Archerfield Airport awarded for airspace ‘optimisation’

BRISBANE’s metropolitan airport, Archerfield, has been awarded the Corporate Project of the Year award by the Australian Airports Association (AAA) for its airspace optimisation project.

The AAA award recognises project innovation that provides major benefits to an airport’s operations. The Archerfield Airspace Optimisation Project was instigated by the management team at Archerfield Airport Corporation (AAC) and Keith Tonkin of Aviation Projects, who was engaged by AAC to implement the various project phases.
 
The project involved significant upgrading of the airport’s airspace and flight procedures, enabling more efficient and safer operation of all aircraft up to performance category C, flying at up to 140 knots.   
AAC general manager, Heather Mattes said the improvements would ensure that AAC meets increasing demand from operators of the larger, higher performance aircraft that currently operate from the airport.

“Archerfield Airport will be able to support aircraft operations under instrument meteorological conditions, 24 hours a day, before and after the commissioning of Brisbane Airport’s new parallel runway,” Ms Mattes said. “Improvements completed to date include new straight-in instrument approaches to runway 10L for up to performance category C aircraft, less restrictive standard instrument departure ceiling and visibility requirements, adding a broadcast capability to the automatic weather station and a webcam that live streams the current weather situation at the airport.”

Ms Mattes said the project continues to be rolled out in 2018.

New initiatives include optimising the existing approach to runway 28R; upgrading the approach to runway 10L for use by performance category C aircraft; implementing and protecting category C circling areas; introducing Baro-VNAV approaches to runway 10L/28R – due for flight validation in February – and measures such as reducing airport obstacles and protection of the airspace.