Disclosed is a system and method for determining the runway configuration of an airport. The method may include retrieving recorded surveillance data including instances of aircraft positions at an airport; determining a plurality of three-dimensional surveillance cells at each end of one or more runways of the airport; computing a count of the number of aircraft positions within each surveillance cell; and determining a current configuration for each runway based on the count computed for the surveillance cells of the runway. The predicted runway configuration of the airport can be used for updating the flight plan of an aircraft to reduce the total flight duration and minimize fuel consumption.