Airport Pavement Strength Data

The Operating Authority for every certified airport in Canada is required to determine the bearing strength of all airside pavement operational surfaces at the airport. For international airports, the resulting strength information must be made available (reported) using the standard ICAO PCN reporting code format which is understood world-wide. Many other airports also make strength information available using both the Canadian PLR and the ICAO PCN system formats.

In some cases, airport authorities may publish airside pavement strength PLR/PCN values in the form of a PLR Chart similar to the one shown at the left. Other airport authorities may publish the data in a tabular format. Regardless of the publishing format, the reported airside pavement strengths can be compared to corresponding aircraft ALR/ACN values to determine those aircraft which can operate on the pavements.  

Pavement strength data (PLR/PCN) for runways at approximately 100 of the major airports in Canada can be obtained by requesting a copy of publication TP2162. See the Pavement Engineering Reference Document (ERD) page to obtain a copy. Both the ICAO PCN and the Canadian PLR strength codes are given.

The appropriate airport operating authority should always be contacted to:

1. confirm the currency of published strength data,
2. obtain strength data for pavement areas other than runways, and
3. obtain strength data for airport sites not listed in TP2162.

A listing of all Canadian airport operating authorities and contact phone numbers can be obtained by consulting the latest version of the "Canada Flight Supplement