Maintenance work began on the second runway at Liszt Ferenc airport on Monday and will be carried out in one phase.
The runway and taxiway will undergo a full refurbishment. The taxiway’s drainage will be repaired, track thermometers, navigation and lighting systems maintained, along with minor repairs to the surface concrete. Rubber will be burned off the landing zone and runway strips will be repainted. All of this is in an effort to ensure flight and airport safety. The first runway will be the sole take-off and landing zone during the maintenance work.
The work has been easier thanks in part to the low passenger numbers due to the coronavirus. Currently there are restrictions on who can enter through the airport. Foreigners were barred from the country but there are exceptions which include; foreign nationals with permanent Hungarian residency, foreign executives, employees of Hungarian companies, foreign athletes, foreign travelers in transit, foreign spectators of sports and cultural events, students, etc.
Budget airlines in Hungary such as Wizz Air have had to decrease their operations from 10 airplanes in August to two in September. The airport expects a 90 percent decline in annual passenger traffic in both the fall and winter, a level that was seen about 17 years ago.