Saved Flights

Your Saved Flights

No Saved Flights

Runway resurfacing

CHE15052d-desktop.jpg

 

Updated 9 Dec 2024

Approximately every 10 years, full-length resurfacing works take place on each of Heathrow’s runways. The last time this was carried out was in 2013.

Because Heathrow is so busy, this work needs to take place at night. That will mean changes to our runway alternation pattern, particularly for night-time flights. Most aircraft flying after 10:30pm and before 6am will use a single runway while the resurfacing works take place overnight on the other runway.

The video below shows the work that takes place at night while the runway is closed, to allow resurfacing to be carried out. This video features the teams and equipment that were involved when we previously resurfaced the runways in 2013.

Heathrow's Southern Runway Resurfacing In Timelapse

 

Runway alternation helps us manage aircraft noise and allows residents living under flight paths to plan ahead with predictable periods of relief.  For more information on how alternation works at Heathrow, visit our dedicated runway alternation page.

When will the works take place?

We have now finished resurfacing our southern runway (09R/27L) and are in the process of resurfacing the 22 entry/exit taxiways connecting to the runway. This work is scheduled to finish in 2025 Q1. This will be followed by the resurfacing of the northern runway (09L/27R) and its 14 entry/exit taxiways which is expected to be complete by the end of 2025.

Disruption to night-time alternation for this period of time is not ideal, but it is unavoidable. Some of our neighbours are likely to experience more noise than usual, or at different times than they might expect. The impact on communities is something we very much considered in our planning, but we recognise this may still be disruptive to our local residents.

We will continue to update this page with more information as the works progress, including more clarity around dates and expected changes to our published runway alternation schedule. During the works we will also provide daily up-to-date information on our dedicated X channel (follow us @HeathrowRunways).

We expect to operate our runways with the following pattern during the period of resurfacing:

  1. For five nights a week from Sunday evening to Friday morning, all flights will use a single runway between approximately 10:30pm and 6am. For the initial phase of works this will be the northern runway.

  2. For two nights a week from Friday evening to Sunday morning, runway alternation will operate as normal, following the published daytime and night-time alternation schedules.

  3. Daytime flights are not affected.

  4. Resurfacing work will stop during the festive period and we will revert to our published night-time alternation pattern, landing on the southern runway overnight from 20th-29th December followed by the northern runway from 30th December. 

  5. Download our runway alternation schedule here.

Since Heathrow has relatively few night flights, the changes won't affect many aircraft – mostly arrivals after 4.30am.  There will be no additional night flights.

What does this mean for you?

  1. When works take place on the southern runway at night, if you live under the flight path for the northern runway, you'll experience more night-time aircraft noise than usual.

  2. If you live under the flight path for the southern runway, you'll experience less.

  3. When works take place on the northern runway, this is reversed.

To find out more

If you would like to know more, please call us on 0800 344844 or email:

noise@heathrow.com