The NZ$23m ‘crème brulée’ safety system this New Zealand airport hopes to never use

There are probably not many airport upgrades that are likened to a crème brulée, especially ones that cost north of $23m, but that’s exactly how Queenstown Airport CEO Glen Sowry describes the new safety system being installed right now. The engineered materials arresting system (EMAS) is being added to each end of the runway and is similar to a gravel trap on a motorway. The energy absorbing blocks are designed to crush under the weight of an aircraft, slowing it to a stop. The groundwork was completed last month, and now the first EMASMAX blocks have been added at the Shotover River end of the runway. The Frankton end will be next, with work set to finish ahead of schedule in late February. Queenstown is the first airport in Australasia to use EMAS, and Sowry admits it is a “really significant investment” in something he hopes never has to be used. “Everyone involved in the (aviation) ecosystem places safety and operational integrity right at the forefront of all decisions that are made,” Sowry told Stuff. “So airlines and aircraft manufacturers spend millions of dollars on technology to ensure that safety can be preserved wherever possible.<br/>