Background
Aberdeen International Airport is owned by AGS Airports Ltd. It serves over 30 destinations with many onward connections to the world.
Opened in 1934, it now carries nearly three million passengers a year. It has one main runway of 1.953km in length and three helicopter runways.
The airport directly employs 85 people at Aberdeen International Airport but more than 3,400 jobs are supported by the airport overall.
Recent developments include the 124m extension to the main runway, a new covered international walkway, a £5m parking deck and a resurfacing project. The £20 million terminal transformation project was completed in 2019.
Aberdeen International Airport was looking for a system which would provide them with an extended life period on their existing asphalt – to avoid the need to plane and relay at present.
Solution
Working for Volker Fitzpatrick Infrastructure, Henry Williams & Son sprayed 11,000 sqm of Rhinophalt to the taxiways at the airport.
Rhinophalt, which is supplied by ASI Solutions, can be applied at night to avoid major disruption to flights.
Preservation on runways, taxiways, aprons and access roads provides a recognised maintenance solution to airport asset managers. Rhinophalt extends the operational life of the asphalt surface.
Extending the life of the surface course by up to 100% reduces the number of times you need to resurface as well as reduce reactive maintenance. Sustainability through preservation conserves the valuable mineral resources and fossil fuel binders.
In the case of the work on the taxiways at Aberdeen, asphalt preservation is 10% of the costs of plane and relay (although must be applied up to five times when compared to the expected lifespan of new asphalt).
By using Rhinophalt at night, the drying time of the material is guaranteed between 1 – 4 hours (depending on local climate). This ensures that the markings can be reinstated and the taxiways and runways reopened for early morning scheduled flights.
Outcome
Craig Davies, Head of Division at Volker Fitzpatrick Infrastructure said:
“This was project was completed successfully at night to avoid major disruption to flights and the taxiways were reopened just four hours after the work had been completed. I have experience of working with Rhinophalt before in a previous job role and knew it would be the perfect, cost-effective and sustainable solution to protect and preserve the taxiways at the airport to avoid expensive resurfacing.”
Steve Williams, Chairman of Henry Williams & Son added:
“It was very pleasing to have completed our first asphalt preservation contract in the aviation sector. It was a textbook delivery and the client was extremely happy with the results. Over the following 3 weeks the surface new asphalt surface would be travelled by two prime ministers and a King.”
Contact us
For more information on the services we provide, please contact us today by emailing us below or calling 01978 822 482.