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Queenstown Airport has completed installation of Australasia’s first engineered materials arresting system (EMAS), designed to safely stop aircraft that overshoot the runway.
The 22-week project, announced last July, saw 4,870 EMAS blocks installed at Queenstown, increasing its effective runway end safety area from 90 to 240 metres.
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Made of energy-absorbing cellular cement blocks, EMAS beds are designed to slow aircraft that overshoot the end of a runway by crushing under their weight, bringing them to a controlled stop while causing as little damage as possible.
“We’re proud to be able to make this investment in raising safety standards, making our community’s airport even safer,” Simon Flood, chair of Queenstown Airport, said.
“With a budget of $23 million, the project is a significant investment in risk mitigation and is testament to the board’s commitment to providing world-class infrastructure for our community, travellers, and airline customers.”
The airport chose Runway Safe’s EMASMAX for the project, which uses prefabricated 1.2m x 1.2m cellular cement blocks. The bed at the western end of the runway is 73m long, with a 70m bed at the eastern end.
According to Flood, the project, undertaken by Downer and Runway Safe, was staged outside of normal operating hours to minimise disruptions.
“The contractors were dealing with a first of its kind in New Zealand, and a number of challenges arose in the course of the installation, but the team responded with a combination of thoughtfulness and tenacity that ensured the issues, when encountered, were dealt with efficiently and the project’s momentum was able to be maintained to a successful conclusion,” he said.
“This was the first large project arising from our Master Plan and it sets us up well as we embark on the largest capital works programme in the airport’s 90-year history.”
According to Queenstown Airport, more than 128 EMASMAX beds have been installed at airports around the world to date, including JFK and London City, and have safely stopped aircraft up to the size of a 747 with a 100 per cent success rate.
Queenstown Airport, located on New Zealand’s lower South Island, is the fourth busiest airport in the country, serving a catchment of around 70,000 people.
