V.C. Bird Airport completes LED airfield lighting upgrade

Antigua & Barbuda: The new lighting system has been put into operation after the different components were integrated, tested and checked before being commissioned for use. The work forms part of the ongoing rehabilitation and modernisation of the airport's airfield.

The upgraded system covers several areas of the airfield. It includes lights used for approaches, runway edges and ends, runway thresholds and turn pads. Precision Approach Path Indicators have also been installed to provide visual guidance to pilots approaching the runway.

The work also includes new wind indicators, instruction and information signs, runway guard lights and a VOR aerodrome checkpoint sign. Solar-powered lights have also been added along taxiway edges.

Airport Operations Manager Rex Daly said the upgrade was intended to address the wider infrastructure supporting aircraft operations.

“It is not simply about installing new lights. It is about ensuring that the infrastructure supporting aircraft operations is safe, compliant, reliable, and fit for purpose,” Daly said.

The lighting work is being carried out as part of the wider Airfield Rehabilitation Project. The project began with physical work in August 2025 and has been divided into phases. Earlier work included improvements to the runway, turnpads and other airfield infrastructure.

The first phase of the project was completed in February 2026. Among the work carried out during that phase were the installation of runway end lights, runway edge lighting and turnpad edge lighting. An expanded Runway 25 turnpad, a blast pad, a Runway End Safety Area and a perimeter service road were also completed.

The latest lighting upgrade is therefore another part of the ongoing work to improve the airfield at V.C. Bird International Airport, with further rehabilitation work continuing.