Headwind

A headwind is wind blowing against the aircraft’s direction of travel. It reduces groundspeed for a given airspeed, so the flight takes longer, but it usually shortens take-off and landing distance and improves the climb path angle over the ground. It is considered when choosing a runway, calculating wind components, fuel and time, and checking performance. As a pilot, you compare wind direction with runway or track, apply the headwind component in performance planning, and update ATC if your estimate changes because of stronger than expected headwind.