Melbourne Airport has announced preparations to begin a large programme of maintenance works on its east-west runway, with overnight closures of up to seven months planned to ensure the runway can continue to operate into the future.
The project will include asphalt resurfacing, line marking, grooving and upgrades to the Aeronautical Ground Lighting systems on the eastern section of Runway 09/27, which stands as Melbourne Airport’s shortest runway at 2,286 metres.
All work is set to commence on Monday to Friday nights between the hours of 22:00 and 06:00, and will continue from 21 January through to August (subject to weather conditions).
During this time, any and all aircraft arriving and departing the Airport will utilise the north-south runway, which, as a result, will lead to increased noise for those living under the flight paths.
The project will require the laying of 10,000 tonnes of new asphalt along a 27-metre-wide section of the middle of the runway.
Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos said:These critical maintenance works are being undertaken to ensure the east-west runway remains in a sound condition to support aircraft movements for the next 10-12 years.
Closing one of our two runways whilst continuing operations at a 24/7 curfew-free airport is challenging, but overnight closures ensure we retain maximum operational flexibility during the busiest hours of the day.
The closures mean that aircraft taking off and landing during night-time maintenance windows will use the existing north-south runway, so communities to the north and south of the airport may experience some additional overflights during this time.
We recognise that this can be disruptive and we sincerely thank local communities for their patience while this important work is completed.
While these works are underway, we continue planning and early works for our third runway, which is scheduled to open in 2031 and will support Melbourne’s growth well into the future.
