At Syracuse Hancock International Airport there are two runways open for use and one that has been permanently closed. The two runways in use are Runway 10-28 which is 9003 feet long and 150 feet wide and Runway 15-33 which is 7500 feet by 150 feet. Runway 28 has a Category II Instrument Landing System (ILS) as does Runway 10. Runways 15 and 33 have non-precision instrument approaches.

When you land on Runway 28 you may see as many as 450 lights on or in the surface of just that runway. This includes 180 lights marking the centerline of the runway, 180 lights marking the "touch down zone" of the runway and another 90 lights marking the edges of the runway. All of these lights can be adjusted to five steps of brightness so that they may be seen in differing weather conditions. Most of the lights are clear or white, however, some have filters to show a different color indicating distance remaining on the runway surface. Some aircraft and flight crews are qualified to land on this runway when the ceiling is only 100 feet and the visibility is 1,200 feet.

There is an extensive system of taxiways on the airport to provide routes for aircraft to enter and exit either runway at a variety of locations. The taxiway system is marked by edge lights which are blue. Almost all of the taxiways are at least 75 feet wide and have paved surfaces that are up to 12 inches thick on top of several feet of compacted subbase material. Needless to say, all of the pavement for aircraft must be very strong to safely support the weight of all types of planes. The neon Syracuse sign that greets you from the roof of the South Concourse was first located on the roof of the center terminal section. As the concourses were extended and converted to multistoried buildings, the view of the sign was blocked. The Department of Aviation relocated the sign to its current position where it could again serve as a welcome greeting to our visitors.