The British Virgin Islands are served by Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, a single runway facility with a paved surface measuring 1416m x 30m (4645ft x 98ft). Local media has frequently reported of a desire by the authorities to extend the runway to enable direct air services to Europe and the United States. To accommodate this, an extension either to the southwest, the northeast or a combination of both is needed. Carried out for Lagan Aviation and Infrastructure, this assessment examined a variety of scenarios for such an extension, a high-level pavement design, the potential benefits of EMAS, and suitable aircraft to perform future operations.
The masterplanning exercise commenced with an appraisal of the local geography and constraints. To the southwest of the airfield lies Well Bay and a nearby settlement with properties close to the extended runway centre line. To the north and east of these properties lies a fisheries protection area. Along the extended centre line, the terrain rises to 250m at 5km and 510m at 13km. Northeast of the airfield lies open water where depths range from 4m to 10m.
We then looked at suitable aircraft, assessing the Airbus A220 to Miami and Atlanta as well as the Boeing 787 to London. While great circle distances put all the airports comfortably within the aircrafts’ ranges, an extension in the region of 600m was found to accommodate unrestricted A220 services and restricted 787 services to these destinations. Pavement strengthening was found to be required in all cases with other enhancements necessary to accommodate the larger 787.
We found that while EMAS would enhance safety in all instances, it would have no material benefit in reducing an extension required for A220 operations. Some marginal benefit for 787 operations was found though an exact quantification could only be determined following consultation with the supplier of an arrestor bed system. Additionally, further dialogue with potential operators would be required to account for other aircraft performance variables such as prevailing winds, ambient temperatures, and runway surface conditions.
The assessment assisted Lagan Aviation and Infrastructure in their dialogue with various airport and regulatory stakeholders. It enabled discussions to be undertaken on the scope of works, logistical planning, as well as high level budgeting options to meet the project requirements. The report provided baseline criteria for parties to engage with potential airline customers and most importantly drew on data that was now available for the most technologically advanced aircraft in today’s marketplace.
Summary of key points
- Masterplanning exercise which examined geography and constraints
- Assessed performance data from aircraft suitable for local operations
- Enabled high-level budgeting and scope of works to be considered