TAHITI. Since this year French Polynesia has started with a project to illuminate several airports with ADB SAFEGATE AGL so they can remain open during the night or in times of bad weather. Makemo airport was the first one on the list of airports to commission, and as a Service Engineer I was tasked to do the commissioning of the systems at Makemo airport in Tahiti.

The commissioning of the systems was done at at the same time as the training of all local airport staff so they could act independently on upcoming installations or changes to their Airfield Ground Lighting Systems. The coordination for the installation of the primary and secondary cables from a distance.

Makemo airport only has about 15 to 20 flights a week which is already not bad as they only have about 400 inhabitants on the island. Apart from the location – which makes a lot of people envious – it gives a great energy to be able to contribute to people’s knowledge and see how they are creating better connections with the main airport of French Polynesia being Tahiti.

It’s great working on such smaller projects like Makemo airport. The people are highly motivated, have a good background and are very eager to learn. It’s always a pleasure to follow up on such missions.

ADB SAFEGATE is a leading provider of solutions that boost efficiency, improve safety and environmental sustainability, and reduce operational costs for airports and airlines worldwide. Its solutions tackle every aspect from approach to departure – airport traffic handling, airfield lighting, tower-based traffic control systems, gate and docking automation, services and advanced analytics – to increase airport performance. ADB SAFEGATE has more than 1,000 employees in more than 20 countries and operates in more than 175 countries, serving more than 2,500 airports.