Airport taxiways extended

Works have been concluded on the third phase of the airport taxiway upgrading programme, Malta International Airport said today.

These works were intended to facilitate the taxiing sequence of all aircraft using the airport. Since the main runway does not have a parallel taxiway, the more time an aircraft spends taxiing on the runway, the less time would the runway be available for landing and take-off.

The project started in February and works have been taking place to upgrade Taxiways C & D which connect Apron 9 to the principal Runway 31/13. During these works, extensive parts of the taxiway pavement were extended and re-paved whilst all taxiway lighting services were replaced.

To ensure the continuity of operations, a significant part of the work was done at night, whenever possible diverting aircraft to the shorter Runway 23/05. During the works, due consideration was given to minimising the inconvience to residents in nearby communities, particularly Gudja, MIA said.

Taxiways C & D returned to service today, with the first aircraft using the upgraded taxiway system being the Air Malta Flight KM 418 departing at 9 am. to Toulouse and Lyon.