On Tuesday, it will be an exceptional day at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in Maia. No plane will take off or land, as the airport’s runway will be undergoing interventions. The structural reinforcement, which costs 50 million euros, was announced by ANA in May.
The construction has been in progress since the end of July and will last for 19 months. The work has been carried out from Monday to Saturday, between 00:00 and 06:00. However, the intervention scheduled for Tuesday will be more intense, extending beyond the six daily hours and also requiring favorable weather conditions. The work has been scheduled for a sunny day.
The president of ANA had previously stated, during the announcement of the investment, that the airport would be closed for a day, on September 10, to prepare for the runway intervention. “The only visible works for passengers will take place on September 10. Some of these works will have to be carried out over a longer period than we have available every night. This situation leads us to propose the closure of the airport for a full day, the only day of the year when there will be no planes on the runway in Porto.”
“This date was chosen based on the probabilities of favorable weather conditions,” explained Thierry Ligonnière.
The temporary interruption of operations at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport could trigger some delays, admit some airlines.
ANA – Airports of Portugal explained that this is the largest intervention on the runway of the airport in the Northern region. Announced interventions include the repaving of the wear layer on runway 17-35, the replacement of lighting systems with LEDs, and the renewal of the drainage system. Navigation equipment (ILS category II) will also be implemented on runway 35, allowing operations in low visibility.
The Spanish company Acciona is the construction company responsible for the works. In May, ANA emphasized, in a statement, that this is “an investment in quality, safety, and environmental performance, enabling the accommodation of air traffic growth.” It also stated that it involves a “reinforcement of the operational conditions of the airport.”