A Papua New Guinea Rural Airstrip Agency Maintenance Officer in Sopu, Goilala places a cone marker. The airstrip and windsocks are visible in the background and mark the taxi way in the distance. Photo: PNG Rural Airstrip Agency
Papua New Guinea's Rural Airstrip Agency (RAA) says it delivered more than 500 airstrip cone markers to rural airports last year.
The cone markers, coloured white and yellow, help pilots of small planes navigate PNG's many remote airstrips when landing and taking off.
Used to mark the ends and edges of runways, the cones are an essential visual aid on the usually unpaved airstrips, a number of which are located on mountainous terrain.
The chief executive of the Agency, John Bromley, said 568 airstrip cone markers were delivered to rural airstrips in 2017.
Airstrips that received the cone markers include Fuma, Honinabi, Yehebi, Hesalibi, Kapal, Mougulu, Lake Campbell, Gubam, Kiriwo, Kondobol, Waiwoi Falls, Debepari, Elem, Fane, Woitape, Sopu, Esala'a, Wayao and Misima.
As well as the cone markers, RAA delivered 13 windsocks to different rural airstrips including Mougulu, Lake Campbell, Gubam, Kiriwo, Kondobol, Fane,Misima, Woitape, Sopu and Esala'a.
"Our main goal of 2018 is to build upon all the work that we have done in 2017 and the years previously, so that more rural communities are connected to a viable airstrip and can access the government services," said Mr Bromley.
