Cork Lanzarote.
Any airport that has only a non - precision approach to one of it's runways is deficent.
To give Lanz. it's credit, the prevailing wind is north - easterly, and they have an ILS on runway 03.
The problem is when winds are southerly, as they have been for a while.
Staight - in VOR approaches are not authorised to runway 21, so crews must do visual approaches, which are banned by night.
Sunset is 5.57pm approx at this time of the year.
A recent EI flight to Lanz. , scheduled to arrive down there about an hour before sunset, had to divert en - route with a medical emergency.
It did'nt therefore get to Lanz. before dark.
Can you see now how airport deficencies adversely impact flight operations?
Lanzarote is a deficent airport.
One way of solving this is extending the runway southwards, then displacing the threshold of rwy 21 by the amount of the runway extension, or more, thus allowing an ILS be installed on rwy 21.(the terrain close to the present threshold precludes such instllment at the moment, - but - with a displaced threshold, you cleverly "move" the start of the runway away from the terrain!)
A similar displacement of threshold, and a runway extension of rwy 25 in Cork, would allow the installation of an ILS on 25, thus reducing the diversion rate due excessive crosswinds on 17/35.
At the moment, the terrain on approach to 25 EICK is too close to the approach.
So, lots of food for thought, eh, folks ?