For five nights a week, every Saturday to Wednesday from January until May, Lagan will work behind the scenes and in the dark to renew the entire 3km runway at Stansted.

Over the course of the project, approximately 50,000 tonnes of asphalt will be laid over an area the size of 25 football pitches, and 1,300 runway lights will be replaced with LED lamps.

In the first 11 weeks, the runway will be closed between midnight and 6am; in phase two it will remain open but at a reduced length to allow flights to continue operating.

Stansted Airport planning & development director Neil Thompson 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.

“At the same time, we are upgrading the runway and taxiway lights with energy efficient, high performance LED lamps that are crucial in the safe operation of aircraft, especially in low visibility conditions.

“The whole project has been meticulously planned, and we aim to complete the work as quickly and safely as possible to limit the disruption on the operation of the airport and minimise any impacts for our local community.”

Stansted’s runway last underwent full resurfacing in 2006, when the airport handled 15m passengers. Passenger traffic peaked in 2019 in 2019 with 28m passengers.

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