GATWICK Airport has completed resurfacing of its main runway in half the normal time and producing less pollution.

After initial plans to resurface the runway were halted by the pandemic, airport operators drew up proposals for a more sustainable solution at a cheaper cost.

The rethink broke away from traditional methods by only resurfacing the most “trafficked” areas, where aircraft land and exit, as other sections were found to still have up to a decade of expected life.

In another change, old sections of runway surface were replaced over a single night, rather than two.

The Argus: Work to resurface the runway was carried out during night shifts at the airport between 9.30pm and 5.30amWork to resurface the runway was carried out during night shifts at the airport between 9.30pm and 5.30am (Image: Gatwick Airport)

The approach saved more than 100,000 tonnes of asphalt from being used, meaning the project could be completed in just six months - half the normal time, as well as for half the cost and with a “significant” reduction in the amount of carbon emissions produced.

Alasdair Scobie, capital delivery director at Gatwick Airport, said: “The pandemic gave us the time and reason to rethink our original design.

“We think we have achieved the best balance possible between cost, operational constraints and durability, whilst reducing the environmental impact of construction.

“The cost savings can now also be reinvested in improvements across other parts of the airport.”

All the old asphalt material was recycled as aggregate, a material used for road construction, with a temporary on-site asphalt batching plant reducing lorry travel distance and cutting emissions.

Gatwick’s main runway is more than three kilometres long and is the busiest runway in the world.

The runway, built in the 1950s, has now had its fifth “rehabilitation” of its lifetime.

Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second-largest airport, with flights to a range of both short and long-haul destinations across the world.