£4 million investment in energy efficient runway lighting for Inverness Airport

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has invested over £4 million in energy efficient runway lighting for Inverness Airport.

The Highland airport is to benefit from a more energy efficient Aeronautical Ground Lighting (AGL) system, offering potential savings of up to 80 per cent in energy consumption.

The AGL system provides visual guidance to pilots during landing, taxiing and take-off in darkness and when visibility is impaired due to adverse weather conditions. The new system complies with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations.

The project has been planned so that airport operations and flight schedules are not impacted, and the airport will operate as normal throughout the project.

Graeme Bell, Inverness Airport general manager, said: "The new lighting represents a significant modernisation of our airfield lighting system and will contribute to decreased maintenance schedules while at the same time reducing the airport's environmental footprint.

“The energy saving qualities of the new system will contribute significantly to reducing our energy consumption at Inverness airport."

Following an open tender process, G&A Barnie has been selected to carry out the work which is due to start in April and continue until mid-September. It is anticipated that the new LED lighting will last approximately five times longer than traditional halogen bulbs reducing energy consumption and maintenance.

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