Originally Posted by
Uplinker
During my training, we were in a queue of light aircraft waiting to take-off. The winds were a bit marginal, hence the long queue. After a few minutes, I innocently asked if runway XYZ (grass, but more into wind) was available. Yes, came the reply, so ATC changed the runway to that one and we all took off, (one at a time, obviously !).
Nobody else had thought of it. ATC is there to control and advise, but pilots can request what they need.
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Was it actually ATC or was it AFIS or A/G?
With ATC anyone can request an alternate runway to the one notified as 'in use' but must accept they may be delayed and with AFIS it's 'pilot's discretion'.