[annasuave]

From the other thread about 777 in San Fran - can an aviation-geek explain to me how pilots land in dense fog?

Reason I ask is because I was a on a plane full of angry people trying to land in London, ON recently. It was very foggy and after circling London for about 40 minutes we were diverted to Toronto. Folks on the plane were grumbling that it was just as foggy in Toronto and didn't understand why we couldn't have just landed.

I figured it had something to do with the length of the runway. Surely, the pilot has to be able to see the ground at some point? With a short runway, he'd have no margin for error. With a longer runway, does he have more opportunity to correct, or the option to pull up and try again?

I've also missed landings in Kelowna for fogginess and had to wait it out in Vancouver or Calgary. I've always assumed this was because of the short runway - but would love for folks in the know to chime in and tell me what's really at play.