No, they'd still have to be swapped (under the current scheme of runway numbering). If you're landing on runway 18, you know your compass better be reading ~180

No, they'd still have to be swapped (under the current scheme of runway numbering). If you're landing on runway 18, you know your compass better be reading ~180° (after correction for deviation). Similarly, when taking off from runway 18, your compass should read the same. You can see just how much the magnetic variation changes around the world in this graphic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Earth_Magnetic_Field_Declination_from_1590_to_1990.gif http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Earth_Magnetic_Field_Decli...