The major maintenance work on Schiphol’s Zwanenburgbaan Runway has had to be extended by a couple of weeks due to bad weather.
Recent weeks have seen more rain than normal combined with low temperatures and strong winds. These conditions have made it impossible to lay the top layer of asphalt, among other things, operator Royal Schiphol Group said. The work, which began in January, was due to be complete by mid-April. It is now expected to be complete early in May.
Schiphol stressed that it always takes weather conditions into account when planning runway maintenance, but March has proven to be a particularly wet month. Furthermore, since the planned maintenance period is approaching its end, there is now insufficient time to make up for the resulting delay within the original timeframe.
Revised runway use
Aircraft that normally take off from or land on the Zwanenburgbaan Runway will make more use of the Buitenveldertbaan Runway during the remaining maintenance shutdown period. The Schiphol Oostbaan Runway may also be used for some landings, and a small proportion of flights will be rerouted to Kaagbaan Runway.
During normal operations, the Zwanenburgbaan is occasionally used in a southerly direction at night when the Kaagbaan is not available due to adverse wind or weather conditions. For the original maintenance period (January to mid-April), a waiver was obtained, allowing use of the Aalsmeerbaan Runway as an alternative. This has only been needed once. Schiphol has decided not to apply for an extension to the waiver.
Image: Royal Schiphol Group
