Auckland Airport has become the first in New Zealand to switch its runway lighting to LEDs.

The airport has installed 600 LED lights along its 3.6km runway, replacing the old halogen lamps, with up to 20 lights at a time replaced during twice-weekly overnight runway maintenance closures.

In total, 240 new centreline lights, 186 touchdown zone lights, 52 threshold and 124 runway edge lights have been installed, which the airport says will last 15 times longer than halogen lights and use 70 per cent less power.

A new power centre is also under construction at the western end of the airfield, slated for completion next year.

“Not only do the new lights use less energy, being more durable leads to less waste and fewer maintenance hours to keep them operating,” said Auckland Airport chief infrastructure officer Susana Fueyo Suarez.

“Every time we’re upgrading our infrastructure, we’re not only ensuring we are resilient and ready for today but are making sure we’re bringing improvements that will benefit us for decades to come.”

According to Suarez, the upgrades, which come as Auckland Airport is looking to integrate its domestic and international operations into one unified terminal, are the result of months of overnight work.

“Not only was the runway lighting conversion a project that requires a high degree of technical skill, but the physical work can only be done in the early hours of the morning, between 1.30am and 4.30am on Saturday and Monday when the runway closes for maintenance.

TrendForce 2024 Global LED Lighting Market Analysis
Release Date: 01 February 2024 / 31 July 2024
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