The main runway at Congonhas Airport, in São Paulo/SP, will be the first in Latin America to feature EMAS (Engineered Material Arresting System) technology, a structure that creates a new escape area with concrete blocks that deform when an aircraft crosses the final limit of the runway. The work, which will bring more security to operations, will be made possible with funds from the Federal Government.
The Minister of Infrastructure, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, signed the service order this Thursday (11), in the capital of São Paulo, alongside the national secretary of Civil Aviation of the ministry, Ronei Glanzmann, and the president of Infraero, Brigadier Hélio Paes from Barros.
“We have already invested in the runway with the porous friction layer, which increases aircraft grip and eliminates the problem of aquaplaning, and now EMAS, which will be installed on both thresholds. It is investment mainly in security. Safety comes first”, said the minister, during the ceremony.
According to Freitas, the new runway security system adds value to the airport, which will be awarded in 2022.
The investment of R$ 122,5 million will be made by Infraero, which manages the airport. The winning consortium in the bidding process was Kibag/Conserva, formed by the companies Kibag Brasil, Conserva de Estradas and Kibag Airfield Construction AG.
In Congonhas, the new escape area was dimensioned to slow down aircraft in the landing procedure that come to exceed the runway limits, in accordance with the country's civil aviation regulations.
EMAS is a technology that makes it possible to increase operational security at airports with limited physical space. It is used to slow down aircraft that cross the end of the runway by crushing concrete blocks.
“The depth of EMAS increases the further you go through the covered area, providing a greater drag, bringing even more security to a strategic airport for the country’s aviation”, explains the president of Infraero.
Infraero's planning foresees that the work will be carried out in 16 months and leave the main runway with two new escape areas: one measuring 70m x 45m at threshold 17R, and another measuring 75m x 45m at threshold 35L. The two structures will be ed by beams and pillars capable of ing aircraft and vehicles.
CONSOLIDATED TECHNOLOGY
The project also foresees complementary works on the taxiways in the regions close to the EMAS. All interventions will be aligned with local authorities, with the aim of adjusting the progress of the work so that it occurs safely, both for workers and for people circulating in the region.
To install EMAS at Congonhas Airport, Infraero ed a working group with the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) to study and create criteria for the design, installation and maintenance of aircraft deceleration systems.
The project also had the contribution of technicians from the Brazilian Association of Airlines (Abear) and the Ministry of Infrastructure, who made the necessary notes regarding the requirements of the undertaking.
EMAS is adopted at airports in Europe, Asia and the United States. The technology began to be developed in the 1990s, through research by the Federal Aviation istration (FAA), which has a program to improve the safety areas at the end of the runways (Runway End Safety Areas - RESAs) in commercial airports, such as those in New York (JFK and LaGuardia) and Boston. Since then, technologies have evolved and have international certification from various civil aviation authorities around the world.
Street: Ministry of Infrastructure
