In 2024, AES Airport Solutions completed the supply and installation of a full LED approach lighting system at Uşak Airport (ICAO: LTBO), located in the Aegean region of western Turkey. The project consisted on equipping the airport’s runway 09/27 with Airsafe LED approach lights, including elevated centerline/crossbar units and a sequenced flashing system, bringing the facility’s approach lighting infrastructure up to current ICAO and FAA standards.

This article looks at the scope of the project, the products installed, and the context behind the upgrade.

About Uşak Airport

Uşak Airport serves the city of Uşak, a provincial capital of around 375,000 inhabitants situated in the interior of western Turkey, roughly 200 km east of İzmir (source: Uşak Province, TurkStat 2022 data). The city sits at the crossroads between the Aegean coast and Central Anatolia, at an elevation of approximately 900 m above sea level. Uşak has a long industrial heritage, particularly in the textile and carpet manufacturing sector, and is part of what is often referred to as Turkey’s Aegean textile cluster alongside İzmir, Denizli, and Aydın.

The airport itself is operated by DHMI (General Directorate of State Airports Authority), the Turkish state body responsible for managing the country’s public airports and airspace. It has a single runway designated 09/27 and sits at an elevation of 883 m (2,897 ft) MSL (source: AirportGuide.com, LTBO). Uşak Airport has historically handled domestic traffic, flight training operations, and general aviation. It also supports the TAFA Flight Academy, which uses the facility for VFR training flights.

The airport’s location at nearly 900 m elevation, combined with the continental climate of the Anatolian interior (where fog and low cloud are not uncommon during autumn and winter months), makes a reliable approach lighting system particularly important for safe operations.

Project Scope: LED Approach Lighting for Runway 09/27

The core of the project involved the supply and installation of LED approach lighting equipment for Uşak Airport. The system was designed and installed in compliance with ICAO Annex 14 Vol. I, FAA Advisory Circulars, and EASA CS-ADR-DSN requirements.

Two main product families from the Airsafe range were deployed:

EUL-AP-LED: Elevated Approach Centerline and Crossbar Lights

The EUL-AP-LED is an LED elevated approach centerline and crossbar light designed for use in CAT I, II, and III approach lighting systems, in compliance with ICAO Figure A2-1.

What makes this fitting well suited for a project like Uşak is a combination of factors. The body is built from high-strength aluminium alloy with anti-corrosion treatment, which matters in an environment with significant temperature swings between summer and winter. The reduced height profile helps minimize the impact of jet blast, an important consideration for lights installed in the approach path. The glass diffuser is rated for high resistance to both temperature and abrasion, and all hardware is stainless steel to ensure waterproofing and long-term corrosion resistance.

From an electrical standpoint, the EUL-AP-LED is fully compatible with existing series circuits (2.8A to 6.6A), which means it can be installed without having to replace isolation transformers. The luminous output is continuously regulated in a way that mimics halogen dimming behaviour, following FAA EB67D guidance. It also includes integrated surge protection and an optional «Fail Open» monitoring device for individual lamp fault detection.

The LED source has a rated life of at least 60,000 hours at maximum brightness, and over 100,000 hours under normal operating conditions, with light attenuation below 30%. That kind of longevity translates directly into fewer runway closures for maintenance, which is especially valuable at an airport like Uşak that serves both commercial and training traffic.

SFLS LED: Sequenced Flashing Lighting System

The second major component of the installation was the SFLS LED, a complete LED sequenced flashing lighting system designed for approach paths at airports operating under CAT I, II, and III, in accordance with FAA E-2628B and ICAO Annex 14 Vol. I.

Sequenced flashing lights (often called «rabbit lights» in the industry) produce a rapid, sequential flash pattern that runs along the approach path towards the runway threshold. The effect is a visible «ball of light» that appears to travel towards the runway, giving pilots a strong directional cue during the approach, especially in reduced visibility.

The SFLS LED system uses a distributed architecture where each light unit has its own integrated control, resulting in a compact structure. The main control cabinet and all unit cabinets have independent CPUs that cooperate through BUS communication. This design means that a failure in one unit does not bring down the rest of the system, which is a significant reliability advantage.

The system is available in both elevated and inset configurations.

Why LED Approach Lighting Matters for Airports Like Uşak

Upgrading approach lighting to LED is not just a question of energy savings, although those savings are real and meaningful. For a facility like Uşak Airport, the benefits go further.

Maintenance reduction is probably the single biggest practical advantage. With LED source lives exceeding 60,000 hours (and up to 100,000 under normal conditions for the EUL-AP-LED), the interval between maintenance visits to the approach area becomes dramatically longer compared to halogen. At Uşak, where the approach lighting is exposed to cold winters, hot summers, and the occasional dust and wind that comes with a semi-arid inland climate, having fittings that hold up over time with minimal intervention is not a luxury. It is a necessity.

Photometric consistency is another factor. Halogen lamps progressively shift in colour temperature as they age, which can affect compliance with ICAO chromaticity requirements. LED fittings maintain stable colour output throughout their operational life, which means the approach lighting system stays within spec longer without recalibration or lamp replacements.

And then there is the question of system resilience. The SFLS LED’s distributed architecture, where each unit operates independently, means that a single point of failure does not compromise the entire sequenced flash pattern. For an airport that needs its approach lights to work reliably whenever conditions demand it, that kind of built-in redundancy is a real asset.

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