London Luton opens new taxiway and de-icing facility

By November 6, 2019 January 16th, 2020 News

As part of its £160m transformation programme, London Luton Airport (LLA) has opened a second taxiway to help the airport manage aircraft ground movements more efficiently and contribute to ongoing efforts to minimise delays. Local construction firm, Ryebridge, was tasked with building the runway, while Turner & Townsend were appointed to manage the runway project.

Taxiway Foxtrot follows the completion of Taxiway Bravo, which opened in early 2018, and includes one of the largest remote de-icing facilities in Europe. It is 520m long and required 6,000m³ of concret and 110,000 hours to complete. In addition 9km of electric cables connected the 150 LED lights on the new taxiway.

The taxiway’s de-icing facility can serve up to seven aircraft at once and incorporates 600m of drainage to ensure that all de-icing liquid is captured and disposed of safely. This will help the airport to maintain on-time departures during exceptionally cold weather.

“This new taxiway will enable us to efficiently manage the ever-increasing numbers of aircraft that use the airport,” said Neil Thompson, operations director at LLA. “The de-icing facility will also help us and our airline partners to deliver punctual departures year round, whatever the weather.”

To ensure the runway meets Luton’s sustainability goals, the taxiway has been designed to capture de-icing fluids for recycling, while 4,000m³ of earth was re-used during the construction phase.

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