Repair of Naia’s main runway months ahead of schedule

The ongoing rehabilitation of the main runway of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) will be completed by Friday, March 15.

“I am glad that we are completing the project way ahead of its original schedule, which is July 2019, just in time for the expected peak [season] this summer,” Ed Monreal, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager, said on Sunday.

The P704-million rehabilitation project included the asphalt overlay of the 3,697-meter-long and 60-meter-wide Runway 06/24 and the approach portions of Naia’s taxiways.

It also called for the restoration of runway pavement markings and the reinstallation of airfield lights on the runway and connecting taxiways.

Long overdue

The last asphalt overlay on Naia’s main runway was done between 2012 and 2013, although ideally, it should be done every six years, MIAA said.

The repairs and overlay works started in April 2018, with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines issuing a notice to airmen, informing them of the daily closure of Runway 06/24 from midnight to 6 a.m.

As a result, the most affected airlines—Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines—either canceled or rescheduled a good number of their flights.

Runway 06/24 services the majority of international air carriers arriving at Naia, including the heavier Airbus 330 and Boeing 777.

The secondary runway of Naia, Runway 13/31 (2.2 kilometers long), usually services domestic flights and lighter aircraft such as Airbus A320.

In August last year, a Boeing 737-800 plane of Xiamen Air skidded off Runway 06/24, halting Naia operations for 36 hours and leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Despite the routine closure, Naia recorded 45 million passenger movements in 2018, up 6.79 percent from 2017’s 42 million, based on data from Airport Council International.