CJIA to get Integrated Landing System by November

Minister of Public Works, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill has said the $200 million Integrated Landing System (ILS) for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) will be installed by November.

The Minister made this disclosure during discussions in the parliamentary Committee of Supply at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

The installation of the ILS will bring the government into compliance with the Global Air Navigation Plan for Runways and Vertical Guidance set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

It also brings Guyana a step closer to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Number Nine, which seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation.

In an earlier interview with CJIA’s Director of Air Navigation Services (ANS), Mr. Rickford Samaroo, DPI learnt that the ILS forms part of the airport’s expansion project. The previous landing system was uprooted during the execution of the works to facilitate the runway extension.

The Director said the ILS, when installed, would increase safety while allowing aircraft to “to operate at lower minimum.”

“That’s for instance, if the weather condition is poor, the system guides aeroplanes down to the runway as low as 200 feet above the runway, at which point the pilot will make a visual descent to continue his landing,” he explained.

Installing the system would also aid aircraft landing during the early morning fog prevalent at Timehri.