Wing Commander CIC

This is a silly,stupid question but it is bothering me.
Whats the purpose of the big Runway in the Bengal Class strike carrier outside of the ship?
I mean , that during the takeoff or the landing they dont need it...
At least not so big..Its outside the ship,it doesnt have fighters on it (I mean to store like the Victory or other confed ships where the runway is inside and it has stuff on it).

I dont know if I described it well,Its hard to say exactly what I mean in English...