What am I missing in terms of performance issues - just trying to understand the issue being a non-pilot but a Canberra based flier.
Preemo, the problem is Mt Majura at the end of rwy35. If an aircraft has an engine failure during the takeoff it is required to meet certain performance criteria to clear the terrain by a specified amount. Meeting that criteria at an elevation of 1800' on a hot Canberra day can restrict how much fuel and/or passengers an airline can take. Canberra Airport built an extension to the runway which allowed aircraft to take-off from a longer runway but trying to go Doha direct with any sort of decent payload will be an issue. Hope that helps.
