45
AirportImprovement.com      November | December 2026
ENVIRONMENTAL 
TPA 
for remediation and storm response services, 
and is now negotiating an additional clause to 
cover the deployment of its new flood barrier. 
Radhakrishnan and Hansson both emphasize 
the importance of having trained personnel to 
deploy a barrier correctly and quickly.  
Hansson also stresses that AquaFence 
systems are not a cookie-cutter solution. 
“Each one is engineered and customized 
to a site’s specific vulnerabilities and flood 
protection needs,” he explains. Company 
personnel assessed the location and 
dimensions at TPA before its system was 
produced. 
Airport officials unveiled the results to local 
media at an on-site event in mid-September. 
The barrier’s 150 panels were in place and 
braced, and AquaFence crews demonstrated 
how to assemble and bolt together the 
pieces.  
“We have a high degree of confidence 
in its ability to perform as intended,” says 
Radhakrishnan. 
Changing Risks, Consistent Goals
No matter what product or strategy an airport 
chooses to fortify its campus against extreme 
weather, safeguarding infrastructure and 
ensuring operational continuity are common 
motivating factors. 
Radhakrishnan’s perspective on the process 
at TPA is informative. She says evaluating 
critical assets, assessing their vulnerabilities, 
and developing a detailed implementation plan 
were pivotal steps. “Rigorous planning and 
strong stakeholder collaboration throughout 
the process were key to making the solution 
successful,” she adds.  
Effects on the guest experience were also 
central in her mind. (Last year, the airport 
served 24.8 million passengers.) “Maintaining 
our level of service is always our top priority,” 
says Radhakrishnan. She points to the 
deployable floodwall as a prime example of 
how TPA doesn’t just look for ways to get 
through a challenge; it looks for solutions that 
help the airport prevail in an “expedient and 
exemplary manner.”
Hansson emphasizes that today’s weather 
events require modern innovation. “Sandbags 
and other flood mitigation tactics can only 
take you so far,” he remarks. “While it may 
sound cliche, the common phrase ‘better safe 
than sorry’ is especially applicable to flood 
mitigation.”  
Shaping  
Tomorrow’s 
Airports.
meadhunt.com/AVIATION
Protecting the electrical vault against floodwaters is essential to maintain flight operations 
after heavy storms.  

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.