Abstract: An automatic system for surveillance, guidance and fire fighting in airports. The system is arranged to monitor the position of aircraft in the taxiways, parking areas and flight lanes and in the event of an accident in the flight lane to extinguish any fires caused thereby. Infra-red sensors are arranged along the flight lanes and their output signals are processed by a computer to provide information concerning the aircraft movements along the flight lanes. In the event of an emergency the computer processes the output signals from the sensors to determine the precise location and area of any heat sources in the flight lane and causes hydrants to direct fire-extinguishing fluid at the heat sources. Position detectors are provided for detecting the position of aircraft in the taxiways and parking areas.