Kinmen Shang Yi Airport will lower the standard for runway visibility from 1,200m to 900m, which will in turn decrease the time of having to close the airport by about 24 percent, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said.
Kinmen’s fog season generally begins from January and ends in May. The airport has to be shut down from time to time during this season if pilots cannot see the runway from 1,200m away.
The CAA said it spent approximately NT$17 million (US$586,200) trying to upgrade the runway and meet aviation safety regulations, including widening the runway by removing or relocating the electric poles, antennas and the trees on the side of the runway.
According to the CAA, it spent a lot of time communicating with residents on the tree removal plan.
Zheng Chenggong (鄭成功), a Ming dynasty general also known as Koxinga, was said to have axed all the trees on the island. Since then, it became difficult to grow trees on the island, the CAA said.
Over the centuries, Kinmen residents have learned to treasure these trees and are reluctant to cut them down. For instance, one family surnamed Hsu (許) initially refused to cut down their trees because it was afraid this would affect the family’s feng shui, the CAA said
The new policy will take effect today. Judging from the average fog season in the past three years, the measure is estimated to reduce the time of shutting down the airport by 23.55 hours, the CAA said.
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