Definition
A sort criterion in the PFD's Nearest Airports function that ranks listed airports by the length of their longest usable runway, with the airport having the greatest runway length appearing first. It allows the pilot to quickly identify which nearby airports have runways long enough for the aircraft's landing or takeoff requirements.
Plain English
A way of ordering the nearby airports list on the PFD so that the airports with the longest runways show up at the top.
Context Anchor
Seen on the PFD nearest-airports page when comparing nearby airports for a diversion, precautionary landing, or emergency landing choice.
Why Pilots Care
In an emergency or low-fuel situation, selecting the airport with the longest runway gives the greatest margin for a safe landing.
Intuition Check
Do not read available as guaranteed open or cleared for your use. Here, it means the longest runway shown for that airport in the displayed airport information, which still must be verified.
Example Sentence 1
She sorted the Nearest Airports page by longest runway available so the fields suitable for her twin would appear first.
Example Sentence 2
With the engine running rough, the pilot selected the airport that showed the longest runway available on the display.