World Leading Innovation Coming for Christchurch Airport

World Leading Innovation Coming for Christchurch Airport

Christchurch Airport is about to begin formal discussions with airlines about changes it plans to make to its East-West runway, which is locally referred to as the nor’west runway.

Chief Operating Officer Andy Lester says the airport is considering and has begun preparations to shorten the runway to enable the placement of a ramp at each end. This would aid take-offs because of a steeper ascent and would reduce the amount of fuel airlines need to burn to reach cruising altitude. The ramps will also assist landings with the incline at the end of the runway reducing aircraft braking.

“It’s really a bit early to speak about it publicly, because we are having very early confidential discussions,” Mr Lester says.

“However this morning we’ve had some media inquiry, so word is clearly getting out and we’ve decided today’s the day to let people know about it,” Mr Lester says.

“The design has come about through blue-sky thinking with ex-Royal Navy technical staff, coupled with some innovative work by our engineering team, together looking at ways to improve performance and reduce the need for future extensions to our runways.

“For some time, we’ve been considering ways to facilitate less fuel burn on take-off and less braking by aircraft arriving here. We think the ramps will achieve those things and, although it’s early days, airline engineers and pilots we have confided in seem to like the idea, in fact they think it could add to the flying experience.”

Many aircraft carriers use a similar design to provide additional lift and height for aircraft at slower take off speeds.

Mr Lester says early discussions suggest no major issues for any of the current narrow-body aircraft that use Christchurch International Airport.

“There is a lot more work to do before we commit to what looks like being an approximately $21M project, but we will develop the idea further, begin discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority and hope work will begin on April 1 next year.”

ENDS

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