The Unbelievable Logistics of Fixing an Airport Runway

The runway is the backbone of an airport’s whole operation. Without it, airports become more like a shopping mall with a carpark. If a single stretch of asphalt is out of service, the whole thing is thrown off. Flights get delayed, baggage claim gets backed up and this has a knock-on effect at airports around the world. Airport rehabilitation must be scheduled with military precision to avoid operational delays.

A great example is Gatwick airport - one of the busiest runways in the world where 45 million passengers pass through each year. However, it faced a massive dip in traffic during the pandemic with numbers plummeting to an all-time low in March 2020. As travelling resumes, they are tasked with urgent resurfacing of the 3.3 kilometres runway, with planes landing in just a matter of hours.

Watch as the crew of 100 construction workers race to resurface the runway before all the planes in the air starts landing.