Safety
What To Expect During Opposite Direction Approaches
The new guidelines are the result of a national review of the procedures.

Air traffic controllers work under very specific guidelines when conducting opposite-direction approaches in VFR or IFR conditions, as outlined recently in the FAA Order 7210.884. A few of the guidelines that pilots should understand include a rule that tower controllers are unable to apply visual separation when using opposite-direction IFR approaches, until at least one aircraft begins a turn away from a conflicting course. Each FAA facility must also have predefined cutoff fixes for both arrivals and departures. The only exception under which a controller will be allowed to approve opposite-direction approaches inside any of these cutoff fixes is during an emergency.