Airport apron lighting system is a key infrastructure to ensure aviation safety and improve operational efficiency. A set of airfield ground lighting system that meets international standards can not only ensure the safe parking and dispatching of aircraft under complex meteorological conditions, but also significantly improve the airport’s operational capabilities at night and under low visibility conditions.
This article will introduce the main standards and technical requirements for airport heliport lighting in detail.
ICAO Lighting Standards
- The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) clearly stipulates the technical requirements for airport lighting systems in Annex 14:
- Light intensity requirements: apron lighting should provide sufficient vertical and horizontal illumination, usually requiring an average horizontal illumination of not less than 20 lux, and key areas such as aircraft parking positions must reach more than 50 lux.
- Uniformity standard: lighting uniformity (the ratio of minimum illumination to average illumination) should not be less than 0.4 to ensure that there is no obvious difference in light and dark.
- Color temperature specification: Its recommended to use 4000K~5000K neutral white light, which can not only ensure good color rendering but also reduce light pollution.
Technical Standard For Airport Apron Lighting
Standard apron lights should have the following characteristics:
- Protection level: must reach IP65 and above, and be able to withstand the impact of rain, dust and aircraft wake
- Seismic performance: able to withstand the vibration caused by aircraft takeoff and landing and ground vehicle traffic
- High temperature resistance: maintain stable operation under hot climate conditions
- Corrosion resistance: coastal airports need to give special consideration to salt spray corrosion protection
Energy Efficiency & Environmental Protection Requirements
- Energy saving standards: using high-efficiency light sources such as LED, which saves more than 60% energy compared to traditional light sources
- Intelligent control: equipped with light sensing control and partition dimming functions, automatically adjust the brightness according to actual needs
- Light pollution control: strictly control the proportion of upward light to avoid interference with the pilot’s vision
Special Area Lighting Requirements
Different functional areas have specific lighting standards:
- Aircraft parking space: high uniformity of lighting is required to ensure that ground staff can clearly identify the aircraft outline and ground markings
- Service lane: The illumination can be appropriately reduced, but sufficient vertical illumination must be guaranteed to identify vehicles and personnel
- Fuel area: explosion-proof lamps must be used, in compliance with the standards for electrical equipment in hazardous areas
Airport apron lighting systems that meet the above standards, such as the LED airport light series and solar airport warning lights provided by YFFY Lights in these professional manufacturers, can provide safe, reliable and efficient lighting solutions for the apron area to meet the operational needs of various airports.
