Fareham Borough Council is moving forward with planned improvements to the infrastructure at Solent Airport by introducing aeronautical ground lighting (AGL) and a performance-based navigation system. The decision was made at a meeting of the Council’s Executive earlier this year.
Once in place, the AGL will provide visiting aircraft with the confidence that they will be able to land safely and take off in hours of darkness or when there is low visibility, within existing regulatory constraints such as opening hours of the airport.
An AGL system is a collection of lights installed on the ground to provide visual aids to aircraft pilots. The lights provide assistance to pilots and will enable the airport to be fully used during its opening hours, regardless of inclement weather and low light.
The performance-based navigation (PBN) concept, when used in conjunction with AGL, will enable pilots to follow prescribed flight paths which can be designed so that aircraft can follow a non-precision approach into an airport which is necessary for instance in periods of low cloud or poor visibility. The prescribed paths also help to define routes to avoid particular areas, for instance to reduce the impact of noise disturbance.
Cllr Seán Woodward, Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: ‘This is an important step towards realising the Council’s vision for Solent Airport at Daedalus as it enables us to give our airport users certainty when using our facilities. Once Solent Airport is equipped with AGL and PBN, operators will benefit from more flexibility to plan operations at the airport knowing that, if they run late for example, they will still be able to land.’
From 18 July, the Council will commence a two-week pre-planning consultation when additional information about the scheme will be set out, both in a static display at the airport and on the ‘Solent Airport’ page of the Council’s website.
