# Tower Frankfurt Tower can be split into 4 stations as shown in the table and image below.
**Station** | **Station ID** | **Login** | **Frequency** | **Remark** |
**Center Tower** | DFTC | EDDF\_C\_TWR | 118.780 | **primary station** |
**West Tower** | DFTW | EDDF\_W\_TWR | 124.855 | **secondary station** |
**North Tower** | DFTN | EDDF\_N\_TWR | 136.500 | will be taken over by DFTW if not staffed |
**South Tower** | DFTS | EDDF\_S\_TWR | 119.905 | will be taken over by DFTC if not staffed |
**Ground** | DFG | EDDF\_GND | 121.805 | will be taken over by DFTS if not staffed |
**Runway** | **Usage** | **Remark** |
**25C / 07C** | Departure | for emergencies and swingovers also for landings (coordinate exceptions) |
**25R / 07L** | Landing only | not allowed for A380, B747, DC10, MD11, L-1011 |
**25L / 07R** | Landing | for VFR traffic and outbounds from the south apron also for departures |
**18** | Departure only | -- |
**Mode** | **Spacing 25L/07R - 25R/07L** |
alternating | 2.5 NM |
dependent | 1.5 NM |
parallel independent | independent |
[](https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/uploads/images/gallery/2024-10/eddf-separation-swing.jpg) | [](https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/uploads/images/gallery/2024-10/eddf-seperation-independant.jpg) |
[](https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/uploads/images/gallery/2024-10/eddf-seperation-dependant.jpg) | [](https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/uploads/images/gallery/2024-10/eddf-seperation-same-rwy.jpg) |
**Targetspacing** for inbounds only need to be applied by Arrival when **requested by Tower!** Otherwise radar or WTC separation is used by default.
#### 07 Operations **Outbounds 07:** All outbounds out of runway 07C are independent to all arrivals on runway 07R and departures on runway 18. In case of a go around on runway 07R, Tower has to ensure separation. Therefore the missed approach should be turned to the south and the southbound departures out of runway 07C should stay on runway track. Missed approaches on RWY 07L and OBOKA/MARUN#E departures are **not** separated procedural. In case of go around on runway 07L, Tower has to ensure separation with departures out of runway 07C. **Outbounds 18:** Departing aircraft on runway 18 from N / N-South / L have to start their takeoff roll before any aircraft on final runway 07R is between 4 NM final and runway 18. Also, traffic departing full length need to be separated by time-based wake turbulence behind arrivals on runway 07R (see table below). For departures out of **intersection M** it must be ensured that the inbound will not overfly the departing traffic on runway 18, the 4 NM restriction does not need to be taken into account as well as wake turbulence separation. Departing taxi out of full length can taxi down the runway to intersection M (not via taxiway Y) to improve the departure sequence. Outbounds via **intersection S** are completely independent to arrivals for runways 07C and 07R. > DLH123, lineup runway 18, on the runway taxi down intersection M. ##### Time-based wake turbulence separation 18 Outbound vs. 07R Inbound**Preceding** | **Succeeding** | **Separation** |
Medium | Light | 2 min |
Heavy | Light | 2 min |
Medium | 2 min | |
Super | Light | 3 min |
Medium | 3 min | |
Heavy | 2 min |
Tower will get Outbounds for runway 07C/25C short of the intersections. The intersection to use can be decided by Tower depending on the best departure sequence. Therefore only L1, L3, L4, (L5) and L6 can be used during 25 operations and L14, L16, L17, L19, L20, L21 for 07 operations. Tower needs to instruct the pilot to join the intersection.
**Rule of Thumb for aircraft with same performance:** A separation of 3 NM can be achieved when the succeeding traffic receives its takeoff clearance as soon as the proceeding traffic will overfly the end of the departure runway. For a separation of 5 NM the proceeding traffic needs to be 2 NM away from the end of the departure runway. If no radar screen is used, 2 minutes separation can be used in this case as well.
**Same SID, different runways**: Especially between southern departures out of runways 07/25 and 18, Tower has to pay special attention to initial separation. #### Staffing with multiple Tower If more than one Tower position is staffed, DFTW is responsible for the coordination between departures runway 18 and 25C/25L. DFTC/DFTS always needs a release by DFTW for all departures with initial turn to the south (e.g. M / W / H / K / CINDY\_F etc.) if not coordinated otherwise. Communication should only be "released" on the TS server. ### Stopbars Stopbars U2 - U8, T2 - T8, Y2 - Y12 and S40 close to the extended centerline are used to avoid conflicts between taxiing and arriving / departing aircraft. They can be seen on the Airport Chart and on the Euroscope Screen. Taxiway U should be used southbound and Taxiway T should be used northbound. **Stopbars at T and U:** There must not be any traffic between T2 and T4 (RWY 25C) or T6 and T8 (RWY 25L) when there is landing traffic vertically above TWY T or departures out of 07C/07R still below 500ft AGL. The same applies for U2/U4/U6/U8. However, there is one exception for U: Taxiing traffic with a tail height **not greater than 11,81 m** (all light and medium aircraft except A318 and B737 NG/MAX) may cross all stopbars at U **independenly from arrivals on a precision approach** (ILS / GLS). This helps especially for traffic on Transition 1 (see below)As a rule of thumb, the crossing clearance at a stopbar for depnendent traffic may be given when the inbound is on minimum 4 NM final.
[](https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/uploads/images/gallery/2022-07/eddf-t4.jpeg)*Inbounds have to hold short of stopbar T4 (yellow lines on the ground).* *Name of the stopbar at the red sign on the left.* **Stopbars at Y:** There must not be any traffic between Y4/Y10 and Y2 (RWY 07C) or Y6/Y12 and S40 (RWY 07R), when there is landing traffic vertically above TWY Y or outbounds runway 25C/25L still below 500ft AGL. ### Transition 1 Outbounds via runway 18 intersection S will taxi via the southside of the airport and are transferred from Apron to Ground short of stopbar U2. Further taxi will be issued via U - S - S11 - R - S25/(S28) - S. Explicit crossing of stopbars U2 and U6 is required. Depending on the inbound traffic for runway 25L/07R (there should be no opposite during taxi) further taxi via M can be used to save time.Pilots can be instructed to use **Transition 1** via U - S - S11 - R - S28 - S to holdingpoint runway 18. Explicit crossing of stopbars U2 and U6 is still required! If the pilot seems to be unable to follow Transition 1, issue the taxiways as usual.
### Runway Crossing and Transfers #### Inbound Inbounds should be transferred from Tower to the corresponding Apron according to the image below. For most of the crossings Tower has to issue the first instruction after crossing to get the intersection clear as fast as possible (see image for that). After instructing the pilot, the handoff should be initiated. All transfers should be initiated early enough for an efficient traffic flow. Exceptions (e.g. hold short of L or via M6/L1 instead of T) are possible, but need to be coordinated between Tower and Apron individually for every aircraft. During **LVO** crossing of runways is not allowed, all inbounds have to taxi via Y (stand within west and center apron area) and T (stand within east apron area).To protect the center runway, all traffic holding short **could** be instructed to stop at the CAT II/III holding point (real procedure)! As many pilots are confused by this instruction, a "normal" hold short of the runway can be used instead.
> **Frankfurt Tower**: DLH123A, taxi via M M8, hold at CAT II holding point runway 25C. > or > **Frankfurt Tower**: DLH123A, taxi via M M8, hold short of runway 25C. During 07 Operations inbounds landed on runway 07L with parking position west of N11 should be transferred directly to West Apron.   Inbound traffic entering the Apron without crossing the runway will be instructed according to the table below. Frankfurt Apron is always responsible for all GAT and movements at the southern apron!**Entry** | **Stand** | **Hold short of** |
P | all except those via P1 | N11 |
P1 | F231 - F238 and V266 - V270 | W |
S4 - S23 | South Parking (S, V3xx, J, K, G) | S4 - S23, according to the stand |
Do not label hold shorts that are defined by the SOP!
#### Transfer Tower to Departure/Arrival **Departures:** All departing aircraft out of Frankfurt must be instructed to contact the appropriate Langen Radar frequency after departure. This instruction shall be given when the aircraft is airborne and free of conflict. The transfer shall be initiated early enough to avoid the flight leveling off (at +/- 1000 ft AMSL). Frankfurt Departure might be split into North Departure (DFDN) for outbounds to the north (OBOKA, MARUN, TOBAK) and South Departure (DFDS) for outbounds to the south (ANEKI, CINDY, KOMIB, SOBRA, SULUS and ULKIG). If Departure is not staffed, same rule apply for North (DFAN) and South Arrival (DFAS).Frankfurt Arrival/Departure controllers shall always cross-couple both departure frequencies.
**Missed Approaches:** Transferred to the appropriate approach controller when staffed, go arounds from RWY 25R/07L to North Arrival, RWY 25L/07R to South Arrival. ### Visual Swingovers Inbounds for runway 25L have the possibility to do a visual swingover (visual approach) to runway 25C when reaching the 7 NM final (2500ft MSL). Therefore the pilot has to have the runway in sight. During 07 operations a swingover is only available for safety reasons. **Dependencies:** Visual swingovers are dependent to approaches on runway 25R/07L, even when using parallel independent operations! They do not have to be coordinated with Langen Radar as long as separation to other aircraft is obviously great enough. The **succeeding** aircraft has to confirm the parallel traffic in sight and maintain visual separation. **Missed Approach:** With the clearance for the visual approach the pilot has to be given a new instruction how to continue in case of a missed approach. Therefore runway track and a climb to 5000ft shall be used. If 25C is served on a different frequency (Center Tower is staffed), the pilot has to switch frequency for the visual swingover. They have to be asked if they are able for visual approach and frequency change. > **Frankfurt Tower**: DLH123, advise able for visual approach runway 25C and parallel A320 2 o'clock in sight? > > **Pilot**: Able and in sight, DLH123. > > **Frankfurt Tower**: DLH123, maintain own separation, cleared visual approach runway 25C, (do not overshoot to the north). In case of missed approach climb straight ahead 5000ft (and contact Frankfurt Tower 118.780). A swingover can have several benefits. Separation minima can be reduced (described below) or safety reasons e.g. to avoid missed approaches. Pilots are often happy about reduced taxi times on ground. **Swing to depart**: A swingover can also be used to improve the outbound flow for runway 25C with M/W departures, as there is no 4 NM restriction that need to be taken into account. A takeoff clearance on runway 25C can also be issued if the inbound is closer than 4 NM, what would not be possible if this traffic is approaching runway 25L. The inbound will be handed over to the according apron, with a hold short of L, as soon as possible. > **Frankfurt Tower**: DLH123, vacate to the right, hold short of L and contact Frankfurt Apron 121.855. ### Low Visibility Operations LVO become effective once the **ceiling / vertical visiblilty is below 200ft or the vertical visibility cannot be detected or any RVR in the METAR is equal or below 600m.** During LVO, the following procedures shall be applied: - LVO shall be **announced** in the **ATIS** (Code "&lvp") - **Only the Z ILS** for the **northwestern RWY** may be used - All traffic shall be told to **hold at the CAT III holding points** - The **RVR value for the corresponding runway** shall be given with the **landing clearance** and in the case of guided take-off (RVR ≤ 125m) with the take-off clearance - **25 Departures** should only depart from RWY 25C via **M/W SIDs** (reason: F/G Departures and a missed approach on runway 25L would mean a loss of separation during bad weather, but M/W SIDs are independent to published missed approaches from runway 25R) - **Runway crossings are not allowed** - During RWY 25, landing traffic that would cross via M8 shall taxi via T and traffic that would cross via M30 shall taxi via Y - During RWY 07, all landing traffic shall taxi via T - **Optional procedures** for advanced controllers: **Consideration of sensitive and critical areas of the ILS** - The sensitive and critical areas for every runway and aircraft category can be displayed in Euroscope via Functions -> Maps -> LVP - [](https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/uploads/images/gallery/2024-11/screenshot-20.png) Yellow areas show the sensitive areas - [](https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/uploads/images/gallery/2024-11/screenshot-22.png) Orange areas show the sensitive areas for non-orthogonal and non-parallel traffic - [](https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/uploads/images/gallery/2024-11/screenshot-21.png) Red areas show the critical areas - The wake turbulence category always refers to the preceeding aircraft on the runway, not the suceeding on final - For **Light and Medium** aircraft, there are **no restrictions** except that they must be **clear of the CAT III** **holding point before the next inbound is over the runway threshold** - **For Heavy / A388 aircraft:** - **Sensitive areas** must be clear as soon as the next inbound is within **2 NM final** - As a rule, sensitive areas are always clear when the aircraft has passed the CAT III holding point - **Critical areas** must be clear as soon as the next inbound is within **4 NM final** - When applying these advanced procedures, the following **spacing** should be the coordinated with APP for arriving flights: - **5 NM** behind **Light / Medium** aircraft - **7 NM** behind **Heavy / A388** aircraft ### Reduced Minimum Radar Separation > 2\) Reduced radar separation minima on parallel runway systems (Based on NfL I-55/11) > > 2.1) During approaches to the parallel runway system 07C/07R and 25C/25L at Frankfurt/Main Airport, a radar separation minimum of 2.5 NM applies on final approach between 10 NM and touchdown, provided the following conditions are met: > >Langen Radar should not use separation less than 3NM on purpose. However the use of reduced minimum radar separation on final approach can avoid the need for missed approaches.