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London Stansted Airport: The race against time to resurface a runway

The team is installing more than a thousand runway lights and tonnes of asphalt

A team of more than 200 engineers and technicians are halfway through a five-month project to resurface London Stansted Airport.

Work on the 1.9 mile-long (3km) runway - equivalent to the size of 25 football pitches - has to be timed meticulously overnight while fewer flights are scheduled.

How complicated are the works and how do the staff sustain 22 weeks of night shifts?

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How did we get to this point?

Jamie Niblock/BBC Engineers at Stansted Airport relaying asphaltJamie Niblock/BBC
The team has worked for 440 hours, during the course of 22 weeks, to resurface the airport

The Essex terminal underwent its last full resurfacing in 2006.

About 15 million passengers passed through its gates that year, compared with the 28 million expected this year.

It took three years to plan for this resurfacing project.

Neil Thomson, the airport asset development director, said: "Handling up to 50 aircraft movements an hour, the runway is obviously a key asset for the airport so it's critical it is maintained to the highest standard."

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What needs to be done?

Jamie Niblock/BBC Neil Thomson at London Stansted AirportJamie Niblock/BBC
Neil Thomson, the airport's asset development director, said it took three years to plan the resurfacing

The engineering firm Lagan began the project on 8 January and is aiming to complete by 6 June.

The to-do list includes:

  • Lay approximately 65,000 tonnes of asphalt
  • Replace about 1,500 runway lights with more energy-efficient LED bulbs
  • Lay about 62 miles (100km) of new cabling

Joe Rollerson is an electrician who joined the team as an aeronautical ground lighting technician.

"It's an amazing project - really interesting," said the 24-year-old.

"It was by coincidence I found the job and I took an interest straight away."

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What is it like working in a noisy, and potentially hazardous, environment?

Jamie Niblock/BBC Joe Rollerson at London Stansted AirportJamie Niblock/BBC
Joe Rollerson said he found out about the job by chance

The team are working night shifts, with a difference.

They are on duty from 00:00-06:00 and for the first 11 weeks the runway was closed completely.

During the second half of the project, with greater demand for flights going into the Easter holidays, there is a reduced works schedule through the night, which ramps up from 05:00.

The team works on rotation.

"A project of this scale is very complex and clearly presents us with a number of operational challenges," said Mr Thomson.

"The whole project has been meticulously planned and we aim to complete the work as quickly and safely as possible."

Jamie Niblock/BBC Malachy Doyle at London Stansted AirportJamie Niblock/BBC
Malachy Doyle said it was an "exciting" project

Malachy Doyle, the project manager at Lagan, calculated they have 440 hours to get the job done.

"It's quite a unique feeling to have a plane landing over the top of you," said Mr Doyle.

"Literally every minute counts."

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What next?

Jamie Niblock/BBC London Stansted Airport at nightJamie Niblock/BBC
The team spends the final hour of their shift cleaning up, while the number of flights increases

London Stansted Airport is preparing for its busiest Easter and summer season since before the pandemic.

Up to 600 planes are expected to take off every day this summer, flying to 190 destinations, with about 60 planes based on site.

Increasing customers will mean more revenue for the owner, Manchester Airport Group, which will strengthen its plans to expand passenger numbers to 43 million per year.

PA Media Stansted AirportPA Media
Stansted Airport said it was pleased with the increasing passenger numbers
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