Melbourne Airport is set to begin once-in-a-decade maintenance works on its east-west runway, with up to seven months of overnight closures expected, to ensure the runway remains safe.
The project includes asphalt resurfacing, line marking, grooving and upgrades to the Aeronautical Ground Lighting systems on the eastern section of Runway 09/27, which at 2,286 metres is the shorter of Melbourne Airport’s two runways.
The works will take place on Monday to Friday nights between 10pm to 6am from 21 January through until August, subject to weather conditions.
During these times, all aircraft arriving and departing at Melbourne Airport will use the north-south runway, which may result in more noise for people living under those flight paths.
The project requires laying 10,000 tonnes of new asphalt on a 27-metre-wide section along the middle of the runway.
Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation, Jim Parashos, said careful planning had gone into the works to balance safety, community impacts and the operational needs of Australia’s largest 24-hour airport.
“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,” Parashos said.
“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.”
