Originally Posted by
Airmann
In the notes for Manchester Airport there is a note regarding the turning pads, which mentions that they are suitable for aircraft "up to a ....." And the aircraft are A380 for one runway and the B767 for the other. What exactly does it mean when it states that it is suitable for aircraft "up to" a given type? Does it mean the wing span? Weight? Gear Spacing?
The usual way that airports express limitations like that is to specify the ICAO Aerodrome Reference Code letter, which is based on a combination of wingspan and outer main gear wheel span.
So "up to A380" would mean aircraft with code letters A to F (span < 80 m and gear < 16 m), whereas "up to 767" would be codes A to D only (span < 52 m and gear < 14 m).