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If the question is "how will aircraft land at Tarras Airport in the fog?", then the answer seems to be Honeywell SmartPath.
A number of people have raised the fog issue during discussions about Christchurch International Airport Ltd’s plans to establish an international airport on its land at Tarras.
Christchurch Airport spokeswoman Yvonne Densem said this week the company was in the early stages of investigating the "aeronautical performance" of the site, including factors such as fog.
Ms Densem said fog was a factor at many New Zealand airports but with new technology it was unlikely to be insurmountable.
"GPS guided systems and airport lighting are two of the technologies that can be built into a new runway."
She provided links to a "ground-based augmentation system" marketed in Australia as Honeywell SmartPath.
The system uses GPS signals to provide aircraft with "very precise" positioning guidance during the final stages of an approach.
It can accommodate approach flight paths for up to 26 aircraft simultaneously within a 42km radius, and is in use at airports in the United States and Europe.
