PANYNJ SECURES PATENT
LIFE-SAVING ‘ARRESTOR BEDS’
The Port Authority has been
granted a patent for development of
a cutting-edge system of protective
beds located at the end of airport
runways that add an important
layer of safety to air travel, helping
to decelerate aircraft and safely
stop airplanes from overshooting
runways.
The patent, issued recently by
the United States Patent and Trademark
Office, was granted for updates
made to the Port Authority’s
Engineered Material Arrestor System
(EMAS), which is composed of
aerated blocks of crushable cellular
cement that enables aircraft tires to
sink into the lightweight material
before it overshoots a runway.
To provide a margin of error for
pilots, the FAA’s standard Runway
Safety Area (RSA) guidelines require
safety zones at each end of the
runway, or an area that is 1,000 feet
long and 500 feet wide. Many airports
were built before the RSA standard
and, since these airports are
surrounded by residential and business
districts or located in densely
populated communities, there is no
space to extend the runways.Across
the country, arrestor beds have limited
the potential for serious damage
to the aircraft, injuries to passengers
or impact on the local community,
and has saved lives. Today,
EMAS is in place at 68 U.S. airports.
The original EMAS system
gained international publicity in
October 2016 when a plane carrying
then-Vice Presidential candidate
Mike Pence veered off a La-
Guardia Airport runway during
extreme weather conditions and
was stopped by the arrestor beds.
The newly designed EMAS is a
state-of-the-art safety system whose
22 AIRPORT VOICE, OCTOBER 2020
improvements make it less expensive
to install, easier to maintain,
and more durable while meeting
Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) requirements.
JFK was the first airport with an
EMAS system. In recognition of her
contribution to EMAS, Phillips was
the first woman to be presented The
Elmer A. Sperry Award, an achievement
named for the legendary transportation
engineer that encourages
progress in transportation.
“Since its inception, the Port Authority
has been instrumental in
developing life-saving technology
across our airports,” said Port Authority
Chairman Kevin O’Toole.
“We remain committed to making
further improvements to the design,
which will not only provide exceptional
safety standards, but also
greater efficiency and cost savings.”
Arrestor beds aren’t just another
investment in safety for the
Port Authority “This is another
major milestone not just for the
Port Authority but for the aviation
industry,” said Port Authority Executive
Director Rick Cotton. “With
the patent now approved, we will
work towards obtaining FAA certification
and creating and implementing
superior safety products.”
To provide a margin of error
for pilots, the FAA’s standard Runway
Safety Area (RSA) guidelines
require safety zones at each end of
the runway, or an area that is 1,000
feet long and 500 feet wide. Many airports
were built before the RSA standard
and, since these airports are
surrounded by residential and business
districts, bodies of water, highways,
railroads or located in densely
populated communities, there is no
space to extend the runways.
* For eligible full-time students. See full details at vaughn.edu.
E- Gates at Newark
Electronic self boarding
As part of the deployment of new
technologies to reduce contact, improve
efficiency and increase customer
service, the Port Authority
installed new automatic electronic
access points, also known as E-Gates,
for use by multiple airlines in Newark
Liberty International Airport’s
Terminal A.
The E-Gates – which are supplied
by Dormakaba – allow passenger
access to the TSA Checkpoint via
queuing lanes that include magnetic
stanchions and hard barriers with
printed or mobile device boarding
passes. The extended sensor system
processes boarding pass information,
safely admits one passenger at a
time, and detects luggage.
In the first phase of the project,
boarding pass data is validated to ensure
the flight departs from the correct
gate, and that the passenger is on
time. Boarding pass controls allow
passengers to quickly proceed to the
security checkpoint once their boarding
pass has been verified. In addition
to increasing operational efficiencies
and passenger service, the sensor barrier
technology seamlessly interfaces
with airline and airport systems to accurately
collect data and ensure immediate
user acceptance for improved
throughput rates.
The new self-boarding E-Gates
also enables any airline to use their
application to process passengers,
expedite supervised boarding of the
aircraft for both paper and smart device
boarding passes to reduce wait
time for all passengers, and ensures
passengers are boarding the correct
flight and boarding group.The EGates
also include advanced technology
to allow for expeditious employee
access and screening, minimizing
dwell time.
In future phases, the passenger
flow through the E-Gates can be metered
to reduce congestion bottlenecks
and crowding at the points of
access, and can be integrated with
TSA and passenger ID functions as
part of the new Credential Authentication
Technology (CAT) for the
security process. Additionally, the
E-Gates can be upgraded to support
biometric processing by the airlines,
which can enable passengers to pass
without using their boarding pass,
which is an added benefit for international
flights.
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JetBlue Cargo Ops Elmer Jeronimo, AGI Juan Silva, AGI Marta Claja, JetBlue Roberto Illanes
at the grand opening in October of the JetBlue Cargo facility sst AGI Newark Airport. Jet
Blue is slowly rolling out new airports for belly cargo. This renewed service comes at
the same time that JetBlue is planning service to London in 2021. Despite the pandemic,
JetBlue is makng the most of a tough time. Photo by Jeff Yapalater
/vaughn.edu
/vaughn.edu
