From Monday 4 April to mid-July, Schiphol will be carrying out major maintenance on the Aalsmeerbaan Runway 18L-36R. During this period of works, the runway will not be available to air traffic. This will have an impact on aircraft noise in the area. Because the Aalsmeerbaan Runway is closed at night, the works will not affect night flights.
Major maintenance is being done on the Aalsmeerbaan Runway 18L-36R. This period of works will see the major part of the asphalt on the Aalsmeerbaan – a total surface area equal to more than 50 football pitches – being replaced. 1650 new LED lights and 50 kilometres of cabling will be installed in the asphalt. Furthermore, 17 kilometres of markings will be painted on the runway and the rainwater drainage system around the runway will be cleaned, repaired and renewed.
The works are being carried out in collaboration with construction company Heijmans. All these different activities were combined as efficiently as possible in the three months of major maintenance. By carrying out maintenance in this way, the runway only must be taken out of use for a long time once every seven years.
While these major maintenance works on the Aalsmeerbaan are going on, Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL) will be replacing the runway’s Instrument Landing System (ILS). An ILS assists aeroplanes in making a gradual descent towards the runway.
Changes to runway use
Aircraft that would usually take off from or land on the Aalsmeerbaan Runway will instead make use of the Buitenveldertbaan (09-27), Schiphol-Oostbaan (04-22) and Kaagbaan(06-24) runways throughout this period of maintenance.
The Aalsmeerbaan and Buitenveldertbaan runways intersect. From 19 to 26 April and on Wednesday 22 June, Thursday 23 June and Monday 4 July, there will be works on this intersection. As a result, neither the Aalsmeerbaan nor Buitenveldertbaan runways will be available on these dates.
There will also be works on the taxiway between the Kaagbaan and Aalsmeerbaan runways. From 16 to 23 May, the Kaagbaan Runway will not be available for landing at times of poor visibility. From 23 May to 6 June, aircraft cannot make use of the head of the Kaagbaan. Planes can only take off towards the south and have a shorter length of runway to make use of.
Some of the maintenance that needs to be done on the ILS can only be carried out once the main works have been completed. For up to six weeks after the completion of this maintenance, the Aalsmeerbaan Runway cannot be used for landing in all visibility conditions. As a result, the Zwanenburgbaan and Buitenveldertbaan runways might be used more often when there’s a northerly wind.