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Runway revamp at Cardiff
01 September 2005
Three-month maintenance programme is completed at Cardiff International Airport
The runway at Cardiff International Airport - the longest of any fully commercial airport west of London and south of Manchester - has undergone a major upgrade.
A three-month maintenance programme was completed at the airport runway, which involved removing around 14,000 tonnes of asphalt and relaying a similar amount, grooving the new runway surface and then upgrading the entire runway edge lighting system.
Staff worked through the night on the project so the airport's day-to-day operations were not affected.
At 7,843 feet, the runway at Cardiff is more than 1,200 feet longer than the runway at nearby Bristol International Airport, as well as being longer than that of other rivals such as Birmingham, Southampton and Exeter. Cardiff's westerly location also means that many trans-Atlantic airlines use it as their diversion airport.
Cardiff International will from summer 2006 operate at least six weekly flights to four long-haul destinations: Cancun in Mexico, Orlando, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, and Toronto. The airport has also announced the arrival of Excel Airways, which will be flying 14 departures per week from Cardiff to a series of destinations from May 2006.
Jon Horne, Managing Director at Cardiff International Airport, said: "Our runway length allows us to handle some of the largest aircraft and freighters operating in today's marketplace and has attracted the likes of Travel City Direct's Boeing 747, Zoom Airlines and Thomsonfly's Boeing 767 with their long-haul destinations.
"I would like to thank our partners who helped make this operation run as smoothly as possible. Essential works were carried out at night and although a big task, it proved to be a seamless operation for everyone concerned."
Staff from Lagan International, Jacobs, Faithful and Gould and
ATG were among those involved in delivering the runway project on
time and on budget.
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