UPDATE: Pensacola International Airport Runway Lighting

10:30 a.m. Update: Pensacola International Airport crews and contractors are continuing to work diligently to make repairs to the east-west runway and taxiway lighting and resume normal airport operations.

As of this morning, crews have assessed the wiring for the north-south runway, which is currently closed for construction, and determined that the north-south runway lights are functional. As repairs continue to the east-west runway, the airport is preparing to shift nighttime operations to the north-south runway while continuing daytime operations on the east-west runway. The construction that closed the north-south runway will be halted during night operations and will not impact the safety of north-south runway operations.

Airport staff and contractors are working toward the goal of resuming normal airport operations tonight, but cannot confirm at this time. Another update will be provided no later than 3 p.m. to let the public know of any potential impacts to travelers. The airport has engaged additional contractors today to expedite repairs.

Additional Information: Pensacola International Airport travelers have experienced flight cancellations after sunset on Monday, May 15 and Tuesday, May 16, due to ongoing repairs to runway and taxiway lighting. 

Flights arriving or departing from PNS during daylight hours have not been impacted by the outage. Travelers are encouraged to check their flight status online at flypensacola.com/fly/flight-status. Any cancellation decisions are made by the individual airline. 

Pensacola International Airport crews and contractors have been working diligently to bring the runway and taxiway lights back in service. Crews had to temporarily stop work Tuesday afternoon due to unsafe conditions caused by lightning. 

The runway lighting outage was caused by an electrical fire that was discovered early Monday morning, located in an underground duct bank that routes the wires through the airfield electrical system. The electrical fire was contained to the underground duct bank and extinguished itself once the circuit was turned off. 

The public's patience is appreciated as Pensacola International Airport works to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and resume normal operations.