known in the USA, allow aircraft to taxi around the end of a runway instead of crossing it. They're both safer, reducing the risk of runway incursions, and more efficient, letting the runways be actual runways instead of traffic intersections.
In addition to Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta (ATL), you can also find them at Detroit Metro (DTW) and Dallas-Fort Worth. DFW also has two more under construction, with the first targeted for completion by 2021 and the second to follow in 2023. (New end-around taxiways must be preapproved by the Federal Aviation Administration.)
"With these in place, air-traffic controllers no longer have to use runways as intersection points for airplanes," DFW CEO Sean Donohue explained at a July 2018 press conference announcing their construction plans. "That means runways can be used for more efficient departure and arrival performance because the aircraft can keep moving."
Some airports overseas also have them, including the ones in Amsterdam (AMS) Frankfurt Am Main, Germany (FRA), Barcelona (BCN) and Milan (MXP).
Can you be afraid of heights and still be an airline pilot?
A true fear of heights could pose a problem even for airplane passengers. It would certainly be an issue for a pilot. That said, there is a difference between truly being afraid of heights and being fearful of falling, from say, the edge of a skyscraper.
I know many pilots who say they don't like "heights" but their concern is more about feeling uncomfortable looking down from a building or other edges. However, they are comfortable when enclosed in an airplane cockpit.
You could take a flight to see how you feel and help determine if being a pilot is right for you. I wish you success.
John Cox is a retired airline captain with US Airways and runs his own aviation safety consulting company, Safety Operating Systems.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can pilots be afraid of heights? Plus, making taxiways more efficient
