London Stansted (STN) has commenced a five-month programme to fully resurface its single runway.
Work on the 3-kilometre long runway began this weekend and is being managed by engineering firm, Lagan.
Throughout the project, approximately 50,000 tonnes of asphalt will be laid and 1,300 runway lights will be replaced with energy-efficient LEDs.
This work is taking place at night between Saturday and Wednesday to minimise its impact on airport operations and the local community.
In the first 11 weeks, the runway will be closed from midnight to 6am, and in phase two, it will remain open at a reduced length.
Neil Thompson, Stansted Airport’s Planning & Development Director, said:Handling up to 50 aircraft movements an hour, the runway is obviously a key asset for the airport so it’s critical it is maintained to the highest standard at a busy international gateway such as London Stansted.
A project of this scale is very complex and clearly presents us with a number of operational challenges as during just six working hours each night, we will need to remove and replace around 100 metres of runway surface before safely re-opening it before the first flight is scheduled to take-off in the morning.
