Canberra's air travellers have $7.5 million worth of new guidance systems keeping them safe while they fly.
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But even they weren't enough to overcome the thick fog that blanketed the capital yesterday morning.
Airservices Australia showed off its $5.5 million upgraded terminal area radar (TAR) at Mount Majura yesterday, which had followed a $2 million upgrade of an instrument landing system at Canberra Airport in April.
The radar sends out an electromagnetic pulse that reflects off anything in its path - such as a plane - picking up the object's position, and sending the data back to a control room in Melbourne.
Airservices facility management services manager Dan Galazowski said it was so sensitive it had picked up balloons and even a kite.
He said the radar increases Canberra's air traffic by reducing the separation needed between planes from 15 nautical miles to five, allowing more planes in an air space at any one time, and so giving Canberrans more flying options.
Perhaps more importantly, it also helps navigate planes in cloudy weather conditions.
''[TAR] directs the aircraft to fly, to land, to make sure it's on the correct path,'' Mr Galazowski said. ''If it's cloudy, we can track a plane all the way and ensure it stays on track and around thunderstorms.
''We can make sure it intercepts the ILS, [instrument landing system ] follow it down, then reach a point - a 'decision point', we call it - and if they can see the runway lights, they can land.''
The radar upgrade allowed for the ability to see the intent of a plane earlier than the old system allowed.
''It improves our air safety,'' Mr Galazowski said.
The ILS provides ''precision approach information'' in fog; it allows the plane to know where it is so the pilot can land safely.
But he concedes the ILS at Canberra has its limits.
''If it's extremely foggy then a category three ILS is needed,'' Mr Galazowski said.
The categories of the ILS refer to how accurate it is, and Canberra Airport's ILS is currently a category one, with the recent upgrade allowing it to have the capability to upgrade to higher categories.
Mr Galazowski said they were currently ''progressing to a category two'' - and depending on how it goes, may upgrade the ILS to a category two early next year.
