Brussels Airport to carry out works on runway 25R in August

Brussels Airport announces that during the month of August substantial works will be carried out on the airport infrastructure. In the interest of aviation safety the airport operator plans important works on the infrastructure of runway 25R/07L: the renovation of the runway drainage system, the entire renovation of one of the major taxiways to runway 25R as well as the complete renovation of the runway lighting system including the replacement of the conventional halogen lights with more ecological LED lights. The airport will also carry out annual maintenance works. To allow for all of these works, runway 25R/07L will be entirely closed to takeoffs as well as landings for 14 days. Starting on the 15th day and for 9 days runway 25R/07L will be operated at reduced length, which means that certain aircraft types will be able to take off from it.

Work will be carried out in August as this month offers the best combination of warm temperatures and little precipitation. Moreover, apart from the winter months, August is the month with the smallest number of movements per day. This makes it possible to complete the works in the shortest possible time.

The works inevitably have an impact on the runway use and the normal flight dispersion plan. When runway 25R/07L is closed to air traffic, takeoffs and landings are carried out on the two remaining runways: 02/20 and 25L/07R.

It is not possible today to give details on the exact use of the two remaining runways during the works as this depends on the weather conditions.

Three fundamental principles apply when deciding on the runway use.

Safety

It goes without saying that only those runway configurations can be used that are guaranteed to be safe, taking account of the weather conditions.

Capacity

A configuration is used that offers sufficient capacity to allow all scheduled airline operations in order to make sure that delays are reduced to a minimum.

Optimal distribution of aircraft movements

Moreover, the fairest possible distribution of the flights for the neighbouring residents is sought after. It is inevitable that during the works some municipalities will be overflown more and others less.

The decision as to which runways to use during the works will be taken in consultation with the Secretary of State for Transport, Belgocontrol, the Directorate General for Aviation and the airlines. Based on this decision and the prevailing weather conditions, the air traffic controllers of Belgocontrol will decide about the actual application on the moment itself.

Work is scheduled to commence on the 1st of August and should be completed by the 24th of August. However, unexpected events during the works can lead to additional works. These, together with the weather conditions, may have an impact on the duration of the works. This is why it is not possible to predict the exact duration at this point.

The residents of the municipalities of Boortmeerbeek, Brussels, Evere, Grimbergen, Haacht, Herent, Ixelles, Jette, Kampenhout, Koekelberg, Kortenberg, Kraainem, Leuven, Machelen, Meise, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Rotselaar, Schaerbeek, Steenokkerzeel, Tervuren, Vilvoorde, Wemmel, Wezembeek-Oppem, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Zaventem and Zemst will soon receive a flyer in their mail to inform them on the scheduled works. General information as well as detailed information on the works will be permanently available on www.runwayworks.be as of 16 March. The runway use will equally be published on this website, as soon as it is known. Everyone who’s interested can subscribe through this website to a digital newsletter with general information about the works and the airport, and with detailed updates on the works and the runway use as soon as it is known. Finally, the runway use during the works will be communicated every day by @brusselsairport on the social media network Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/brusselsairport.