Ogdensburg Airport landing lights to be replaced | St. Lawrence County News

The defective PAPI system dates from 2009 and spare parts are no longer available. The other set was installed about a decade later.

“This could have implications for flight safety,” said Garrelts. “The lack of visual guidance during the approach phase poses a significant safety risk.”

The system tracks the incoming aircraft’s altitude and has four lights that glow red or white to signal the pilot if the aircraft is coming in too high or too low. Newer commercial aircraft can use onboard instruments and land without PAPI guidance. Smaller aircraft may need the lighting system for a safe landing, Garrelts said.

He pointed out that the airport uses a pilot notification system to inform pilots well in advance of arrival at Ogdensburg that only on approach will the guiding lights be working.

Although the installation of the new lights should not take long, it is impossible to predict how long it will take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to come to Ogdensburg and inspect them.

“Getting the (new) parts isn’t really the big deal. It’s all about the FAA,” Garrelts said.

In other news, the OBPA board voted to accept $4.8 million in grants for the airport terminal expansion project.

The project, which received $18 million from Governor Kathy C. Hochul’s $230 million Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition, includes expanding check-in, ticketing and baggage drop-off areas, building a new canopy over the curbside drop-off/pick-up area and installing new passenger information display systems.

A new, versatile large hall will be created that will serve as a community space for town hall meetings, conferences, business meetings and other public events.

Built in 1980, the Ogdensburg International Airport terminal handled 26,921 flights in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the facility does not have enough space to comfortably handle the current flow of passengers or accommodate expected growth.