Definition
The utilization of a particular runway by a single aircraft type for arrival or departure for the purpose of increasing airport capacity at airports that have two or more runways available for use.
Plain English
When an airport has more than one runway, controllers can dedicate certain runways to specific aircraft types so the airport can move more traffic in and out at the same time.
Context Anchor
You may hear or see this idea in airport operations, arrival planning, departure planning, or controller instructions at airports with more than one usable runway.
Derivation
Multiple comes from a Latin word meaning many or several. Runway means the prepared path an aircraft uses to take off or land. Together, the phrase points to several runway surfaces being used as part of the same airport operation.
Why Pilots Care
Affects runway selection, traffic sequencing, and the possibility of simultaneous operations.
Intuition Check
Do not assume Multiple Runways only means an airport has more than one runway. In this FAA use, it means more than one runway is being used as part of the airport’s traffic operation.
Example Sentence 1
Because the tower was using Multiple Runways, light singles were sent to runway 28L while jets were sequenced to 28R.
Example Sentence 2
With multiple runways available, the tower assigned the one aligned closest to the wind.