Honeywell Aerospace has entered the final testing stage of a cockpit warning system designed to warn pilots of runway incursions. The Surface Alert System, known as SURF-A, provides two audible alerts when another aircraft crosses their path during takeoff or landing. The first call comes 30 seconds before a potential collision, followed by a second alert at the 15-second mark.
“It sounds like such a small amount of time, but things happen so rapidly, and 15 to 30 seconds is actually a very, very large margin when you’re moving at the speeds that we’re moving in an aircraft like this,” Honeywell test pilot Doug Rybczynski told Fox News.
Honeywell Director of External Communications Adam Kress told AVweb the company is installing its certification load on the Boeing 757 testbed this month, with flight testing set to begin in October. That phase will include both system performance and human factors evaluations. Honeywell expects to achieve its Supplemental Type Certificate in the first half of 2026, with commercial rollout targeted for later that year. Development on the system in its current form began in 2020.
“Shockingly, I think for a lot of passengers, there’s not an alert system available today to let you know that you’re about ready to run into another aircraft on the runway,” Honeywell distinguished technical fellow Thea Feyereisen told Fox News.
According to FAA data, CY 2024 saw 1,670 known runway incursions. The FAA has invested nearly $12 billion in airport improvements since 2021, including lighting, signage, taxiway redesign projects, and ATC-facing Runway Incursion Device (RID) warning systems. Honeywell engineers nevertheless emphasized that pilots remain the final safeguard.
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