Queenstown Airport’s new runway stopping technology

Wednesday, 3 July 2024

The landing gear of an aircraft that was brought to a safe stop by EMAS technology, as will be installed at Queenstown Airport.

Queenstown Airport is installing a new runway stopping system in an Australasian-first, $20 million project.

Known as engineered materials arresting system (EMAS) beds, they will be installed at each end of the main runway.

They are designed to safely bring an aircraft to a controlled stop with minimal damage should one overshoot the runway.

An aircraft landing at Queenstown Airport flies over the grass area where an EMAS bed is to be installed.

The Queenstown Airport runway is flanked by the Frankton residential area and Lake Wakatipu at one end, and the Shotover River at the other end.

Queenstown Airport Corporation board chair Adrienne Young-Cooper said the decision to use the innovative technology was evidence of a proactive approach to risk management.

“This is the first project arising from the Master Plan we completed last year, which will guide significant investment in infrastructure this decade.”

An EMASMAX bed, which is topped with cellular cement blocks, similar to those to be installed at Queenstown Airport.

The Master Plan also includes a proposal to relocate helicopter activity to a new area to improve safety and operational processes.

Queenstown Airport acting chief executive Todd Grace said the airport operated with a minimum runway end safety area (RESA) of 90m metres, which complied with civil aviation regulations.

However, the EMAS would increase the margin of safety, providing the same protection as a 240m RESA.

“Runway overruns are rare, but the consequences can be catastrophic, so we want to do everything possible to mitigate that risk here”

The new system, known as EMASMAX, used energy-absorbing cellular cement blocks that are designed to crush under the weight of an aircraft, slowing it to a stop.

There have been 128 EMASMAX beds installed worldwide - the majority in the United States, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The beds have safely stopped 22 aircraft in the United States – ranging in size from business jets to a Boeing 747 – with a 100% success rate.

Global supplier Runway Safe has been contracted to install the technology at Queenstown Airport, beginning in Spring.

Work would be completed at night and should be finished by the end of summer.

There would be no disruption to flight schedules and no change to the types of aircraft that may land at Queenstown Airport.