Liège Airport main runway now always open in reduced visibility conditions
The Instrument Landing System (ILS) on runway 22L at Liège Airport is now operational in Category III, enabling aircraft to land safely even in the event of severely reduced visibility.
The ILS had been renewed during works in 2017 and is operational in Category I since November 2017. This enables operations when visibility is reduced to 550 metres.
The system has now been certified by Belgocontrol for Category III, in accordance with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) regulations. As from today, the ILS will be put into service in Category III. Consequently, runway 22L can be used when visibility is even more reduced, that is to say up to 125 metres.
Common project of Belgocontrol and SOWAER
The ILS of runway 04R (in the opposite direction) had already been renewed and certified for Category III in 2016. In this way, Liège Airport’s main runway is now always open in reduced visibility conditions.
The renewal and certification of both runways is a joint project between Belgocontrol and SOWAER (Société wallonne des aéroports). The total cost is nearly four million euro.