𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻

Council is partnering with local contractors to deliver on its Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) management plan for the year.

The OLS is the invisible boundary around the airport runways that restrict obstacles, allowing for 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 in accordance with industry regulations.

Management of trees around the airport has always been a challenge for Norfolk, across the island you’ll see trees with small tops reshooting from the original cut point. This can be a complex operation at times, but it is essential to the safe operation of the airport. Currently there are 21 obstacles within the limitation surface, and approximately 160 trees are being monitored due to their proximity to the airport restriction zone.

On the map below the 𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, while the blue dots indicate trees being monitored. It is preferred that the trees are removed entirely as this will reduce the cost burden to the community in the long run, however this is not always achievable. Protection of trees may be considered where these are significant and where alternative management can be put in place.

If you have any trees on your property that are identified for management, the Airport Operations Team will be in touch to discuss the process for managing the obstacles and keeping commercial flights operating on Island.