Commonly referred to as "The Rock", Newfoundland is known for it's stormy weather patterns and foggy conditions.

An aerial view of the rugged Newfoundland coastline, near the St. John's International Airport.

Patrick Anckaert, Airport Design Engineer, is one of many team members working to design and construct the infrastructure required for landings in zero visibility at St. John’s.

While aircraft overruns on runways are infrequent, they do occur. St. John’s has invested in the construction of runway end safety areas (RESA) to meet international standards for airfield safety for all runways at the airport.

New CAT III approach lighting systems including free-standing towers up to 22m in height installed to withstand hurricane force winds and up to 50mm of ice, all common weather phenomena in St. John’s.

Creative use of a temporary 90m runway extension to facilitate aircraft operations during restricted runway operations while two runways were being rehabilitated. This area was converted back to a runway end safety area for improved safety at the end of the project.

Flight check of the new CAT III approach lighting system installed on Runway 29. St. John’s will become the first airport in the world to install the latest LED lighting fixture technology on this type of approach system.

Construction continues in the rain, sunshine or in the fog. Construction crews get ready to open a portion of the runway system after full rehabilitation of pavement and lighting systems. In this case, the work zone impacted the two main runways at St. John’s and required significant pre-planning and management of work crews and equipment. Work in this zone had to be completed within 2 weeks to minimize impacts on the airlines.