Jandakot Airport forced to shut all runways after lightning strike damages lights
Jandakot Airport in Western Australia has been forced to close its runways after a lightning strike damaged critical lighting infrastructure. While commercial operations are suspended, essential services like police and rescue helicopters are expected to maintain their operational capabilities.
Why it matters
The closure of a major regional aviation hub highlights the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to extreme weather events.
WA’s busiest airport will be forced to close for at least tonight after a lightning strike damaged “almost all” of the taxi and runway lights required to guide planes during take-off and landing. Disruptions are not expected for essential services that use the airport as a base — including WA Police and RAC rescue helicopter flights — after Jandakot Airport announced the runways would close from sunset. The airport said a direct lightning strike on the airfield had resulted in damage to critical airstrip infrastructure. “Please note that a direct lightning strike on our airfield today has resulted in damage to lighting cables and almost all of our runway and taxiway lights have been damaged,” it said. “Unfortunately, this means that our runways and taxiways will not be available tonight and the aerodrome will not be available after sunset.
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