23.07.2007
Runway maintenance while the airport breaks for the night

Some 45,000 square metres of runways and taxiways at Copenhagen Airport will be renovated in July. The maintenance work will be performed at night, during the nightly lull in traffic. The 70-man crew can renew 5,000 square metres of runway in just one night without disrupting traffic.

   

When most of the aircraft call it a night, the maintenance crew starts to treat the runways at Copenhagen Airport. During a six-week period, about 7.5% of the airport’s runways will be repaired and maintained during the dark of night, so the runways can be ready for the early morning, when traffic starts up again.

5,000 square metres of runway in one night

At dusk, about 50 huge machines convoy onto runway 04R-22L, the most used runway for operations at the airport.

 

First, the largest asphalt cutter in Denmark grinds its way through a 45-millimetre thick layer of tarmac. In the pitch black of night the asphalt laying machine takes over, opening its gate to

release the molten asphalt. To achieve the correct binding, the asphalt must be laid in six to eight minutes, and the asphalt team must have finished their night’s work at 4.00 a.m. to allow the painters to lay the first coloured markings before the first aircraft get under way in the morning. During the night, the team also drills holes for the many runway lights on 22L that allow the aircraft to navigate at night.  

During the five to six hours of work, the 70-man team manage to renovate 5,000 square metres of runway.  

Life span of 10-12 years

Instead of the ordinary type of asphalt we know from our roads, the airport’s runways are paved with a special type of asphalt that is very porous and has a high friction value:

“The surfacing helps to reduce aquaplaning and the 10‰ slope makes the water run off automatically. In addition, the surfacing has self-cleansing action against the rubber remnant from the wheels of the aircraft.  The surfacing has a life span of 10-12 years. If it is not replaced, moisture could seep down through small cracks that may develop in the top layer and that could reduce the load-carrying capacity. That’s why we are always very careful with our maintenance work, so the runways are always in top shape,” says Hans Ole Tolstrup, project manager of Real Estate, Planning & Projects.

Runway maintenance always takes place in a six-week period during the summer from the end of June, which is when the weather conditions are normally the most stable in Denmark.

 



 
 

Runway area:
A total of 45,000 square metres of runways (04R-22l) and taxiways of the airport’s total of 2,035,429 square metes of runways and taxiways are undergoing maintenance.

When? Runway maintenance primarily takes place during a six-week period starting at the end of June.

Who? The work is performed by a crew of 60–70 men from five independent companies. NCC-Kastrup is in charge of most of the work. In addition, CPH performs part of the work.

Machinery used: About 50 lorries are used to perform the job, including asphalt laying machines, rollers, asphalt cutters, sweepers and casting machines.

Runway lighting:
A total of 1,600 runway lights are installed on the airport’s runway system.

Number of operations in 2006 (take-offs and landings): 258,356

The runway system consists of a main runway (direction 22/04) and two parallel runways (which are 3600 metres and 3300 metres long, respectively) as well as a 2800-metre long cross runway (direction 12/30). Some 98% of all operations take place on runway 22/04. The runway system has capacity to accommodate a maximum of 83 operations (take-offs or landings) per hour.