'Showers' can often just be the term shared by the flight crew to the passengers. There's often a lot more detail that isn't necessarily shared over a PA.
Minimum visibility's and cloud heights are determined by the approach chart applicable to that aerodrome. Having a bit of a look at the METAR history for PMQ this morning, it appears there were several periods this morning where the visibility dropped below 4km's. I dare say this is when you were due to land?
I wouldn't go criticising the ATR. In some instances, the jet's have greater requirements and would have to do missed approaches in weather where the ATR can land.
Larger aerodromes such as Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne etc., the visibility can be as low as 550-800M's and aircraft are still able to land. All comes down to the type of approach that is available. The GPS approaches at most regional airports require 3-4km's visibility and cloud heights of generally 5-600ft. Larger aerodromes where ILS approaches are available, can be as low as the 550-800m's and 200ft cloud base.
Mick
|