Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

This is less of a blog post and more of a plea for information. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of blast protection on runways? There is a job coming up at Brisbane International Airport for rehabilitating the protection on the main runway, and I’ve somehow found myself helping on the tender. There are severely restricted working hours that have been arranged out to 2016. The work window is only 4 to 5 hrs long. My initial understanding is that the blast protection is just a pavement with a reduced thickness, as planes will not traffic it. As I take it, the added complexity comes with the reduced working time impacting on what materials will be useable. They would have to achieve sufficient strength before the runway opens and planes start to land again. Any of the surface tearing up wouldn’t be good if it ended up in a jet engine. The picture below shows damage that happened previously and led to the shutdown of the runway – this resulted in massive disruption to flights and I’m sure some hefty costs to the airport operator.

The next couple of photos are from a recent inspection of the runway and show electrical inspection pits that are in poor/dangerous condition.

Any first hand experience, or knowledge from previous projects would be greatly appreciated!