Glasgow airport rebuilds runway for 4 months — without closing down

Since November 2016, a major runway construction has been taking place at Glasgow airport unbeknownst to many in Scotland, the BBC reports. 

The project takes place in the dead of the night when the country is fast asleep. Work comes to a halt before the airport opens at 6am.

Rather than temporarily close down the airport, the construction has been done in stages – by 200 workers – under the gaze of many floodlights.

The runway is the only one in use at Glasgow airport, one of Scotland’s busiest.

The project aims to refurbish the runway for the next ten years.

The construction is said to have taken three years to plan and prepare for.

Some of the ongoing work on the runway include the lifting off its surface and laying a hi-tech one, replacing more than 200 runway and taxiway lights, among others.

Mark Johnston, airport’s operations director, said they chose to carry out the construction during winter when it would least affect traffic.

“We have to notify the airlines far in advance of doing the works,” he said.

“We effectively take the runway at eleven o’clock at night and hand it back at five in the morning.”

The entire project will be completed in a matter of days and about 52,000 sq m of new runway surface will have been put in place.

One of Nigeria’s busiest airports, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, has been closed down for six weeks in order to carry out a total reconstruction of the badly damaged runway.

“From start to finish of the runway, it will take six months. However, we will be using the runway almost throughout the period except for about six weeks when the runway will be closed.

“That is when we are going to do the mid-section of the runway. The government has accepted the design done by the contractor. The runway will last for than 10 years on completion early next year,” said Hadi Sirika, minister of state for aviation.