Simfly,
'Fraid I have to disagree there and say Odi is correct - UKpaxman was referring to Aberdeen when he talked about waiting for 30 minutes for a different runway (the opposite end in our case!) - lets face it does a 30 minute delay at LSI due traffic sound realistic??
For UKpaxman and anyone else who has been frustrated waiting at ABZ for the opposite runway to that in use - the reason some aircraft need it when operating close to their weight limits from ABZ is due to the lower obstructions on climb out from RWY 34 compared to 16. Needless to say this causes us major problems as these flights also tend to be between the busier hours of 0900-1900. The increase in workload can sometimes be significant and making a suitable gap in the traffic very difficult. On top of that, to quote from our manual, "If the runway in use is not considered suitable for a particular operation the pilot may request permission to use another. Permission may be deferred until the traffic situation permits the use of anoter runway and the expected delay shall be passed to the pilot."