Sensis has won a three-year $131 million contract from FAA to install runway status lights (RWSL) at 22 major US airports.
Two optional one-year extensions of the contract for additional airport installations could bring the deal's total value to $215 million.
RWSL takes cues from Sensis' Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X (ASDE-X) surface surveillance system to determine when a runway is occupied. Pilots are alerted not to cross or enter a runway by red lights embedded in runway ends and intersecting taxiways.
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Already operational at 13 airports, FAA has committed to installing ASDE-X at 35 airports that are part of the agency's operational evolution partnership (OEP). Those airports handle roughly 75% of commercial air traffic in the US.
RWSL testing is underway at the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego international airports, and FAA is crediting the system with at least two "saves" at DFW.
Sensis will be responsible for developing the software, testing and installing the lights.
The 22 airports, all of which will have ASDE-X, include Atlanta, Baltimore Washington, Boston, Chicago O'Hare, New York John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia.
"These lights are designed with the pilot in mind," said Robert Sturgell, FAA acting administrator. "It's a big step for safety on the runway. We're expecting to see positive results right from the start."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
